Paul Simon: 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
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When I saw this theme coming I asked myself, "What are the ultimate big-mammas of all advice songs?" The first song that came to my mind was Hey Jude. Is there a more popular and well known advice song in existence? I think not. However, I don't want to post it because it is so well known that there is probably not a single reader within the sound of my keyboard who doesn't own a copy of this tune (unless they don't want one). The second song that came to mind was Jim Croce's You Don't Mess Around With Jim. Cool song, but already ably featured by Dean. The third song that came to mind was the Paul Simon classic, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. If familiarity is your rubric, then those three songs together may very well constitute the ultimate triumvirate of advice songs.
I don't love this song for the oft-sung chorus. What's great about it is the verses. The sophistication of the chord progression, the drum line, the conversational lyrics, and the melody (which is the signature highlight of most Paul Simon compositions). The chorus is OK too, but I think of it as something that bridges the gap between the much more wonderful verses.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Advice: 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
Posted by bwrice at 11:20 PM
Labels: advice, Paul Simon
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3 comments:
This one has to have the most advice per minute of any song!
Paul Simon is THE best! I'm so glad somebody's featured him :oD
If there MUST be fifty ways to leave your lover, then why does Paul Simon only manage to come up with a half dozen or so? Not like him to come up so short...
Total tangent: I was once on an airplane whose parent airline went bankrupt while it was still on the runway -- the giddy air hostesses, realizing that this was their last day of employment, decided it was the only chance they'd ever have to break out the parody version of the standard safety lecture. Best line ever: There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only five way to leave this airplane...
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