“A Poem on the Underground Wall” (demo) by Paul Simon [1966]
An Exploration of Music and Poetry, Day 13: What Constitutes a poem?
Art Garfunkel’s harmonies added color and depth to nearly every song Paul Simon wrote in the mid and late 1960s. One of the few where Garfunkel’s presence actually detracted from Simon’s storytelling was “A Poem on the Underground Wall” from the duo’s 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Compare the master take to Simon’s demo above. In the demo, Simon’s solo voice focusses the song sharply on the solitary nature of the character’s actions.
Related to the theme, not only are the lyrics overtly poetic (Simon was almost trying too hard with this one), but they pose a serious question for us: Can a single four-letter graffito be considered a poem?
Your thoughts?
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marimbeast answered:
Four letter words aren’t a poem. One word does not a poem make. It doesn’t tell a story, and the thought is too primitive to be artistic.
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