A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission) Lyrics
I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd.
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled till I'm blind.
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed.
That's the hand I use, well, never mind!
I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered.
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay.
And I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce,
And all my wealth won't buy me health,
So I smoke a pint of tea a day.
He couldn't think of nothing at all.
He's not the same as you and me.
He doesn't dig poetry. He's so unhip that
When you say Dylan, he thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas,
Whoever he was.
The man ain't got no culture,
But it's alright, ma,
Everybody must get stoned.
Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mothered, fathered, aunt and uncled,
Been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled.
I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone.
Jerrybear is right, however I wouldn't necessarily say that this song is exactly a subterrean homesick blues parody, rather just a parody of Dylan's folk rock in general.
My question is what type of relationship Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel had, there seems to be some dislike between the three.
Just want to comment, that this song contains one of my favorite lines ever: "I've been Art Garfunkeled!"
This is a fun song. It brings out the goofy side of Paul Simon. Just fun to listen to :) .
I definitely agree that this song is a parody of Dylan's style in almost any conceivable way (music, lyrics, instrumentation, accent). Nonetheless, I don't think it is a malicious one. Note that Simon and Garfunkel covered Dylan's "The times they are a-changing" - they must have found something valuable in Dylan's work after all. This song is thoroughly crafted in a way that reminds me of a mixture between tongue-in-cheekly exposing Dylan's idiosyncrasies and simultaneously kind of commending him. In order to imitate someone at this level, you must know him extremely well and spend a lot of time practising. I understand the song as a way of saying "Hey, you do have some obvious peculiarities, but they are worth a whole song of mine". Otherwise, this would have been a complete waste of early album space at a point in time where Simon and Garfunkel just started rising.
A different, yet interesting analysis of the song can be found at http://www.morethings.com/music/beatles/rockyraccoon.html
I suspect this song is meant to be a little more biting than some of you guys are thinking. You gotta remember that at the time Bob Dylan was the be-all end-all for folk fans - he was being called "a genius", the "spokesman of a generation," etc. I think Paul Simon was more than a little frustrated that he, the guy who comes up with a lyrical masterpiece like "The Sound Of Silence" is overshadowed by the guy who writes lyrics like "Your dancing child with his Chinese suit, He spoke to me, I took his flute, I wasn’t very cute to him, was I?"
Paul Simon was a very old-school (I mean in terms of approach) songwriter back in the 60's, whereas Dylan was just nuts, kinda throwing paint at the canvas. I love 'em both, but I could see Paul Simon being a little jealous that Mr. Word Vomit is being hailed as the greatest ever and he, who obviously painstakingly constructs every little line is getting his leftovers.
To me that track his him saying "See how easy this Dylan shit is? I could do it too if I wanted."
This is a spoof on Bob Dylan, specifically, his song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" which is sung in a similar talking blues/rapping style. The line "It's alright ma, everybody must get stoned" references two different Dylan songs: "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "Rainy Day Women" which has the "everybody must get stoned" refrain.
At the end of the song are some additional words that are not shown here: "Folk Rock!" and "I lost my harmonica, Albert!" Folk rock was the genre that Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel were a part of. Albert refers to Albert Grossman, Dylan's manager at the time. Many of Dylan's songs featured harmonica solos.
It's obvious that this song is about Dylan. But throughout the whole album, the are subtle references/ connections to Dylan. I's say the entire album is an homage to Dylan and the influence he had on music - this song just makes it all the more clear.
It's obvious that this song is about Dylan. But throughout the whole album, the are subtle references/ connections to Dylan. I's say the entire album is an homage to Dylan and the influence he had on music - this song just makes it all the more clear.
'Scarborough Fair' - "Remember me to the one who lives there, cause she once was a true love of mine". Granted this is an old folk lyric but Dylan made it popular and brought it into the forefront of the music scene with 'Girl from the North Country' The two poetry songs ('Patterns'...
'Scarborough Fair' - "Remember me to the one who lives there, cause she once was a true love of mine". Granted this is an old folk lyric but Dylan made it popular and brought it into the forefront of the music scene with 'Girl from the North Country' The two poetry songs ('Patterns' and 'A Poem on the Underground Wall') - Obviously very Dylan inspired. 'Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall' - Anyone who is a Dylan fan can realize how Dylan-y this song is. It's got his signature rhyme scheme and similar type lyrics, it might as well be a song on 'Bringing It All Back Home'.
jerrybear, I'm glad you left this comment, because when i heard this song I was very confused!! I wondered if maybe it actually was Dylan.. but the wprds didn't exactly seem to be his style. thanks!
The "I lost my harmonica, Albert" may be a reference to a '64 Dylan show where he was quite intoxicated and forgot the words to "It's Ok Ma" and then lost his harmonica during "Tambourine Man".
I love the 3rd verse that makes fun of us hipsters in general. I love Bob Dylan and appreciate his great writing and social commentary but Dylan Thomas is a literary genius. Bobby knew this as well and reportedly borrowed his name.
this is the first time i've heard this song... and i laughed my ass off. i had to come to songmeanings to see what everyone else thought of it. excellent!
Initially I thought they had just been influenced by Bob Dylan's music, until I heard the Dylan Thomas line :)