I take the lyrics pretty straightforwardly within the context of the recording of the album. Simon was recording with artists in apartheid era South Africa.
The opening verse is highly reminiscent of the political violence that was pervasive in 1980s South Africa. The South African (ie, white) military machine couldn't be confronted directly by the liberation fighters but the ANC set about to make the country ungovernable, and embarked on a campaign of sabotage and bombings - hence "the soldiers on the side of the road" and "the bomb in the baby carriage."
I also think "the lasers in the jungle" and the "loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires" must be viewed through the lens of the struggle against apartheid. The conflict in SA spilled over to Namibia and Angola and involved fierce and brutal violence throughout Southern Africa - not to mention the civil wars in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
South Africa was, and is, a nation defined by resource extraction. Gold, diamonds, platinum. There were millionaires and billionaires there fueling untold misery for the sake of holding onto their economic privilege on the continent.
Paul Simon had his reasons for being oblique with his political commentary regarding apartheid South Africa on this record - but I think it'd be a mistake to think it was absent from a song like this one.
Does anyone (else) see a connection between the lyrics of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Star"? Specifically, "... the way we look to a distant constellation that is dying in a corner of the sky ..."
Does anyone (else) see a connection between the lyrics of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Star"? Specifically, "... the way we look to a distant constellation that is dying in a corner of the sky ..."
@dankauppi Absolutely, though the reference to cameras following in slo-mo reminds me of Vietnam...it was the first time journalists sent back images and footage of war. Yeah for technology, but it also turned America's collective stomach, and is part of why the vets were ignored when they returned...we didn't want to think about what we'd sent them to do and what they'd subsequently done.
@dankauppi Absolutely, though the reference to cameras following in slo-mo reminds me of Vietnam...it was the first time journalists sent back images and footage of war. Yeah for technology, but it also turned America's collective stomach, and is part of why the vets were ignored when they returned...we didn't want to think about what we'd sent them to do and what they'd subsequently done.
So, war in general, though I agree a good bit of it comes out of South Africa.
So, war in general, though I agree a good bit of it comes out of South Africa.
Think most people here are a bit off the mark.
I take the lyrics pretty straightforwardly within the context of the recording of the album. Simon was recording with artists in apartheid era South Africa.
The opening verse is highly reminiscent of the political violence that was pervasive in 1980s South Africa. The South African (ie, white) military machine couldn't be confronted directly by the liberation fighters but the ANC set about to make the country ungovernable, and embarked on a campaign of sabotage and bombings - hence "the soldiers on the side of the road" and "the bomb in the baby carriage."
I also think "the lasers in the jungle" and the "loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires" must be viewed through the lens of the struggle against apartheid. The conflict in SA spilled over to Namibia and Angola and involved fierce and brutal violence throughout Southern Africa - not to mention the civil wars in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
South Africa was, and is, a nation defined by resource extraction. Gold, diamonds, platinum. There were millionaires and billionaires there fueling untold misery for the sake of holding onto their economic privilege on the continent.
Paul Simon had his reasons for being oblique with his political commentary regarding apartheid South Africa on this record - but I think it'd be a mistake to think it was absent from a song like this one.
Does anyone (else) see a connection between the lyrics of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Star"? Specifically, "... the way we look to a distant constellation that is dying in a corner of the sky ..."
Does anyone (else) see a connection between the lyrics of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and Arthur C Clarke's short story "The Star"? Specifically, "... the way we look to a distant constellation that is dying in a corner of the sky ..."
@dankauppi Absolutely, though the reference to cameras following in slo-mo reminds me of Vietnam...it was the first time journalists sent back images and footage of war. Yeah for technology, but it also turned America's collective stomach, and is part of why the vets were ignored when they returned...we didn't want to think about what we'd sent them to do and what they'd subsequently done.
@dankauppi Absolutely, though the reference to cameras following in slo-mo reminds me of Vietnam...it was the first time journalists sent back images and footage of war. Yeah for technology, but it also turned America's collective stomach, and is part of why the vets were ignored when they returned...we didn't want to think about what we'd sent them to do and what they'd subsequently done.
So, war in general, though I agree a good bit of it comes out of South Africa.
So, war in general, though I agree a good bit of it comes out of South Africa.