Paul Simon Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio was a baseball player who played for the New York Yankees in the major leagues for all his thirteen year career. From 1954 to 1955 he was married to Marilyn Monroe. Mrs. Robinson was a character in the film 'The Graduate' and was played by Anne Bancroft. Paul Simon, a lifelong Yankees fan told Fran Healy for MSG's "The Game 365" that Joe DiMaggio asked him what he meant by 'Where did you go Joe DiMaggio?' because he had not gone anywhere. Paul said that his meaning was where are all the great heroes like Joe now? Joe was flattered by the explanation and they shook hands.

Answer: Cancer

Originally this song was a flop and led to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel breaking up as a group. Paul went to England and Art returned to his studies. In the spring of 1965 it began to get airplay and Tom Wilson the producer of the recording remixed it dubbing in electrical instruments. Paul and Art were not told about this until after its release in September 1965.

Answer: 50

Paul wrote this song 'Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover' shortly after the break up of his marriage to Peggy Harper. In an article in the Independent by Robert Webb published on Friday 24 June 2011 it says that a positive thing that came from the breakdown was the fact that Paul got to spend more time with his son Harper.

It was whilst he was reading a rhyming book with the three year old that he got the inspiration for the lyrics for the chorus i.e. 'Slip out the back Jack, make a new plan Stan' etc. 'Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover' was one of Paul's most popular singles and the backing was sung by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, and Phoebe Snow.

Answer: Betty

Paul has said that the first line of the song "You Can Call Me Al' which is 'A man walks down the street' was inspired by all the bad jokes that began with 'A man walks into a bar'. There are many theories about the meaning of this song, none have been substantiated. One theory is that it is about a depressed and introspective man, another is that it is about a person who has been plunged into an alien culture.

There is another theory that it is about alcoholism i.e. Al for alcohol and the Betty a reference to Betty Ford Clinic.

There have even been suggestions of it being a reworking of Dante's Inferno. Perhaps it means what strikes a chord with the listener.

Answer: Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

This is an eighteenth century English folk song of which there are many versions. It is about a young man sending a message to his ex-lover asking her to do some impossible tasks, and says that he will love her when she has. In other words there is no way that she can regain his love.

Answer: A Spy

This song is about two young lovers travelling across the States. In 1964, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M" producer Tom Wilson explained he had recalled Simon to the States from England to record their debut album. When he landed in the States he took his girlfriend Kathy Chitty on a Greyhound Bus Trip across the States instead The couple were amusing themselves at the Pittsburgh greyhound station by making up stories about the other people on the bus, and Kathy said that the man in the gaberdine suit was a spy. Paul answered 'Be careful his bow tie is really a camera!'.

Answer: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Paul wrote 'Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes' to sing with the Ladysmith Black Mambazo band. This band is a group of South African singers who harmonise in their local way. They first became famous after helping Paul Simon on his Album 'Graceland', and have been considered to be ambassadors of the South African culture.

They won many awards and dedicated their fifth Grammy to Nelson Mandela.

Answer: Widnes Station

It is widely believed that Paul wrote 'Homeward Bound' while waiting at Widnes Station for a train home to his girlfriend, and there is a plaque there saying so. However, as detailed in the article by Helen Carter in the Guardian on Wed 25 Apr 2001, his friend Geoff Speed, who put him up in Liverpool while he was doing a gig there, said that he heard Paul working on the song at his home just before they drove him to Widnes Station. Geoff thought that he probably wrote some of it at Liverpool, some at Wigan and finished it at Widnes.

However the article goes on to say that, Stephen Wainwright, who is a lecturer at Warrington Collegiate Institute, said that the erection of the plaque was the result of extensive research by four of his students.

It appears therefore that there is still some controversy about where the song was written, but as it is certain that at least some of it was written at Widnes Station it seems that the plaque is in the appropriate place.

Answer: True

According to William Domain's book (Classic Rock) November 05, 2016, originally Art felt that Paul, as the writer, should sing the song, but Paul insisted that he had written it for Art. However Paul came to regret his decision as when it received such heartfelt applause, he felt that it was all directed at Art and the pianist Larry Knechtel.

He wanted recognition that it was his song. He had not minded this type of thing earlier in their partnership but things were quite strained between them at that time, and this contributed to their break up, The song went to number one in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed in the chart for twenty weeks.

Answer: Tom

This song was written while Art Garfunkel was in Mexico filming 'Catch 22'. "The Graduate" was directed by Mike Nichols, who had given the duo a huge boost when he chose their music for his 1967 movie 'The Graduate' which was a great box office success. Paul missed Art as was natural since they had been close friends since the age of eleven.