In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
When she goes, she's gone
If she stays, she stays here
The girl does what she wants to do
She knows what she wants to do
And I know I'm fakin' it
I'm not really makin' it
I'm such a dubious soul
And a walk in the garden
Wears me down
Tangled in the fallen vines
Pickin' up the punchlines
I've just been fakin' it
Not really makin' it
Is there any danger?
No, not not really
Just lean on me
Takin' time to treat your friendly neighbors honestly
I've just been fakin' it (fakin' it)
I'm not really makin' it
This feeling of fakin' it
I still haven't shaken it
Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor
Look at me
I own the tailor's face and hands
I am the tailor's face and hands and
I know I'm fakin' it (fakin' it)
I'm not really makin' it
This feeling of fakin' it
I still haven't shaken it (shaken it)
I know I'm fakin' it
I'm not really makin' it
If she stays, she stays here
The girl does what she wants to do
She knows what she wants to do
And I know I'm fakin' it
I'm not really makin' it
I'm such a dubious soul
And a walk in the garden
Wears me down
Tangled in the fallen vines
Pickin' up the punchlines
I've just been fakin' it
Not really makin' it
Is there any danger?
No, not not really
Just lean on me
Takin' time to treat your friendly neighbors honestly
I've just been fakin' it (fakin' it)
I'm not really makin' it
This feeling of fakin' it
I still haven't shaken it
Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor
Look at me
I own the tailor's face and hands
I am the tailor's face and hands and
I know I'm fakin' it (fakin' it)
I'm not really makin' it
This feeling of fakin' it
I still haven't shaken it (shaken it)
I know I'm fakin' it
I'm not really makin' it
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Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
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This is one of my fave songs from the album. I took the effort to learn to play/sing it on guitar; maybe I'll brush it up! The hero of this song is Simon's "Walter Mitty," albeit with a different tack. Simon is more than a Thurber; he's a Joyce. He's a master at capturing people's inner dialogs; this song is the lament of a feign man. He's failing at romance, and tries to convince himself he's granting the object of his affections her freedom. He's ill at ease in the natural world (garden). He has "bulwark" fantasies, interlaced with good-ol'-joe salt-o'-the-earth fantasies. He finally resorts to a past-life fantasy. Is it real? Or is this just "higher and deeper?" is the very act of scrabbling to escape reality by indulging fantasies this fellow's trap?
The bit about being a tailor came to Paul Simon in the middle of a "hash reverie," as he put it. It occurred to him that, had he lived in an earlier time, he would most likely not be a musician. He would have a regular job, and he fancied that he would have been a tailor. Afterward, his father mentioned to him that his grandfather or great-grandfather had been a tailor, and his name was also Paul Simon. Also, this song is my favourite. Art's harmonies under the verses... oh my.
The part about having an unreasonable fear of the "garden" or the world around him reminds me of a play by Tennessee Williams called "Out Cry" where the two characters were also afraid to go out of their "house." Williams was going through a depressing time in his life when he felt the same way as his characters. When I feel the same way that Williams and maybe Paul Simon felt, it makes me realize how common this fear is. When people are not acting like themselves and just "fakin' it," they tend to find it harder to open up, which can even lead to the idea that socializing with the world is a chore. This song just explains it so well!
I know I'm fakin it. I'm not really makin it. This feeling of fakin it, I still haven't shaken it.
Classic "imposter's syndrome".
@elh2780 Well said...straight and to the point. <br /> I sometimes wonder if we all have this "syndrome" to some extent.
This song sounds like the poor guy's been walked all over. Yes, it makes sense that he's indulging in a fantasy.
The part with the woman saying "good morning" just makes me crack up...I have no idea why...her voice reminds me of something, or something...
@WillyWiluhps Carnaby Street, London, 1966. Or Moneypenny?
I feel like this song is by the beatles... it just has a similar sound
I feel like this song is by the beatles... it just has a similar sound
@komcd27 Not sure what you mean, but I would characterize Bookends (the album) as the pinnacle of S&G hewing towards the pop-rock production values of the time; The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Who, etc., etc.<br /> <br /> Is that what you mean?
To me, this song sounds like something left off of the "The Graduate" soundtrack. (Director Mike Nichols had asked Simon to contribute new music to the film, and he wound up rejecting some songs.) It just fits the overall vibe of the movie, and the character Elaine.
I think Paul Simon added the bit about the tailor for the "Bookends" album, to make it more personal. Otherwise, I don't feel like this was a confessional song about himself.
@bingoboy I always wondered how he came to use Donovan's last name as the name for the tailor.
This is my favorite s & g album from like listening to it at my brother's in the early 70's . Is it even possible that I actually studied tailoring? To shape the shoulder pads you have to do like a million tiny stitches. I just don't see rhyming Simon putting up with it.