Sweet and Sassy Simon & Garfunkel Songs Quiz

Answer: Simon Says

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met when they were in grade school at the age of 11. They started singing together at 12. "Simon Says" was released in 1959, when the boys were only 18, and it was on their first album called "Tom & Jerry". Interestingly enough, the duo originally went by the name "Tom & Jerry" before deciding to use their real last names professionally.

Though this song is not at all well known, the lyrics are fun. If you try, you can almost imagine Simon & Garfunkel playing "Simon Says" at school when they were kids.

"Miscellaneous
Simon Says
I'd like to play a game,
That is so much fun,
And it's not so very hard to do,
The name of the game is Simple Simon says,
And I would like for you to play it too,
Put your hands in the air,
Simple Simon says,
Shake them all about,
Simple Simon says,
Do it when Simon says,
Simple Simon says,
And you will never be out.
Simple Simon says,
Put your hands on your head,
Let your back bone stretch,
Simon says,
Simple Simon says,
Put your hands on your head,
Let your back bone stiff,
Simon says,
Put your hands on your head,
Simple Simon says,
Bring them down by your side,
Simple Simon says,
Shake them to your left,
Simple Simon Says,
Now shake them to your right,
Put your hands on your head,
Simple Simon says,
Bring them down by your side,
Simple Simon says,
Shake them to your left,
Simple Simon Says,
Now shake them to your right,
Now that you have learnt,
To play this game with me,
You can see its not so hard to do,
Lets try it once again,
This time more carefully,
And I hope the winner will be you.
Clap your hands in the air,
Simple Simon says,
Do it double time,
Simple Simon says,
Slow it down like before,
Simple Simon says,
Ah, your looking fine.
Simple Simon says,
Now clap them high in the air,
Simple Simon says,
Do it double time,
Simple Simon says,
Slow it down like before,
Simple Simon says,
Ah, you're looking fine.

Miscellaneous
Simon Says"

Answer: Schoolgirl

It's easy to see why this song was popular, because the lyrics are carefree and playful. The boys may not have gotten the date with this particular schoolgirl, but I'm sure they did with others! This song also came out in 1959 on S&G's first album, "Tom & Jerry".

"Hey, Schoolgirl in the second row,
The teacher's lookin' over,
So I got to whisper way down low,
To say, 'Who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, let's meet
After school at three.'

She said, 'Hey, babe, but there is one thing more
My school is over at half past four.
Maybe when we're older then we can date,
Oh - oh, let's wait!'

Hey, Schoolgirl in the second row,
The teacher's lookin' over,
So I got to whisper way down low,
To say, 'Who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, let's meet
After school at three.'"

Answer: True or False

This song is one that Paul Simon recorded on his own before recording it on the "Tom & Jerry" album with Art Garfunkel. It is another teenaged love song.

"You like to call me on the telephone, baby.
Please answer 'true' or 'false.'
You like to tell me that's when we're alone, baby.
Please answer 'true' or 'false.'

And when we're at a party,
And I spot no-one else,
And a friend would take you home tonight,
My heart just melts.
Would it be so sad if I just go away, baby?
Please answer 'true' or 'false.'

You can't wait until we set the day, baby.
Please answer 'true' or 'false.'
Well, I'm a-checking on your answers,
So I can plan to see,
If my baby's still in love with me.

Uh-huh! Uh-huh!"

Answer: Brother

All of the duo's songs were written by Paul Simon. He wrote this one under a pseudonym, Paul Kane. It was written in memory of Andrew Goodman, Simon's college friend. He was a civil-rights worker who was killed in 1964 by the Ku Klux Klan. This song came out on Simon & Garfunkel's acoustic album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" in 1964.

"He was my brother,
Five years older than I.
He was my brother,
Twenty-three years old the day he died.
Freedom writer,
They cursed my brother to his face.
Go home outsider,
This town's gonna be your buryin' place.
He was singin' on his knees,
An angry mob trailed along,
They shot my brother dead,
Because he hated what was wrong.
He was my brother,
Tears can't bring him back to me.
He was my brother,
And he died so his brothers could be free.
He died so his brothers could be free."

Answer: Sparrow

This is a beautiful and heart-breaking song that is a great showcase for Simon & Garfunkel's harmonies. The sparrow finally finds peace in the earth once she dies. It was released on "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM".

"Who will love a little Sparrow?
Who's traveled far and cries for rest?
'Not I,' said the Oak Tree,
'I won't share my branches with
No sparrow's nest,
And my blanket of leaves won't warm
Her cold breast.'

Who will love a little Sparrow
And who will speak a kindly word?
'Not I,' said the Swan,
'The entire idea is utterly absurd,
I'd be laughed at and scorned if the
Other Swans heard.'

Who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving sparrow?
'Not I,' said the Golden Wheat,
'I would if I could but I cannot I know,
I need all my grain to prosper and grow.'

Who will love a little Sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
'I will,' said the Earth,
'For all I've created returns unto me,
From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be.'

Answer: Green

Simon & Garfunkel had already reached success in 1966 when the album with this song on it came out. Believe it or not, their relationship was already troubled. They had broken up once already in 1964 after releasing "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" (an acoustic album). The success of "Sounds of Silence" kept them together for a while longer, but their collaboration was not meant to last forever. Perhaps that is why this song sounds as if they were entering the autumn of their career together.

"I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song.
I'm twenty-two now but I won't be for long
Time hurries on.
And the leaves that are green turn to brown,
And they wither with the wind,
And they crumble in your hand.

Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl.
I held her close, but she faded in the night
Like a poem I meant to write.
And the leaves that are green turn to brown,
And they wither with the wind,
And they crumble in your hand.

I threw a pebble in a brook
And watched the ripples run away
And they never made a sound.
And the leaves that are green turned to brown,
And they wither with the wind,
And they crumble in your hand.

Hello, Hello, Hello, Good-bye,
Good-bye, Good-bye, Good-bye,
That's all there is.
And the leaves that are green turned to brown,
And they wither with the wind,
And they crumble in your hand."

Answer: Groundhog

This song was originally slated to be on "Bookends", another successful album for Simon & Garfunkel, but it ended up not being released. By the time the pair made "Bookends", their patience with each other was wearing thin. Garfunkel felt his creativity was being squashed and he started to pursue an acting career. Simon continued to write music for himself as well as for the duo. This tune is a playful one that makes a joke about being depressed and down, which seemed to make light of the growing cracks in the group's armor.

"I'm a groundhog lookin for a hole.
I'm a dog who's gone astray.
I get the blues all morning,
And morning's my best time of the day.
Stanley Dancer's got my money,
For a horse that would not win.
For a poor boy from an orphan's home,
Who's lived his life in sin.
Oh could my lifeline touch my loyalties,
Open your heart and let me stay.
I get the blues all morning,
And morning's my best time of the day.
Morning is my best time of the day.
Morning is my best time of the day.
I'm a groundhog lookin for a hole.
I'm a dog who's gone astray.
I get the blues all morning,
And morning's my best time of the day."

Answer: Customer Satisfied

The huge success of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" probably kept Simon & Garfunkel together for a while longer. This song has a happy rhythm and beat, but its words are mournful and sad. The duos harmonies were flawless on this song, and it kept their trademark sound intact.

"Gee, but it's great to be back home.
Home is where I want to be.
I've been on the road so long my friend,
And if you came along,
I know you couldn't disagree.

It's the same old story,
Everywhere I go.
I get slandered, libeled,
I hear words I never heard in the Bible.
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine,
Two steps away from the county line,
Just trying to keep my customer satisfied,
Satisfied.

Deputy Sheriff said to me.
'Tell me what you come here for, boy.
You better get your bags and flee.
You're in trouble, boy.
And you're heading into more.'

It's the same old story,
Everywhere I go.
I get slandered, libeled,
I hear words I never heard in the Bible.
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine,
Two steps away from the county line,
Just trying to keep my customer satisfied,
Satisfied."

Answer: You Write Me

This song seems to evoke the original love songs that the duo used to sing when they were first starting out. The syncopation and rhthym is more sophisticated, but the song could have been sung by a lovesick boy to his girl.

"Why don't you write me?
I'm out in the jungle,
I'm hungry to hear you.

Send me a card,
I am waiting so hard
To be near you.

La la la!
Why don't you write?

Something is wrong
And I know I got to be there.
Maybe I'm lost,
But I can't make the cost
Of the airfare.

Tell me why (Why, why)
Tell me why (Why, why)

Why don't you write me?
A letter would brighten
My loneliest evening.

Mail it today,
If it's only to say
That you're leaving me.

Monday morning, sitting in the sun,
Hoping and wishing for the mail to come.
Tuesday, never got a word.
Wednesday, Thursday, ain't no sign.
Drank a half a bottle of iodine.
Friday, woe is me,
Gonna hang my body from the highest tree.
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?
Why don't you write me?"

Answer: Town

"My Little Town" was originally released on Simon's solo album "Still Crazy After All These Years" and on Garfunkel's solo album "Breakaway". The duo sometimes sang it as "Our Little Town" in live performances, but their time together was drawing to a close. Simon & Garfunkel had planned to issue another studio album in the 1980s after the success of "My Little Town", but it never came to be due to the creative differences that the two could no longer overcome. Though Simon & Garfunkel would tour together a few more times in their lives, they did not release any more albums of original material in their sweet harmonies.

"In my little town, I grew up believing,
God keeps his eye on us all.
And He used to lean upon me,
Aas I pledged allegiance to the wall.
Lord, I recall, in my little town.
Comin' home after school,
Flyin' my bike past the gates of the factories.
My mom doin' the laundry,
Hangin' out shirts in the dirty breeze.
And after it rains
There's a rainbow
And all of the colors are black.
It's not that the colors aren't there,
It's just imagination they lack.
Everything's the same
Back in my little town,
My little town,
My little town.

Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town.
Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town.

In my little town,
I never meant nothin'.
I was just my father's son.
Savin' my money,
Dreamin' of glory,
Twitchin' like a finger
On the trigger of a gun.

Leavin' nothin' but the dead and dying back in my little town.
Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town.
Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town.
Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town.
Nothin' but the dead and dyin' back in my little town."