New documentary about Paul Simon charts the magic of his music, his life and his Jewishness
The New York Jew has lost most of his hearing but continues to make music
If there were any doubts whatsoever about Paul Simon’s ethnicity, they are dispelled early on in Alex Gibney’s new documentary about the iconic singer-songwriter.
Attempting to pick through the rubble of his acrimonious split with Art (Arthur) Garfunkel and all the attendant feelings of bitterness, the octogenarian Simon explains the “Freudian nightmare” of his mother’s judgement: “You have a good voice, Paul, but Arthur has a fine voice.” With a mum like that, how could he be anything other than Jewish?
The documentary, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, is a three-and-a-half-hour portrait of the artist as an old man that fluctuates between depicting him at work on his 2023 album Seven Psalms while coping with hearing loss and a chronological history of perhaps the most significant American songwriter in the history of popular music.
Simon is touched by magic. The hearing issues make comparisons with Beethoven seem almost too obvious but it feels undeniable that this is an artist of genuine genius whose music will be enjoyed for as long as there are people and they have ears. Songs like Mrs. Robinson, The Sound of Silence, Cecilia, The Boxer, Bridge Over Troubled Water, You Can Call Me Al, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and countless others are canonical standards passed down between generations. He is a modern Mozart and Salieri would have been equally baffled by the fact that God chooses to speak through this tiny Jew.
The Jewish aspects of Simon’s story are both implicit and explicit. He originally went to law school, obviously, but, less predictably, dropped out after one semester to pursue a career in music alongside his best friend from school. They originally performed as Tom & Jerry, a name that neatly foreshadows the fractious nature of their relationship in the years that followed. Columbia Records decided the duo should record as Simon & Garfunkel and the songwriter believes this was the first time artists’ surnames had been used in pop music without their first names. These particular names are significant since they are as overtly Jewish as Garfunkel’s trailblazing Jewfro.
Simon’s preternatural gift for lyrics and melody was evident from the outset and it is understandable that we might try to use biographical details to make sense of songs that seem to come from another plane. The subject of the film agreed with the analysis of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen when he described Simon’s childhood:
“A certain kind of New York Jew, almost a stereotype really, to whom music and baseball are very important. I think it has to do with the parents. The parents are either immigrants or first-generation Americans who felt like outsiders, and assimilation was the key thought – they gravitated to black music and baseball, looking for an alternative culture.”
These two nerdy Jews certainly found an alternative culture but there is a certain sadness in hearing them speak now, in their 80s, still not quite able to let go of the resentments of half a century back. The focus though, as suggested by the title, is on the music, and that is what will last. The fighting with Garfunkel, the marriage to Carrie Fisher, the Graceland controversy – it is all immaterial and will fade away, the context irrelevant a century from now. What will survive is the songs.
Perhaps because of the standard of the melodies and singing, Simon is an underrated lyricist whose imagery ranges from restless dreams to national guitars. To pick just one example to illustrate the point when dozens of lines instantly spring to mind is a fool’s errand but this section of Slip Sliding Away is not exactly Sugar, Sugar:
“I know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses to describe her life
She said, ‘A good day
Ain’t got no rain’
She said, ‘A bad day’s when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been’.”
That’s setting aside the beauty of the music and the fact that this was a new song included on a greatest hits compilation, traditionally a dumping ground for songs not quite good enough for a proper studio album. One senses he couldn’t write a bad song if he tried.
Whether collaborating with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live or a small child on Sesame Street, there is something simultaneously joyous and plaintive about Simon in full flow, perhaps a byproduct of those vulnerable vocals that seem to belie the quality of the songwriting. His love of world music led to the double whammy of Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints, the latter an underrated gem inspired by Brazilian sounds. It seems hard to believe these were the artist’s seventh and eighth solo records, made while he was in his mid to late 40s. Gibney does not focus on the albums released between 1990 and 2023 but each contains moments of beauty most young songwriters could only dream of producing. Simon is certainly not lazy after all these years.
On the day of the 2018 World Cup Final, I went with friends to see the Farewell Tour when it rocked up at Hyde Park. On a glorious night in London, this living legend delved into his own personal Great American Songbook and played the hits. Late in the evening, to borrow a phrase from one of his songs, he began the second encore with Homeward Bound just as an aeroplane flew past overhead. It was a perfect moment that seemed almost preordained by a higher power. In other words, it was pure Paul Simon.
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon is on digital platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ from 28 October
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
