Paul Simon wrote this song for his buddy Chevy Chase. It's about the latter's struggle with alcohol abuse and all the drama that being an alcoholic entails: alienating his family, the horrors of a de-tox program, the challenge of remaining sober and his attempts to get his life back on track.
The Betty in the song is an obvious reference to the The Betty Ford Clinic. "Al" is short for alcoholic, essentially Chevy is admitting that he has a booze problem, hence the chorus line "Call me Al". It also ties in with the AA meeting protocol of not giving your full name to the other members of the meeting group. The BodyGuard is a reference to Chevy's AA sponsor.
Paul Simon wrote this song for his buddy Chevy Chase. It's about the latter's struggle with alcohol abuse and all the drama that being an alcoholic entails: alienating his family, the horrors of a de-tox program, the challenge of remaining sober and his attempts to get his life back on track.
The Betty in the song is an obvious reference to the The Betty Ford Clinic. "Al" is short for alcoholic, essentially Chevy is admitting that he has a booze problem, hence the chorus line "Call me Al". It also ties in with the AA meeting protocol of not giving your full name to the other members of the meeting group. The BodyGuard is a reference to Chevy's AA sponsor.