Paul Simon

[fox69]

"Virgil"

"Virgil"


[VIRGIL]
I've got a wife, four grown children
I can't afford their education
I been a prison guard for fourteen years
That ain't exactly a vacation

[WARDEN]
Since he's been here he's followed every rule
Well I told you my position
The law says he's got the right to go to school,
We abide by the court's decision

[VIRGIL]
I got a Winchester 243
I like that gun for deer
Upstate November when the air is free
Smells like hunting season's here

He's the one to keep your eyes on
He's smart yeah and he's quiet
A troublemaker if I ever seen one
Next thing you know it's Attica
And we got a prison riot

There ain't no way that punk gets his degree
And hides behind the Constitution
No way in hell that smart ass spic goes free
Not while I'm in this institution

 

[fox69]

"Wartime Prayers"

"Wartime Prayers"



Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations,
Appeals for love or loves release, in private invocations.

But all that is changed now,
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God
Hear lunatics and liars

Wartime prayers, wartime prayers
In every language spoken,
For every family scattered and broken.

Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
But I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genious marketing plan.

I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop would do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I feel.

Times are hard, hard times,
But everybody knows all about hard times.
The thing is, what are you gonna do?
Will you cry?
And try to muscle through?
And try to rearrange your stuff?
But when the wounds are deep enough,
And it's all that we can bear,
We wrap ourselves in prayer.

Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
But I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genious marketing plan.

I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop would do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.

A mother murmurs in twilight sleep
And draws her babies closer.
With hush-a-bies for sleepy eyes,
And kisses on the shoulder.
To drive away despair
She sends a wartime prayer.

 

[fox69]

"Was A Sunny Day"

"Was A Sunny Day"



Was a sunny day
Not a cloud was in the sky
Not a negative word was heared
From the people passing by
Was a sunny day
All the birdies in the trees
And the radio's singing song
All the favorite melodies

He was a navy man
Stationed in Newport News
She was a high school queen
With nothing left to lose

CHORUS

Her name was Lorelei
She was his only girl
She called him Speedoo
But his Christian name
Was Mr.Earl

CHORUS

 

[fox69]

"When Numbers Get Serious"

"When Numbers Get Serious"



I have a number in my head
Though I don't know why it's there
When numbers get serious
You see their shape everywhere
Dividing and multiplying
Exchanging with ease
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers are easy to please
Take my address
Take my phone
Call me if you can
Here's my address
Here's my phone
Please don't give it to some madman
Hey hey, whoa whoa
Complicated life
Numbers swirling thick and curious
You can cut them with a knife
You can cut them with a knife
Two times two is twenty-two
Four times four is forty-four
When numbers get serious
They leave a mark on your door
Urgent. Urgent.
A telephone is ringing in the hallways
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers will speak to us always
That is why a man with numbers
Can put your mind at ease
We've got numbers by the trillions
Here and overseas
Hey hey, whoa whoa
Look at the stink about Japan
All those numbers waiting patiently
Don't you understand?
Don't you understand?
So wrap me
Wrap me
Wrap me do
In the shelter of your arms
I am ever your volunteer
I won't do you any harm
I will love innumerably
You can count on my word
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers
Will always be heard
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers will always be heard
And after all is said and done
And the numbers all come home
The four rolls into three
The three turns into two
And the two becomes a
One

 

[fox69]

"You Can Call Me Al"

"You Can Call Me Al"



A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don't want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard
Bonedigger Bonedigger
Dogs in the moonlight
Far away my well-lit door
Mr. Beerbelly Beerbelly
Get these mutts away from me
You know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore

If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al

A man walks down the street
He says why am I short of attention
Got a short little span of attention
And wo my nights are so long
Where's my wife and family
What if I die here
Who'll be my role-model
Now that my role-model is
Gone Gone
He ducked back down the alley
With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along along
There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations

If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Call me Al

A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound
The sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!

If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Call me Al

 

[fox69]

"You're Kind"

"You're Kind"



You're kind
You're so kind
You rescued me when I was blind
And you put me on your pillow
When I was on the wall
You're so kind
So kind
So kind

And you're good
You're so good
You introduced me to you
neighborhood
Seems like I ain't never had
so many friends before
That's because you're good
You're so good

Why you don't treat me like
the other humans do
Is just a mystery to me
It gets me agitated when I think that
You're gonna love me now indefinitely

So goodbye,goodbye
I'm gonna leave you now
And here's the reason why

I like to sleep with the window open
And you keep the window closed

So goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye

 

[fox69]

"You're The One"

"You're The One"



May twelve angels guard you
While you sleep
Maybe that's a waste of Angels I don't know
I'd do anything to keep you safe
From the Danger that surrounds us

Little by little
Bit by bit
Little bit by little bit
Now you got it that's it
What're you thinking
Things'll go sour?
Check its temperature every hour
Nervous when you own it
Nervous when it's gone
What do you think has been going on
For so long?

You are the air
Inside my chest

You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one

But when I hear it from the other side
It's a completely different song
I'm the one who made you cry
And I'm the one who's wrong
In my dream you spoke to me
Any you said

You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one

Nature gives us shapeless shapes
Clouds and waves and flame
But human expectation
Is that love remains the same
And when it doesn't
We point our fingers
And blame blame blame

You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
And I'm the one
I broke your heart
I made you cry
And you're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
We're the ones