Old friends, old friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes of the high shoes of the old friends
Old friends, winter companions, the old men
Lost in their overcoats, waiting for the sun
The sounds of the city sifting through the trees
Settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends
Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly
How terribly strange to be seventy
Old friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fears
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
~ Paul Simon (for Simon & Garfunkel)
Paul Simon's birthday was actually yesterday, October 13, but I'm writing this post a day ahead, so it is still his birthday while I am writing it! He is 76, so I guess he is way past knowing how terribly strange it is to be seventy. The video linked above is from a Lorne Michaels TV special in 1977, when Paul and Art were only 36. Stranger still is the reality that Paul Simon was only 24 when he wrote this heartbreaking song about aging and mortality. It appears on their 4th studio album, 1968's Bookends.
Yesterday morning, I went to the local library's semi-annual book sale, and as usual, ran into an acquaintance who is a couple of years older than I, a classmate of my sister. Several of the friends from that Class of '65 get together regularly, despite the fact that it's been over five decades since they sat together in study hall. Sharon mentioned that a group of them were celebrating their 70th birthdays this weekend. And later, driving home from the library, the deejay announced that it was Paul Simon's birthday. What line do you think came into my head? How terribly strange!
I don't know that I have that much to say about the lyrics to this song. They speak for themselves. As with so many of Paul Simon's songs, the imagery is enough to arouse our emotions, a perfect example of the old "show, don't tell" wisdom. Listening to the song, we are confronted with two distinct reactions: we call up our sympathy for these two old characters lost in their overcoats, and we then call up our fears, imagining ourselves spending our purposeless days on a park bench. Yep, it's a downer, all right.
Preserve your memories
They're all that's left you
Go make some memories today. That's my plan.
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