Simon & Garfunkel - "Bookends" Album Quiz

Answer: Mrs. Robinson

Possibly because of its prominent feature in the classic movie "The Graduate," "Mrs. Robinson" was a huge hit, and the duo's second number one Billboard Hot 100. When Paul Simon originally penned the song, he called it "Mrs. Roosevelt." For the sake of "The Graduate," he changed the name.

"The Sounds of Silence," too, was a number one hit, but it is not a track in the "Bookends" album.

Answer: Voices of Old People

Art Garfunkel, quite literally, taped sections of the dialogue of old people at various places, including retirement homes in New York and Los Angeles. The collage can be quite amusing at times: "God forgive me," one woman says, "but an old person without money is pathetic."

I included "Scissors Cut" as a tribute to Art himself, as it is one of his single songs.

Answer: dumb

"The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They're dumb"
-"At The Zoo"

This line is particularly funny because elephants are actually very intelligent creatures. Elephant brains are larger than any other land animal's, and they are adept at using tools and having human-like emotions. They even have their own funerals for the dead.

But of course, Paul Simon didn't write that elephants are dumb because he was ignorant about pachyderms; he had a reason. Could he be referencing to a certain group or political leaders? Or was it just for fun?

Answer: 1968

"Bookends" was released April 3rd, 1968, even though the duo began recording it in 1966. It was Simon and Garfunkel's fourth album and it became a number one hit. The album tracks are wonderfully arranged, with songs that seem to tie everything together like actual bookends. Side One of the album is flanked by two different versions of the "Bookends Theme," cleverly encasing the five songs within.

Answer: confidences

"Time it was, and what a time it was, it was...
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories; they're all that's left you"
-"Bookends Theme"

Four lines was all it took for Paul to create an emotional masterpiece. In just these four lines, he describes the longing that many feel for the past; the "good ol' days" and the times that were sweeter but seem so long ago. Memories are all that remain.

Answer: Old Friends

"A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
Of the high shoes
Of the old friends."
-"Old Friends"

"Old friends" - rhymed with "bookends" - creates an incredibly moving pair of lyrics. The songs, even, are linked by a single note that ends "Old Friends" but continues into "Bookends Theme." Between these two songs, Paul Simon concentrates on the theme of memories. Like two bookends that hold so many treasures of literature between them, between two old friends, they hold hundreds treasures of their past.

Answer: False

"Fakin' It" was not written for "The Graduate (1967)," but "Mrs. Robinson" and "Punky's Dilemma" were. Unfortunately, the director of the movie rejected the duo's "Punky's Dilemma" for whatever reason, choosing a more popular set of hits. "The Graduate" soundtrack consists entirely of Simon and Garfunkel songs:
-"The Sounds of Silence"
-"Scarborough Fair/Canticle"
-"April Come She Will"
-"Mrs. Robinson"
-"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine"

Answer: "...if the boy survived"

"And everyone agreed 'twould be a miracle indeed
If the boy survived"
-"Save the Life of My Child"

Paul's main theme for this song is actually very simple: different generations can't understand each other very well. "He must be high on something someone said" tells us that the adults of the world immediately assume that if a boy is doing something outlandish, he must be on drugs. Officer MacDougal is one of the older generation, and says that "The force can't do a decent job 'cause the kids got no respect for the law today," stereotyping the kids of the world. The very end of the song is open to interpretation. When the boy "flew away," did he end his life, or did he show the older generation what he was made of?

Answer: Kellogg's Corn Flakes

"Wish I was a Kellogg's Corn Flake
Sittin' in my bowl, taking movies..."
-"Punky's Dilemma"

The history of Kellogg's Corn Flakes date back to 1894, and they were conceived quite by accident. When some cooked wheat was exposed and unattended for too long, it turned stale. Since Mr. Kellogg was on a strict budget, he had the wheat forced through the rollers nonetheless. What came out, to his surprise, were flakes. Thus, the Corn Flakes were invented, and thus Paul Simon featured the cereal in this humorous song.

Answer: "...that you can build them again"

"That's an easy thing to say,
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend
That you can build them again"
-"A Hazy Shade of Winter"

In a way, this song resembles a father's conversation with his son: "you've seen what's happened with my life, so don't do it with yours!" The prime of his life, "spring," has faded away, and now he's in the "winter" of his life. His son - or whoever he is talking to, simply the listener, perhaps - is living when "the grass is high" and "the fields are ripe." Above all, the narrator is telling them to make the best of their life and maintain hope all the while.

Answer: A tailor

"Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor
I own the tailor's face and hands..."
-"Fakin' It"

Released in 1967, "Fakin' It" seems to tell the story of a man who is trying to be someone else. Whether it be for a girl, for society, or for himself, he is indeed "fakin' it," but gets "tangled in the fallen vines" while he scrambles to assemble a perfect figure within himself. Since the song begins with a verse about a certain "she," it can be deduced that a woman is most likely the reason for this desperate attempt at change.

Answer: The Sounds of Silence

At 1:18 of the song, the notorious "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again" echos through the track. Paul and Art must have decided that their famous first lines of "The Sounds of Silence" deserved a reappearance in "Save the Life of My Child," a song of a (somewhat) similar theme.

The track "The Sounds of Silence" appeared in both Simon and Garfunkel's first and second albums. If you count this one too, that's 3/5!

Answer: Yes

Kathleen Chitty, a girl from England, was Paul Simon's prominent love of his life in the sixties, the time when he wrote songs such as "America" and "Kathy's Song." She was even featured on the cover of Paul Simon's first single album, "The Paul Simon Songbook," which consists of a handful of Simon and Garfunkel songs sung by Paul alone.

In 1963, Ms. Chitty was only 18 when her love of folk music drew her to the Railway Inn Folk Club, where she worked and sold tickets. At the time, Paul was touring English pubs after dropping out of law school. He was intrigued the moment he first laid eyes on her.

It sounds like the perfect start to a love story, but the two never got married. Kathy, timid as she was, did not want a life in the limelight. She still lives in England today and has three children.

Answer: "...rattling the teacups"

"Time
Is tapping on my forehead,
Hanging from my mirror,
Rattling the teacups..."
-"Overs"

Paul Simon said that this song is "about a point in a relationship when two people realize it's over, and yet neither has any place to go from there." It's beautifully poetic yet simply arranged, with a bit of Paul's enchanting guitar paired with the verses.

Paul cleverly manages to use the word "over" two different ways: at the beginning of the song ("the game is over") and at the end ("I stop and think it over"). Little things like this oftentimes go unnoticed to listeners. When these little treasures are discovered, the respect and admiration for songwriters and poets can only increase.

Answer: Bridge Over Troubled Water

The "Bridge Over Troubled Water" album was released at the very beginning of 1970, and was Simon and Garfunkel's final album together. Unfortunately, it triggered their split. Paul Simon was remorseful of the fact that he had to depend on Art to portray the meanings in his songs; Art Garfunkel was remorseful of Paul's remorse.

After "Bridge" was released, the duo recorded "My Little Town," which was released on their own single albums after they broke apart.