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!
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!