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"
The Only Living Boy in New York" is a song written by
Paul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter. He entered the public consciousness in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with longtime artistic partner Art Garfunkel. Simon solely wrote most of duo's songs, including such memorable songs as "The Sound of Silence", "The Boxer",...
and performed by
Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter duo consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group "Tom and Jerry" in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single...
. It is the eighth track from the
American popAmerican pop is a vague and nebulous term, applied generally to whatever form of music is most popular among mainstream American teenage audiences. Adolescents are an especially important audience, both because of their relatively large amount of discretionary spending, and their fervent devotion...
duo's fifth and final studio album,
Bridge Over Troubled WaterBridge Over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel. Released on January 26, 1970, it reached No. 1 on Billboard Music Charts pop albums list. It won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as for Best Engineered Recording, while its title track won the Grammy...
. The song was also issued as the B-Side to the duo's "
Cecilia"Cecilia" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for their 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. When released as a single, it reached #4 in the US charts...
" single.
Background
Simon wrote this as a thinly-veiled message to
Art GarfunkelArthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel.-Early life and career:...
, referring to a specific incident where Garfunkel went to
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to act in the film
Catch-22Catch-22 is a 1970 war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical novel, the film was mired in production problems and artistic issues that led to its commercial failure.Although a talented...
. Simon was left alone in New York writing songs for
Bridge over Troubled Water, hence the lonely feelings of "The Only Living Boy In New York." Simon refers to Garfunkel in the song as Tom, referring to their early days when they were called Tom and Jerry, and encourages him to "
let your honesty shine...like it shines on me".
The background vocals feature both Garfunkel and Simon recorded together in an echo chamber, multi-tracked around eight times.
Personnel
- Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter. He entered the public consciousness in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with longtime artistic partner Art Garfunkel. Simon solely wrote most of duo's songs, including such memorable songs as "The Sound of Silence", "The Boxer",...
— lead vocals, background vocals, guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
- Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel.-Early life and career:...
— backup and harmony vocals
- Joe Osborn
Joe Osborn is an American bass guitar virtuoso, notable for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s...
— bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
- Larry Knechtel
Lawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s band,...
— organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
- Fred Carter, Jr.
Fred Carter, Jr. is a guitarist, singer, producer and composer. Beginning his professional career in the 1950s, the record charts are replete with his fingerprints across a number of genres...
— guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
- Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters and the Beach Boys...
— drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
Covers
- The reggae hit "Weather Report", by The Tennors
The Tennors were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal group in the 1960s and '70s. Among the band's hits was "Ride Yu Donkey" in 1968. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film Broken Flowers.-History:...
, was adapted from this song.
- The 1990s British indie band Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine parodied the title of the song for their biggest-selling single, "The Only Living Boy In New Cross". New Cross
New Cross is a place and an electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham, 4 miles south east of Charing Cross. It is covered by London postal district SE14...
is an area of south-east London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
- A cover of the song was played by Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl is a two-person English band formed in Hull during 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt .Watt and Thorn are also a couple; they are very private about their relationship and personal life...
on their album Home MoviesHome Movies is an album by Everything but the Girl, released in 1993. It is a compilation album.-Track listing:# "Each and Every One"# "Another Bridge"# "Fascination"# "Native Land"# "Come On Home"# "Cross My Heart"# "Apron Strings"...
.
- This song was covered by The Coolies on their 1986 album Dig.
- Black 47
Based in New York City, Black 47 is a Celtic rock band made up of Irish expatriates, formed in the Bronx by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne in 1989. Their name is derived from 1847, the worst year of the Great Irish Famine.-History:...
frontman Larry KirwanLarry Kirwan is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the New York based Irish rock band, Black 47....
covered the song on his 2001 solo project "Kilroy Was Here".
Use in film
- Everything But the Girl
Everything but the Girl is a two-person English band formed in Hull during 1982, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt .Watt and Thorn are also a couple; they are very private about their relationship and personal life...
's cover was featured in the 2002 film TadpoleTadpole is a 2002 comedy film, directed by Gary Winick. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Bebe Neuwirth, Aaron Stanford, John Ritter, Robert Iler, and Kate Mara.- Plot :...
.
- This song is featured as part of the soundtrack for the 2004 film Garden State
Garden State is a film written, directed by, and starring, Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and co-starring Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...
during a pivotal point in the movie.