The music to the song is quite catchy, and to my mind, it induces the listener to want more. The variation in rhythm is magical, but the lyrics do not seem to have a unity of meaning. The phrase "mother and child reunion" has all sorts of connotations, and one wonders what Paul Simon means by it, notwithstanding the fact that "mother and child reunion" is a soup item in a menu !I t is a convoluted song with respect to meaning, which is to say it leaves the listener nonplussed, even though its one of my favourites, as I loved my mother !
On the Jimmy Fallon Show he said the song was inspired by Jimmy Cliff's song "Vietnam" which dealt with a young soldier sending his friends a letter saying he was looking forward to coming home. The day they received that letter, his mother received a telegram saying her son had died in the war. Musically the songs are very similar, but I think there are aspects of the story included in the lyrics as well.
On the Jimmy Fallon Show he said the song was inspired by Jimmy Cliff's song "Vietnam" which dealt with a young soldier sending his friends a letter saying he was looking forward to coming home. The day they received that letter, his mother received a telegram saying her son had died in the war. Musically the songs are very similar, but I think there are aspects of the story included in the lyrics as well.
The music to the song is quite catchy, and to my mind, it induces the listener to want more. The variation in rhythm is magical, but the lyrics do not seem to have a unity of meaning. The phrase "mother and child reunion" has all sorts of connotations, and one wonders what Paul Simon means by it, notwithstanding the fact that "mother and child reunion" is a soup item in a menu !I t is a convoluted song with respect to meaning, which is to say it leaves the listener nonplussed, even though its one of my favourites, as I loved my mother !
On the Jimmy Fallon Show he said the song was inspired by Jimmy Cliff's song "Vietnam" which dealt with a young soldier sending his friends a letter saying he was looking forward to coming home. The day they received that letter, his mother received a telegram saying her son had died in the war. Musically the songs are very similar, but I think there are aspects of the story included in the lyrics as well.
On the Jimmy Fallon Show he said the song was inspired by Jimmy Cliff's song "Vietnam" which dealt with a young soldier sending his friends a letter saying he was looking forward to coming home. The day they received that letter, his mother received a telegram saying her son had died in the war. Musically the songs are very similar, but I think there are aspects of the story included in the lyrics as well.