This song from the album, Stranger to Stranger (2016), is one of a number of highlights with the expected unusual arrangements and instruments this artist seems at home with particularly from the Graceland period all those years ago. The lyrics have their roots in a visit Simon made to Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland to talk with some of the wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who were rehabbing there. It was also inspired by a teacher that he personally knew who was slain in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 and the emotional experience of playing at his funeral. The result is an eclectic sound from his enjoyment of Flamenco music particularly hand-clapping and dancing heels on a wooden floor with two clappers, one dancer, a cahon player and Jamey Haddad (percussionist) on frame drum which is the basis for three of the other main high spots on the album. The lyrics themselves might appear a bit disjointed without knowing this background but the sound is haunting and diverse and in the middle he brings it almost to a stop before starting up again. Credit is due to Paul Simon’s continued experimentation with sound, instruments and his vocals still maintaining a quality in range after many decades.
This song from the album, Stranger to Stranger (2016), is one of a number of highlights with the expected unusual arrangements and instruments this artist seems at home with particularly from the Graceland period all those years ago. The lyrics have their roots in a visit Simon made to Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland to talk with some of the wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who were rehabbing there. It was also inspired by a teacher that he personally knew who was slain in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 and the emotional experience of playing at his funeral. The result is an eclectic sound from his enjoyment of Flamenco music particularly hand-clapping and dancing heels on a wooden floor with two clappers, one dancer, a cahon player and Jamey Haddad (percussionist) on frame drum which is the basis for three of the other main high spots on the album. The lyrics themselves might appear a bit disjointed without knowing this background but the sound is haunting and diverse and in the middle he brings it almost to a stop before starting up again. Credit is due to Paul Simon’s continued experimentation with sound, instruments and his vocals still maintaining a quality in range after many decades.