Simon & Garfunkel's "A Most Peculiar Man"

From August 11th to the 13th, I listened to Simon & Garfunkel's three-disc Old Friends set (I listened to a disc a day).  Yester-day I was thinking about "A Most Peculiar Man," and I realized something about the melody.  It ascends for the first part of the line "She lived upstairs from him."  The live version on Old Friends is in a different key (D major, although it sounds a bit out-of-tune) from the studio version on Sounds of Silence (Db major), so in the live version, "She lived upstairs" is sung to the phrase E F# G A where it's Eb F Gb Ab in the studio version (those are Paul Simon's parts at least; I think Garfunkel's harmony is a third lower, so C# D E F# in D major and C Db Eb F in Db major).  At first, I assumed that the live version on Old Friends is the same recording from Live from New York City, 1967, but closer listening reveals that they're different recordings, although the Live from New York City, 1967 version is in D major too.  In any case (and in any key), that melody ascends as if to show Mrs. Reardon (the spelling of which I'm guessing on) going up the stairs, while the titular man (the "from him," sung to F notes in Db major or F# notes in D major) remains below.

Simon & Garfunkel's "Richard Cory"

This morning I listened to the first disc of Simon & Garfunkel's Old Friends three-disc set, and (probably because I was working on transcribing it) I noticed a couple things about "Richard Cory," from the Sounds of Silence album.

The contrast between Richard Cory and the singer/speaker is one of the critical points of the lyrics, but I noticed that the contrast is also illustrated in the length of the lines.  Each of the lines in the sections that describe Richard Cory is at least fourteen syllables, but the lines that describe the narrator are all under ten syllables each.

I also noticed that there's a contrast in the vocabulary.  The sections that describe Richard Cory have hardly any repetition.  Really, there's only "Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show," and that doesn't illustrate a scarcity; instead it portrays Richard Cory as someone who - because he's wealthy - can attend various spectacles of entertainment.  The sections that describe the narrator have a paucity of words.  Nearly all of the lines start with "But I," "And I," or "Oh, I."  Cursing is repeated in sequential lines:  "And I curse the life I'm livin' / And I curse my poverty," and wishing in three more:  "And I wish that I could be / Oh, I wish that I could be / Oh, I wish that I could be."  While this repetition demonstrates the caliber of the singer/speaker's dissatisfaction with his lot and the earnestness of his wishing that he could be like Richard Cory, it also shows that he's limited in what he has and what he can acquire because he's merely a worker in Richard Cory's factory.

I feel it's worth mentioning that while this song is based on Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem "Richard Cory," Robinson's poem doesn't have these features.  In the poem, each line is ten syllables, and there aren't distinct sections focusing on either Richard Cory or the speaker.

The Everly Brothers' "Roving Gambler"

I’m listening to a compilation album of the Everly Brothers titled Bye Bye Love.  (I actually have two compilation albums of the Everly Brothers titled Bye Bye Love.)  In any case, this album includes their version of “Roving Gambler.”  The other musical group I associate with “Roving Gambler” is Simon & Garfunkel.  It’s a bonus track on their Sounds of Silence album.

I’d always attributed Paul Simon’s interest in English folk music to his having been in England.  But I think the Everly Brothers may have had something to do with it too.  Simon & Garfunkel were greatly influenced by them (they even included “Bye Bye Love” on Bridge over Troubled Water), and since the Everly Brothers’ repertoire includes some other folk songs, it’s possible that that is what affected Paul Simon (or was at least a partial cause for his interest).  For instance, both also recorded versions of “Barbara Allen,” although the Simon & Garfunkel version (also found in the bonus tracks on Sounds of Silence) is titled “Barbriallen.”

Bob Dylan's "North Country Blues"

Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Andy Gill about Bob Dylan’s songs from 1962 to 1969, so after I read about a particular album, I listen to it.  Gill mentions that some of the melodies that Dylan uses are from older folk songs.  For example, he says that “Girl from the North Country” and “Boots of Spanish Leather” bear some melodic resemblance to “Scarborough Fair.”

I’m in the midst of listening to The Times They Are A-Changin’, and I realized that the melody of “North Country Blues” is similar to the melody of the folk song “Barbara Allen.”

Gill also mentions that an-other musician who was inspired by folk songs - and “Scarborough Fair” in particular - is Paul Simon.  One of the bonus tracks for the Sounds of Silence album is “Barbriallen” - a variation of “Barbara Allen.”  So it seems that “Barbara Allen” was as important as “Scarborough Fair.”