Aretha Franklin so loved this song that she covered it on her iconic Amazing Grace gospel album. When you think about it, it could be Jesus or God talking in those lyrics.
@@TheDivayenta As a Christian who is old enough to remember when the song came out, I always thought it could be about the teachings of Jesus Christ to love others more than yourself and to serve others, and lift up those in need be they strangers or not by feeding, clothing, sheltering, and giving medical aid in His name's sake as we are told to do in Matthew Ch.25.
I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel & had a lot of their records. Absolutely loved them & their harmonies. You won't find a bad song. They have had so many hits such as "Mrs. Robinson", "The 59th Street Bridge Song", "Homeward Bound", "Kathy's Song", "Scarborough Fair", "At The Zoo", "Cecilia", "America", "I Am A Rock", "El Condor Pasa" etc. Paul Simon went on to have a huge solo career with lots of great songs.
"Bridge over Troubled Water" is a bona-fide 20th century classic. Simon & Garfunkel released it in January of 1970. It quickly went to #1 in the U.S. charts and stayed there for two months before stepping aside for The Beatles "Let it Be". It went on to win the Grammy award for Song of the Year. The "Bridge Over Troubled Water" album was the last album they made together. This song was all over the radio when I was a really little kid. Art Garfunkel's singing on the song is wonderful.
I know I’ve said this at least a thousand times but I am beyond grateful that I am blessed to be a Boomer and remember all this fabulous music from the 60s and 70s. No such thing as “auto-tune” (whatever that is); just pure talent from the best of the best. My parents had to deal with car radios cranked up to the max when we kids forgot to turn down the volume, and our transistor radios blasting on the rare occasions we were actually at home! Ah, “those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end…”
Paul Simon is one of the all time great singer/songwriters and when paired with Art Garfunkel's immense voice they are second to none. Try my favourite "Kathy's Song".
One of the most Iconic songs ever. The Choir Boy Voice of Garfunkel has great lyrics and music and is more than impressive. Thank you for always playing a diverse collection of songs on your channel. Your commentary is always heartfelt and unique.
Your quiet listening without talking was perfect. I could see the effect the words, harmonies and instruments impacted your very being. I could see you see the " picture" in your mind as your soul soared between the natural and spiritual realms with this song. I also wondered with the " bridge," how many different bridges are imagined, and depending on the " type" of bridge envisionalozed, the different meanings for the bridges.
I still say it's one of the top 5 most flawless vocal performances of all time. Art Garfunkel's majestic rising vocal at that long held ending note is just exquisite.
great job breaking down the lyrics, when you see the lyrics on paper and like add separation to the line breaks, you get the "bridge over troubled waters" metaphor better like you did. "I will lay me down" "like a bridge over" "troubled waters" Keeping you above the depths, above the danger of the rushing waters"
So many artists that time started to come out with these incredibly epic songs with clear spiritual content it definitely felt to some of us at the time that there was something close to us culturally that we were almost touching some kind of apotheosis. That moment faded, but none of us ever forgot it, and the music always reminds us And one day it will return
Many years ago my first love was killed in a single vehicle car crash. I was beyond devastated and my sister and I were driving around , we stopped at A & W and I was crying uncontrollably and this song came on the radio. Now whenever I hear this I think of that day. It was so nice to hear at that moment.
A very perceptive review of Billboard's #1 song and album of 1970. Paul Simon's brilliant songwriting and Art Garfunkel's amazing vocals combined to make a masterpiece. Sad that they broke up afterwards over Garfunkel's acting career. You may want to do reactions to the rest of the album: "The Boxer", "Cecilia" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" are all excellent. I appreciate that you listen to entire songs from beginning to end before giving us your thoughts. Keep up the good work!
Art Garfunkel’s voice is really like nothing else I’ve ever heard. Nowadays, it’s like you’re going through a seriously devastating time. And you can’t reach anyone to talk about it.
This is their masterpiece. I know everyone says its Sounds of Silence, but this one takes the poetry of SoS and brings orchestral genius. This is the quintessential Simon & Garfunkel.
Now you should do Elvis 1970 live version of this song, if you haven’t already seen it. It’s magnificent!!! Simon was in the audience and said something to the effect of “How am I going to top that?”
I greatly appreciate that you run through the entire songs, instead of breaking at often the most emotional moments. I so dislike when others do that. Such a great song, hit me hard today.
Musicians like these 2 are really few and far between. All these years gone by and I feel the same when I hear this one. All good. (I always pictured a beautiful arched stone bridge😊)
There are many great versions of this song, both live by them, and covered by others, but this studio version is still my favorite. The arrangement and production was spot on.
This song always reminds me of my father. He very seldom cared for anything that I was listening to but when he heard this one he asked me who it was and it became his favorite song.
Love this song by these two great singers, which they started singing in the 60’s. I bet that seems old to you, right? JM Boy? They sang quite a few songs together thru the years…thank you, buddy!👍💜
OLD FRIENDS/BOOKENDS Studio version please. Bookends at the end, if it doesn't make you cry then nothing will. Had me in floods of tears the first time I listened to it on here. The words are so true. ❤
Probably one of the purest, most beautiful vocal performances ever recorded. Art Garfunkel was blessed bu God with an amazing voice and Paul Simon's poignant lyrics only add to the song. This whole album is filled with beautiful songs.
If you liked this, you might also like "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies (a British band from around the same era as Simon and Garfunkel)!
Watch the video of Elvis singing this song live in 1970. Paul Simon was in the audience for that, and afterwards he said “How the hell am I supposed to top that?”.
Just seeing the name Simon in the title means 'turn it up' to me🎶👏 With or without Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon is an artist who never fails me💞 And I still think you should check out this ultra charming 90s video by his wife, Edie Brickell: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iqL1BLzn3qc.html
That song was number 1 on the charts in a dozen countries. It was also the best selling album of 1970 in the US, UK, and Australia. It even beat the Beatles final Album.
Song recommendation JM. This masquerade by George Benson. You can check out this from his Midnight Special appearance when it became a hit in the 70s. Or more recent in concert. But you must hear it live. The combination of Benson’s voice and guitar is classic!
I was in the audience at the September 19, 1981 concert in Central Park. I grew up in Manhattan, so walking to Central Park only took 10 minutes. The concert was THE event of the year in NYC and it sold out fast. There was no assigned seating, you had to get there early to get a good spot. Luckily it was a very loud show, so even those who couldn’t see the band could hear them. It was the happiest public event I ever went to in NYC, the band had broken up in 1970 and no one ever expected them to get back together, so this was a BIG deal. It was filmed by HBO so you can watch the whole thing, which is fortunate because they sounded perfect. When they played “Bridge Over Troubled Water” it was extremely emotional, and the fact that 500,000 people went totally silent during the song was very impressive. You can watch the full concert on youtube.
Gospel Music. "Bridge over troubled waters," is borrowed from "I'll be your bridge over deep water...." a line from the Swan Silverstone's gospel song, "Mary Don't You Weep.".... Especially Simon sought inspiration from various genres. In this case, old slavery spirituals... also, Peruvian (El Condor Pasa), African (Graceland), etc... True, Simon is a poetic genius, thus "A poet and a one-man band," brilliantly described in their song, "Homeward Bound" ...
May I suggest reacting to this song on their Live 1969 album (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GYKJuDxYr3I.html). That's because it's the first time the audience is hearing the song (which is now a classic). The thunderous applause at the end of the song from people hearing it for the first time is something to behold and be heard. Check it out. I'm enjoying your reactions as a younger person than me to all of these classic pieces of music. Keep it up. Thank you.
