Music Blog, Seventies

Smooth Saturday Sounds: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

“Bridge Over Trouble Water“
Written by: Paul Simon
Recorded:  January 1970
Producer(s): Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee 
Engineer: Roy Halee

Released: January 26, 1970

Available on:
Bridge Over Trouble Water

Personnel:
Paul Simon – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion
Art Garfunkel – lead vocals, percussion
Los Incas – Peruvian instruments
Joe Osborn – bass guitar
Larry Knechtel – piano
Fred Carter Jr. – guitar
Pete Drake – Dobro, pedal steel guitar
Hal Blaine – drums
Jimmie Haskell & Ernie Freeman – strings
Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, Lew Soloff & Alan Rubin – brass

Paul Simon said he wrote “Bridge Over Trouble Water” very quickly, so much so that he later asked himself: “Where did that come from? It doesn’t seem like me.”

Simon wrote it as “a little hymn“, a song about providing comfort to a person in need. Garfunkel and producer Roy Halee thought it was more epic than a little hymn and convinced Simon to write a third verse. When done, Paul Simon thought it was too long, too slow and too orchestral to be a hit single.

However, Clive Davis at Columbia Records disagreed; he identified the commercial appeal of the song and it was included on the 1970 album of the same name – their fifth and final LP.

Paul Simon told his partner Art Garfunkel that he’d like him to sing the song alone, the “white choirboy way“. At first, Garfunkel felt the song was not right for him, as he liked Simon’s falsetto on the demo version, and suggested that Simon sing instead. At the suggestion of Garfunkel and Roy Halee, Simon wrote an extra verse and a “bigger” ending, adding harmony in the final verse.

Ultimately, Paul Simon became jealous of the reaction from audiences and the attention Art Garfunkel was getting every time they performed the song and thought how the song really should have been his. Well, Paul’s the one who made the suggestion; now he was regretting it. These feelings of jealousy and animosity would contribute strongly to their eventual split. So much for the peaceful little hymn.

In the US, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1970, and stayed there for six weeks. It was the biggest single of the year. It also reached #1 in the UK in 1970. It was certified gold for selling over one million copies in the US and more than six million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles ever.

Here is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Trouble Water”.

Lyrics

When you’re weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I’ll dry them all
I’m on your side
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul Simon
Bridge Over Troubled Water lyrics © Sony/ATV Songs LLC

I hope you enjoyed today’s little slice of heaven. May your Saturday be smooth sailing!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

24 thoughts on “Smooth Saturday Sounds: Bridge Over Troubled Water”

    1. I never thought of this as a dance number; sitting around with friends contemplating the wonders of the universe and the meaning of life, yes. We did a lot of deep thinking back then. 😎

      8th grade, you say? I graduated high school the year before.

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  3. wow, fascinating back story I never knew, Nancy.
    Love how he didn’t know where they came from!
    This is too bad…
    “These feelings of jealousy and animosity would contribute strongly to their eventual split. So much for the peaceful little hymn.
    Great song💓

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    1. One of the best ever!

      We didn’t believe it when it happened with the Beatles, either. So much talent, giant egos, resentment …. a breakdown of communication …. and it’s over. We see it in business, friendships and marriages and it’s never good.

      They are no longer together but their music is still with us.

      Thank you, Cindy.

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  5. Such childish behaviour. I mean c’mon Paul. You wrote the song, you insisted Art sing it, he protested, you pushed and now you’re jealous?

    That said, it such a beautiful song and I can’t imagine it without Art at the main mic. And their harmony at the end… swooooon!

    Happy Smooth Saturday.

    Back to my son’s birthday cake. Got a sword and a special ring to make… Da hell do I do to myself? And why is a 26-year-old asking for a Elden Ring Cake? And why, even though he said, just joking, am I attempting it?

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    1. Haha!! Only you can answer that last question, my friend! 😂

      I like the term you used ….. childish behavior. I know children who behave better than that! Jealousy is nasty business and nothing good ever comes from it. I’m sure this was the last of many straws for them, just like bigger and better groups before them. Too many cracks in the foundation.

      Good luck with your son’s cake and happy birthday to him; you’re a good mom. 🥳

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  6. Very odd that this great song would be the straw that broke the camel’s back and end their partnership. I read that Garfunkel was more interested in being an actor than having a singing career and I always thought that was why they split up.

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    1. Art was filming Catch 22 at the time and everyone at the recording studio, including Paul Simon, was most accommodating, giving him as much time and space as was needed for the movie.

      There’s always more to the story, Jim. Still waters and all that.

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  7. One of my favorite songs! So beautiful, and it brings back memories. I remember going to the old Crystal Restaurant in Keene, N.H., one of our hangouts in high school. They had the little juke boxes on the table, and my girlfriend played this song over and over again and the manager came over and he gave us some quarters if we promised to play something else!

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    1. Your last line made me lol, D!

      There’s an old diner here in my town with little juke boxes on the tables. I love when people stop by for the first time and literally go nuts at seeing them. They turn into kids!

      Those little jukes hold more than music; they are the keepers of my most treasured memories.

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