Bright Eyes, Big City

In preparation for our second assignment, to write about an artist/artistic movement from NYC, I've been thinking about songs that attempt to capture the city. Though they don't have the same cultish following as some of their contemporaries, leading some to wonder if they will be remembered, I'm a pretty big fan of Simon and Garfunkel. Quite a few of their songs claim New York as a backdrop and contain snippets of the city.

Jim Fusilli argues that when Paul Simon "writes at street level, there can be a sense that he's revealing research rather than experience." Though his words may sound carefully crafted and hyper-literary, I find that the elements of "street" life in his songs are so basic as to not possibly require any research.  Take, for example, this verse from "Bleecker Street":

I heard a church bell softly chime
In a melody sustainin'
It's a long road to Caanan
On Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street

Ok, sure, most of us don't think about Caanan while traversing Bleecker Street, but I consider church bells to be a standard part of my life in New York (this was particularly true when I lived across from Grace Church last year.)

When I find myself having to pack sweaters, umbrellas and shorts when leaving my dorm, I find myself thinking about this line from "The Only Living Boy in New York": " I can gather all the news I need on the weather report."

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" could have been dedicated to Anthony, and all the other New Yorkers who are in a hurry to go relax:

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.  

A nervous newcomer to the Northeast, this is my winter mantra:

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone
Going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Bleeding me, going home                    ("The Boxer")

But of course I know "April Come She Will."