Simon & Garfunkel, Mrs. Robinson - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction

[@LeeKennison]

It is really great to see you return to Simon & Garfunkel. You still have a few really good ones to get to yet, for example, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" and "Scarborough Affair / Canticle," among others. I really enjoyed all your thoughts and commentary on the music and lyrics. For me it provides an abstract look into the typical American life at that time, not just the movie character. Both the surface life and the life that we sometimes keep hidden from others. I like what you said about how they like to prod us into thinking about life, without really pushing it in our face. Great reaction!

[@Ki11erAce]

I'd add "America" to that list as well. :)

[@mightyV444]

Good stuff! 😀👍 It's 'Scarborough Fair', though 😉

[@nigeltown6999]

@@mightyV444 Paul made himself PersonaNonGrata on the UK Folk scene, by copywriting a traditional folk song... Yanks!

[@GilfordMeeks]

I'd add "Punky's Dilemma" to the top of the excellent list we have so far. The lyrics might especially appeal to Mrs. Shafer: "I wish I were a Kellog's cornflake, floating in my bowl taking movies."

[@Pedro_MVS_Lima]

Hi Lee 👋As you know, I don't live in America, I live in a country that at that time was somewhat closed upon itself. Yet, the message of this song was completely relatable. It still is, people are people, many will avoid things that might disturb the predictability of their lives, regardless of whether those things might be right or wrong, true or false, just never mind, go sit on the sofa and get the attention busy with something else instead of, well, thinking. Thinking is dangerous, it gets you into trouble, and we can't have that. I also completely agree with your suggestions and with your appreciation of Amy's commentaries.

[@GuitarNGrillnDad]

Mrs. Robinson in the movie was an alcoholic. That was the secret that she hides in the pantry with the cupcakes. She checks into a rehab center in the song - that’s why they need to check her in “for our files” and they are “sympathetic”. The Joe Dimagio reference is a loss of hero theme - common in literature. The upbeat a bouncy nature of the song is an intentional opposite of the dark theme - because they want to put on a happy face for the public. We studied this song and the entire movie in my high school English class and this is what I recall some many decades later.. : )

[@mirandak3273]

The Robinson secret, if you know the book, is that Mr. Robinson is gay and so Mrs. Robinson meets her sexual needs with younger men. It’s only implied in the film.

[@chrisallen8250]

Don't ignore "Bridge Over Troubled Water," you won't be sorry. The truth is the entire album is worth a listen, "Baby Driver," "Cecilia," "The Boxer," "Only Living Boy in New York," "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright," El Condor Pasa..."

[@letsgomets002]

Hate that song😂

[@anthonygriffin9275]

BOTW is one of the greatest songs ever written!!!!

[@ronald3836]

You think she is an alien who just landed on earth and never heard the song before?

[@JR-dc9yb]

@@ronald3836 Former Amish, I think she is legit.

[@ronald3836]

@@JR-dc9yb Ah, interesting.

[@aBeatleFan4ever]

"Going to the candidates debate... Laugh about it... shout about it... when you've got to choose. Anyway you look at this - you lose." My favorite lines from this song. 57 years ago and 14 Presidential elections ago...

[@emilyalice1]

Brilliant comment by you. Thank you

[@brianhansen-hj3ml]

And boy, did we lose…

[@strathman7501]

"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you" I was a little kid in the UK hearing this on the radio, knowing nothing about baseball, the name meant nothing, the whole song was a charming puzzle... but the yearning nostalgia in that line hit me between the eyes and I remember it as one of the first times I listened to a pop record and realised, "that's real poetry!"

[@mirandak3273]

This is when the American idol, the greatest baseball player of the 40s, the husband of Marilyn Monroe, returned to public consciousness by pitching Mr. Coffee coffee makers on TV.

[@loveandabcs]

@@mirandak3273 Marilyn Monroe!

[@mirandak3273]

@@loveandabcssome kind of senior moment in typing. LOL. fixed it now. Thanks.

[@mrlizard603]

I took the Joe DiMaggio line to refer to a wounded nation looking for heroes or traditions to help liberate it from its misery or decline. But none is to be found. “Jolting Joe has left and gone away.” Fade out.

[@fiddiehacked]

Also, Joe was divorced from the late Marilyn Monroe. Their marriage wasn't really anything more than a sanctioned fling.

[@mayLibertyprevail1a]

I totally agree with your interpretation. People are always looking for heroes, as well as things they can count on to ground them to this life, and that is especially true in dark times.

[@irisblue2332]

Also the more simple way of viewing the world and heroes in the 50s that willfully ignored a lot of life's complexities.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

That’s pretty much the way I’ve always understood it as well.

[@historyguy5942]

It's that and more specific as well. Remember, Joe was married to Marilyn Monroe for a time and they remained friends after they split--so much so that when Marilyn was going through emotionally turbulent times he was always there by her side to help and console her. This was known to an extent at the time but more about it came out after she committed suicide.

[@fromchomleystreet]

I always imagined we’re listening to the staff of some sort of church-based sanitarium welcoming a new resident, who has come to recover from some sort of breakdown.

[@alexanderdumais2911]

Me too!

[@andynator501]

I always pictured an elderly widow entering a rest home.

[@EricRoss57]

Yes! The line, "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" has always reminded me of a new patient's experience at a sanitorium.

[@gracesprocket7340]

Somewhere between AA, marriage guidance and an asylum.

[@irisblue2332]

I always thought it was like the betty ford center or some other recovery center

[@seajaytea9340]

Great reaction. This song is a part of the satirical send-up and commentary that pervaded the 1960's musical scene. Other examples include The Monkees with Pleasant Valley Sunday (written by Carole King (and Gerry Goffin), another great pair of American song writers), the Rolling Stones with Mother's Little Helper and, perhaps most pointed of all, Dylan's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding). The younger generation was talking about the hypocrisy of their elders. Nothing really changes.

[@mojorider8455]

yes, good point about Pleasant Valley Sunday (which I thought was Carole King's composition), a look into the sometimes stifling nature of suburbia and conventional life and its foibles

[@seajaytea9340]

@mojorider8455 Thanks. You are correct about who wrote the song. I know Diamind wrote several of their songs, so I mistakenly defaulted to him. Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote it. My bad for not taking a few moments to check. It's not as if I don't have the totality of written human knowledge at my fingertips. ;)

[@blechtic]

@@seajaytea9340 How about an edit?

[@seajaytea9340]

@@blechtic Good point! Done.

[@kishka7]

The first and foremost rule with Simon & Garfunkel - is NOT TO OVERTHINK IT! The sixties were a time of bashing the establishment and not taking yourself too seriously! At the same time lamenting the fallibility of our heroes!

[@robintougas9697]

Original title was Mrs. Roosevelt. If interpreting think of Her and her life and hiding Franklins Polio from the kids. Changed to Mrs Robinson for the movie.

[@johnsilva9139]

Very interesting. Now the Joe DiMaggio reference makes more sense since his hay day was during the Roosevelt administration.

[@bradw2k]

I really enjoyed hearing you try to make sense of this song, because it takes me back to being eight years old and putting on my parent's S&G Greatest Hits vinyl and trying to make sense of this song too. Why are they telling her that Jesus loves her, what's she hiding in the pantry, and why is she going to lose no matter how she looks at "this"? Without seeing the movie it's a real puzzle for an adult to figure out what's going on. But instead of it feeling confounding, the song is really evocative of this multi-level emotional experience -- light and jumpy on the outside, with feelings of hopelessness dragging down the center. She should be happy, but she's not. Brilliant of Simon to make the parallel to the mood of the nation too.

[@MichaelMarville]

Don't forget to listen to America, from Simon & Garfunkel

[@robertfindley921]

I can't believe anyone on the planet hasn't heard this. Great song. But then Simon & Garfunkel is one of the most talented and consistent groups ever.

[@brucesorensen]

It was written for the movie The Graduate. It will make sense when you watch the movie.

[@743lplkp]

its not a group its a duo ha ha.

[@ronald3836]

Of course she has heard it before.

[@edgarsnake2857]

I don't know if Amy has heard this song before. But, I'm pretty sure she comes from a religious background (Amish) that may have actually and successfully screened her from all pop music. Regardless, her delightful 'squareness' makes it fun.

[@ronald3836]

@@edgarsnake2857 but she is apparently a musician, and I don't think she has only just escaped her Amish background. A musician who hasn't been in contact with the Western world's best known songs? And KZbin is full of professional musicians who comment on very well known songs they hear "for the first time". Sure.

[@keithbk]

As the song was in the works before the movie, the idea is basically about a woman who enters a convent because she's having a baby that isn't her husband's and she's hiding it from the world. Paul said the inclusion of "Joe DiMaggio" was because of the number of syllables he needed in that section. Also, there were "de-de-dees" in places where lyrics had not yet been written, and they ended up staying in because they sounded nice. As a result, a lot of the song is unrelated and full of poetic license. The song was as yet unfinished when the film deal developed. Art expressed to the producers that Simon was working on a song called "Mrs. Robinson" they might want to hear, and the producers jumped on it.

[@thomassharmer7127]

Actually, Paul's working version used the name "Mrs Roosevelt" (the lyrics make more sense of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt - she was actually a committed Episcopalian and had several very close relatioships with women who were known to be lesbian) but it was close enough to Robinson to be easily changed for use in the movie.

[@johnny0531]

Not sure where you got the convent idea from. It's about Mrs. Robinson checking in to a drug / alcohol rehab facility. Read the lyrics again with that in mind and it makes more sense.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself", and "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes".

[@VGKDean]

Every time I hear this song I picture the movie poster for The Graduate

[@llw1361]

Great commentary! I hope you listen to Arlo Guthrie someday. One of my favourite songs of his is 'City of New Orleans.' And he has an epic saga, 'Alice's Restaurant', which has become a Thanksgiving song for many :)

[@stevenmeyer9674]

"City of New Orleans" was not Guthrie's song. It was written by Steve Goodman.

[@icmman7]

i first heard this when it was released..i was about 10 or so and LOOOOOVED it.

[@chrisallen8250]

You'll get more context from the film "The Graduate."

[@peterbaruxis2511]

"Forgive me if I don't shake your hand." (Mr. Robinson)

[@seangates1451]

@@peterbaruxis2511”oh my God, Mrs. Robinson…!”

[@NickSBailey]

That's just one way of looking at it though, the song was adapted for but earlier than the film

[@peterbaruxis2511]

@@seangates1451 LMAO, I needed that today. Do you remember the TV show "Dallas" and the actress Linda Gray? I read somewhere that that was her leg in the iconic movie poster.

[@shortaybrown]

YES YES. Everybody should watch that classic great film called The Graduate. If not for entertainment alone, watch it for the “time capsule of the mid 1960s”

[@0okamino]

It is funny. There’s definitely a wink and a grin to the writing and the delivery, along with a bite to it. It leaves with a long look, standing there watching the bus driving away.

[@williamduarte1093]

Please, react to "Scarborough Fair", another amazing tune by Simon and Garfunkel.

[@edgardobravo7351]

It's an English traditional song from the 15th century. Simon only wrote "the canticle" that's heard in between.

[@williamduarte1093]

@@edgardobravo7351 Yes, I know. I just forgot to mention the "Canticle". The S&G version is so amazing that it's like a "re-invention" of this traditional tune.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I love how the Joe DiMaggio line really opens up the scope of this song. Great choice and wonderful commentary. Thanks Virgin Rock. Recommend watching the Graduate

[@TheGathumpus]

Not forgetting Anne Bancrofts part?

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@TheGathumpus she was great in that movie

[@zredband]

Okay, but as a classical musician Amy really needs to hear Scarborough Fair. I think she's going to love that song.

[@johnsilva9139]

You may have noticed that Paul Simon took the "koo-koo ka-choo" phrase from the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus" which came out a year or two earlier, a little homage to the Beatles. Simon has mentioned Paul McCartney as his favorite song writer, though of course John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus".

[@thekaratekidpartii2169]

It’s “coo-coo-ca-choo”

[@ricardo_miguel13]

@@thekaratekidpartii2169thats the similar sound

[@bleakfandango4397]

a deeply sarcastic look at american suburbia in the mid sixties

[@brucedillinger9448]

Succinct comment.

[@netuno60]

Good morning Amy. Thank you for this reaction. Mrs Robinson is a good song and I remember that I liked it a lot. It is a catchy song with an ironic tune and a fast rhythm, guitar pickings, and vocal harmonies. Simon & Garfunkel was always a group that I looking forward to hearing their new tune.

[@emilyalice1]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis. Bridge Over Troubled Water..perfect

[@nickosP-o3e]

"America" is one of their masterpieces. David Bowie also sung this, live!

[@peterbaruxis2511]

I think the band "Yes" did a version of it- or it was "Jon Anderson" of Yes, I've tried to find it but I only found a "John Anderson" country artist. I'll look again.

[@ClaireWW]

Bridge Over Troubled Water is probably their best song. Arguably the best song ever.

[@christianboyadjiev1738]

Please, let's not forget that the original of Bridge Over Troubled Water was arranged and performed with the piano solo by Larry Knechtel...

[@aligator9552]

Because Garfunkel wrote it.

[@charlotex1]

@@aligator9552 No, Simon wrote it.

[@SimonRobertElder]

I heard Paul Weller do an awesome cover of it on the radio once, but can't seem to find a recording of it anywhere.

[@aligator9552]

@@charlotex1 Touche. I can't stand Simon's songwriting when he isn't working with Garfunkle though.

[@gummifer]

Love your reactions! Keep em coming!

[@groujo1]

As I heard it, Simon originally wrote this song as "Mrs. Roosevelt", but changed it to suit the character in The Graduate. I think the theme is clearer with its original title: the loss in innocence that the 60s represented.

[@davedem4107]

Amy, Vlad that was fun. Amy, you need to put a pin 📍 in that "goo goo ga joob". And that line, "sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon"...what if he was on the sofa with a sister or two? ( Fabs 150 )

[@tadeorenjel7359]

Great reference!!

[@arthurestrada2682]

Greetings from your fans in New Mexico. I love hearing your prospective on modern music.

[@StannisHarlock]

Joe DiMaggio was the baseball player who married Marylin Monroe.

[@dziga24]

Marilyn Monroe was the actress who married Joe D

[@jamesrawlins735]

Ironically Paul Simon wanted to use Mickey Mantle (his favorite ballplayer) but it didn't quite fit the rhythm of the song so he ended up using DiMaggio, who admittedly never understood why he was named in this song.

[@garryiglesias4074]

@@dziga24 Those are both Americans who married together...

[@disconsolatemoose6637]

"Joltin' Joe"

[@chriscoleman8303]

Not to be mean, but I cannot believe anyone exists who doesn’t know how to pronounce the name Joe DiMaggio.

[@danclark745]

Once again, the great baseball season in its final 20 games shines above the political season. Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon, you should be watching the game, Mrs. Robinson can take a back seat and babble on while Jolting Joe is here to stay and will never go away...what a beautiful and reassuring song and a beautiful recording

[@nicholashylton6857]

For ages, I thought it was a Beetles tune. I love the sly wink and nod Simon and Garfunkel they put into the song.

[@ThistleAndSea]

Fun one, Amy! You should treat yourself to watching The Graduate some evening. I think you will really enjoy it. I think it might have been Dustin Hoffman's first movie? It's a keeper, and this song fits into it just right. Thanks for sharing it!

[@WilliamEricStone]

One of the best song reviews I have ever heard.

[@JoeCoolPilot]

You should listen to “The Only Living Boy In New York” by Simon & Garfunkel. It’s another lesser known classic!

[@gtjacobs]

To me, the Joe DiMaggio bit is bemoaning the loss of heroes, addressing a society that seems to have lost its moral compass, drifting rudderless in the weird existential (and yes, lonely!) waters of the late 1960s. People used to really look up to baseball stars as role models (Black Sox scandal aside), and this wistful chorus symbolizes a putative simpler time, when we all knew we could believe in Eisenhower, apple pie, and Joe DiMaggio.

[@ralph17p]

You have to do "America" next! Or maybe, "Kodachrome". Or one of Paul Simon's solo tracks, like "Late in the evening" or "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes". There are so many to choose though. I love the story-telling which is very much a water-color - they always give a feeling and elements of a story but leave so much room to fit your own interpretation to.

[@peterliljeholmen5703]

Yes please do “America”! And then also do the “America” cover/tribute by First aid kit at the Polar price award ceremony when they sang it to Paul Simon in the audience (when he was in Stockholm to receive the Polar price). They really did an amazing version of the song

[@danielmkubacki]

I love this song!

[@daveman15]

Aside from the amazing lyrics, the instrumentation is just fantastic. Very simple but so creative. Latin percussion, including the "bent" notes on the conga (that's the odd "woo" sound leading into the verses); the use of the hi-hat in the chorus to add drive; and the great variety of guitar riffs, both percussive and bluesy. A masterpiece.

[@KevFrost]

You appear to have shredded the Americans 1960s Bravo!

[@michaelmcaleese5039]

Amy's interpretation of the lyrics is often surprisingly innocent.

[@commentatron]

I'm glad you didn't say ignorant.

[@shortaybrown]

A missionary! Hahaha

[@bleakfandango4397]

Carole King's "Pleasant Valley Sunday" offers an almost parallel vision to this

[@anthonygriffin9275]

Paul Simon has an amazing sense of humor…Check out “You Can Call Me Al”

[@yelljal2764]

Especially the music video!

[@mikelistman5263]

My read (from my youth) is that song sardonically portrays the vacuous state of upper middle class US life of the day and their heroes and saviors.

[@everwhatever]

I'd never noticed coo-coo-ca-choo until you pointed it out! It's a shout out to a Beatles song you haven't heard yet :) also, the movie this song was used in, the Graduate, is about a married woman seducing the neighbors' son who just came back from college. Hollywood in 1967 was increasingly ignoring the Hays code, which was in place for 30 years and prohibited transgressive and sexual content in Hollywood productions. It would be abandoned the next year and the voluntary ratings system introduced instead of it. The Graduate was one of those edgy movies breaking the Code down. I think the song fits the movie so well, even though the plot is not referenced at all, apart from the woman's name being Mrs. Robinson.

[@mikelistman5263]

Great analogy of the falling leaf!

[@mojorider8455]

I always thought the Joe DiMaggio lyric reflected the feeling of the country at the time, what with civil rights struggles and Vietnam military escalation going on: this kind of pessimism. Perhaps not unlike today's environment, tinged with cynicism. And DiMaggio was that yearning for a more innocent time, yearning for some hero, some leader to believe in. Whats' that quote from the Bertolt Brecht play? "Pity the land that has no heroes" and the reply was "No, pity the land that needs one."

[@venisontron]

It's a wonderful little satirical song by itself, but it's super helpful to listen to the song after having seen the movie _The Graduate_, which was released the previous year, and is a coming of age story about a young man who graduates from school and has to bear the expectations of all his family and their rich friends. There is a Mrs. Robinson in the movie who is the other main character, and you will learn who she is and learn more about the context of the song. Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest and most famous baseball players ever (he dated Marilyn Monroe), who had retired maybe 10 or 15 years prior, so the mention of him was a poke at the eternal yearning of people for "better times".

[@MikeMahoney-jo3mn]

Knowing who Joe is and was, I believe helps bring out so much more to this song He was a sports hero to so many and the public exposure with Monroe. Thank you for your comment

[@shortaybrown]

Ya true, you must see the film to understand this song. Such a classic movie.

[@SpaceCattttt]

I've always found this song to be bittersweet, like most of S & G's songs.

[@EdWilson-zj7uf]

"Laugh about it, shout about it, when you've got to choose. Every way you look at it you lose!" Man, does that sound like current events! .

[@anthonygriffin9275]

The song was written with the movie “The Graduate” in mind. It fits the plot of the movie 😉

[@gizmo5925]

Paul Simon has written many light-hearted songs. As a solo artist, he wrote and recorded the following such songs: "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard," "Still Crazy After All These Years," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Call Me Al," "Late in the Evening," and "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War." With Garfunkel, some of their light-hearted songs are "Baby Driver," "59th Street Bridge Song," and "Cecilia."

[@melenatorr]

Joltin' Joe, when he heard the song, was confused, saying something like, "But I'm still right here!" This wonderful discussion shows that the genius of S&G can stretch far beyond or close to the original inspiration for a song. As suggested below, if you watch "The Graduate", that original inspiration will become clear. I've always liked the ironic, lightly wicked harmonies, and the low insinuation of Simon's "Hide it in a hiding place, where no one ever goes./Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes." Secrets, things to hid, most of all "from the kids". These two voices, in all their works together, fit and play about with harmonies and accentuations like no other musical duo I can think of, sometimes close and almost indistinguishable, sometimes capitalizing on Garfunkel's angelic tenor and Simon's deeper, darker grounding. As with the Beatles, I cried when learning they had broken up. 1969-early 1970s was a sad period for that sort of thing.

[@RT450]

Now you must watch the movie "The Graduate".

[@Richard2003]

See Mrs. Robinson in the greatest movie The Graduate

[@marianfoley5821]

This is the first rock song to win record of the year at the 1969 Grammys. It also won a grammy for best vocal performance duo or group. This is from the movie The Graduate.

[@johnny0531]

It's not about door to door evangelists. Mrs. Robinson is checking into a drug / alcohol rehab facility.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself".... "Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home". But in general, I think the song is about the loss of innocence, on many different levels.

[@79BlackRose]

Yeah, she is well wide of the actual meaning.

[@ewohl0895]

How could you have gone your whole life w/o hearing Mrs. Robinson? Lol

[@stephanietichborne7970]

I thought "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" meant that she was in rehabilitation for alcoholism. And the secret that she was hiding, keeping it in the kitchen hidden behind the cupcakes, and hiding it from the kids, was the bottles of alcohol. While sitting on the sofa, going to debates etc. were the things she had to do when all she was thinking about was her next drink. She was a heavy drinker in the film The Graduate with this song.

[@mikeconway9849]

Great reaction and commentary, Amy!

[@moog67]

Off topic: How about some Kate Bush? Maybe "Wuthering Heights", "Babooshka" or "Army Dreamers".

[@TombHermance]

Yes! Please do!! Great Suggestion!

[@wayne_twentyfive]

Excellent choice .. Amy will surely love the individuality of Kate's vocals, music, and lyrics !

[@silgen]

...Get Out Of My House, Cloudbusting, The Sensual World, Moments of Pleasure, This Woman's Work...she's got dozens of great songs worthy of Amy's time.

[@moog67]

@@binxbolling oh, darn. Well, maybe a patron will see this and pass along the suggestion 😉

[@yinoveryang4246]

Wuthering Heights" is a great suggestion. Along with "The man with the child in his eyes" (very likely to have been written about David Gilmour no less!) - these are far and away the two she should turn her attention to. "Babooshka" or "Army Dreamers"? not so sure whether those are quite up there,

[@thundernels]

Scarborough Fair/Canticle

[@josephmilitello647]

"April Come She Will" is another great one they used in the Graduate film.

[@rainerl.4246]

Hello Amy, your often mentioning of trains made Jethro Tull coming to mind. Esp. his probably most known Song "Locomotive Breatth". It might hold some surprises and should be fun to listen to...many trains to hear in it, besides some flute. Just my spontaneous thoughts for the evening. Keep Up your great Reviews of Songs we Love. So many still to be discovered by you and thus newly by us. Greetings and a 😀 from Germany, have a great weekend ahead.

[@bettykemp7122]

I believe she did review Locomotive Breath.

[@rainerl.4246]

You are completely right...already done. Thx for making me aware again.

[@davidperlowski1477]

The Lincoln quote "I laugh because I must not cry" applies to a WHOLE lot of songs of this era.

[@richardprescott6322]

Two older brothers and a younger sister. Older brother - Iron Maiden etc, other brother - Simon and Garfunkel and folk stuff. Little sister was ABBA and Blondie. I loved all of it. Got more into punk for a bit

[@nationaltrails9585]

The Landmark New Hollywood film, The Graduate was released at the end of1967, noted for its adult content, extra-marital affair, sex, nudity, and language and the inclusion of some Simon & Garfunkel songs. The finished album and songs weren't released until mid-1968, if you saw the film, you heard part of the songs, if you hadn't seen the film, you heard the songs on radio and maybe what the film was about. :)

[@Driecnk]

I Am A Rock

[@orcaflotta7867]

Another good one.

[@Peterogen]

❤❤❤

[@thegrayshaws]

You've got to do "Scarborough Fair" or "America" next. :)

[@vetstadiumastroturf5756]

In 1941 Joe DiMaggio captivated the nation when he hit safely in 56 consecutive baseball games, a feat that hasn't been remotely close to being equaled. It was a simpler time. Where has it gone?

[@danclark745]

It hasn't left, this is a great baseball season, and Jolting Joe has simply changed his name.

[@dstonetprs]

If you like their harmonies I recommend Scarborough fair. Beautiful!

[@Liisa3139]

This should be followed by Me and Mrs Jones, sung by Billy Paul in 1972.😉❤ Very animated and fun reaction, by the way.

[@michaelwelsh7362]

It seems to me to center on Mrs. Robinson’s addictions and those social institutions that are designed to help her get past that but realizing at the same time there are many in her situations and what we embrace to deal with life’s issues🎶🎶🎶

[@mrbudlove2]

Your awesome and I love your show I watch it every day. I think you misunderstood this song a bit, no worries enjoy your day..

[@thomassharmer7127]

Paul Simon's lyrics are often informed by a wry humour and a slightly sardonic take on American culture and the human condition in general. You would love his song American Tune which is a heartfelt and poetic reflection on what happened to the American Dream set to a beautiful adaptation of a Bach chorale (O Sacred Head sore wounded)

[@Ki11erAce]

I've always interpreted this as Mrs. Robinson being institutionalized, maybe in some kind of religious convalescent home. "Fill out these forms, get to know the other "guests", feel free to explore the grounds, you're going to be here for a while so you might as well feel at home." Perhaps that is the secret kept from the kids. "Oh, mom's just gone away to visit her sister." or some such.

[@johnnyspaceman1]

Alcohol

[@disconsolatemoose6637]

@@johnnyspaceman1 "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes"

[@BILLYMORGAN1971]

Paul Simon was from NY of course and he worked one of his sports heroes into the song. He was on the Dick Cavett show once when Mickey Mantle(another Yankee)announced to the world he wet the bed until he was 16 which was pretty funny the way he reacted. The Yankees were huge back then and before so naturally working some pop culture into a song makes a song stick out because quite a few people will perk up when they hear the name mentioned. The Graduate would have been controversial at the time though. Paul Simon goes into detail on the Dick Cavett show which is on youtube. It's a little before my time but some people may have been offended by the Jesus line. Back then some songs mentioning Jesus in an unconventional way were banned from radioplay going into the 70's. I do seem to recall some feeling the line was condescending. All matter of interpretation but the way people thought then and now are quite different.

[@edwardkennelly677]

QUEEN: MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN

[@albertoquagliaroli4230]

For this song it's important also to consider the movie ad what happens in it...

[@nicolas.ordialesjuarez]

"Wednesday morning, 3 AM" should be the next!!! ❤❤❤

[@Multi_Purpose_Weirdo]

I always find your analysis interesting and insightful! I agree, this song is a wry comment on the state of society in the late 1960s. One detail I would add to the story, Mrs. Robinson apparently spends some time at a sanitarium ("stroll around the grounds / until you feel at home") presumably because she's so unhappy with her banal middle-class life. Edit: Also please take a look at "Scarborough Fair / Canticle", it's quite a beautiful combination of two old folk ballads.

[@lesgrice4419]

If ever you watch the genius film that is The Graduate you can relate Mrs Robinson here to the one in the song...clue in the movie Mrs Robinson is an alcoholic and the films about the alienation of the 60's generation of their parents, so the sarcasm in the song fits without being 'on the nose'

[@chrisfancher1267]

You need to watch the movie 'The Graduate' to get the full context of this song, which was written as part of the soundtrack of that movie. Anne Bancroft stars as Mrs Robinson, Dustin Hoffman as Ben, and the incredibly beautiful Katharine Ross as Elaine. The movie that epitomizes the 1960s.

[@matthewhight3904]

Your commentary is just a delight. I highly recommend watching and perhaps reacting to The Graduate. It gives a bit more context about Mrs Robinson. My memory of parents' negative opinion of this movie, informs my understanding of the "generation gap" of that time. Although not in the movie, Joe DiMaggio was a much revered figure to the parents' side of the gap, which is perhaps relevant to his mention in the song. While the religious lyrics may be ironic, I always sensed that they also somehow attempted to bridge said gap with love.

[@GetMeThere1]

Have you seen The Graduate? It's certainly well-worth seeing. S&G's music is used to very good effect in the film. Paul Simon has remarked that he particularly likes the use of the song Scarborough Fair in the movie.

[@glenndailey9801]

This was the theme song for the movie The Graduate which was dig on middle america and cheap thin values evident then. Mrs Robinson was a cougar in the movie.

[@waynewhaley3307]

You probably have to watch the movie, the Graduate to fully appreciate. Early acting effort by legendary Dustin Hoffman, written by early Saturday Night Live contributor, Buck Henry.

[@andreac7a]

Great video! I certainly can see why you would be puzzled by the lyrics. I think they have to be taken as a bunch of images that come together in a sort of impressionist painting, if you know what I mean... but I must say the end result is nevertheless a great song! Now about the movie The Graduate... PLEASE WATCH IT! It's a fantastic film... truly a classic. I would certainly love if you could make a review of the film. There seem to be some weird and unclear information about how the film and the song might be related. The film has a main character named Mrs Robinson though, and S & G have worked together with the director of the film. And some part of the lyrics seem to reference the plot of the film, although apparently the film was NOT written for the film. And get this: the song was initially meant to be called "Mrs Roosevelt", but was renamed Mrs. Robinson after a discussion they had with the director of The Graduate! Aren't you intrigued? 😄 Please WATCH THE MOVIE and let us know what you think!

[@yinoveryang4246]

In your Beatles series, you'll maybe discover what 'coo coo ca-choo' is referencing. Like Paul and John, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were highly competitive with each other, but despite that, they had great mutual respect. At least at the start. Their desire to outdo one another, in a positive way, would have definitely contributed to the timeless quality of their best music.

[@JLamont45]

Joe DiMaggio famous baseball player dated Marilyn Monroe during her death. He was called Joltin’ Joe as a nickname. The part comes from Jack Brickhouse, a famous baseball announcer who would say during a home run or a big hit.

[@eduardoserrao7372]

A long time ago I said, about other song, other band: they are not telling a story, they are telling life. Of course in many cases both things are kind of true, it's just another "big empty, vague sratement" But when something like this strikes you in the right way, it decodes life, or some elements of it in unexpected ways.

[@john408smith9]

She kinda nailed it in her first comment. Context, I think this was written as part of the soundtrack for “The Graduate”.

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

This was written and recorded for a film but the story/screenplay for the film itself had not been finished. A similar thing happened with the Bee Gees’ “Saturday Night Fever.”

[@jimclarke1108]

Good old Mrs Robinson cougar😛

[@michaellord9745]

The song Mrs. Robinson takes on more meaning after you have watched the film The Graduate.

[@jamesolsen7610]

Interesting reaction to the song Mrs. Robinson. Paul Simon has shared various insights about the meaning of “Mrs. Robinson” over the years. The song touches on themes of disillusionment and societal expectations. Simon has mentioned that the character of Mrs. Robinson represents a kind of disillusionment with the American Dream and the moral ambiguity of the time. The song also includes references to cultural icons like Joe DiMaggio, which Simon used to evoke a sense of lost heroes and changing times. The line “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” reflects a longing for simpler, more straightforward times, and the loss at the time of traditional cultural heroes.

[@jamesolsen7610]

One of their great songs that you might like to react to is the song 'America'.