"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" | |
---|---|
Song by Paul Simon | |
from the album The Paul Simon Songbook | |
Released | August 1965 |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 2:27 |
Label | Columbia/CBS |
Songwriter(s) | Paul Simon |
"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" | |
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Song by Simon & Garfunkel | |
from the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme | |
A-side | "I Am a Rock" |
Released | October 24, 1966 |
Genre | |
Length | 2:10 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Paul Simon |
"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" is a song by the American musician Paul Simon, later re-recorded by Simon & Garfunkel for their third studio album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme .
The song's lyrics talk about coping with reality and personal confusion. [1] In Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography, Laura Jackson says "his mirror on the wall threw back an image dark and small, which to some degree depressed him." [2]
The guitar on the song is capoed to G on The Paul Simon Songbook and A on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . [3]
Hey Alma called it a "joyful blend of baritone and tenor" [4]
Cornell Banca said the song and "A Most Peculiar Man" "confront the listener with similarly shallow "philosophical" reflections that sound engaging the first few times, and then pale on repeated listening." [5]
The All Music Guide Required: Classic Rock book by Hal Leonard said it "was Simon at his most reflectively philosophical, dealing with age and its changes much as 'Patterns'" [6]
Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic states "An almost dead ringer for "Red Rubber Ball," a Paul Simon song never recorded in the studio by Simon & Garfunkel (it was a hit by the Cyrcle), "Flowers That Never Bend With the Rainfall" is a simple yet very likeable slice of pop confection. As with many of Simon's songs, this is a simple yet insightful self-analysis, filled with pathos and humor. Musically, it showcases Simon's pop instincts in a very powerful and charming way. There are many other songs of his from this period that are indeed better, but the sense of craftsmanship easily puts it on the level of Simon's other, more ambitious creations." [7]
The live tribute band Toast recorded a cover of the song in 1970 that was later included on Under the Covers – Forty Great Paul Simon Cover Versions 1964–2017. [8]
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and songs including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969) and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970) reached number one on singles charts worldwide.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early gig as "Tom and Jerry", Columbia Records signed the two in late 1963. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition. Recorded in March 1964, the album was released on October 19.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production.
The Paul Simon Songbook is the debut solo studio album by Paul Simon. It was released in the UK in 1965. It was made available in the US as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as Columbia/CBS Records LP BPG 62579 in the UK; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy/SME CK 90281.
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The "Scarborough/Whittingham Fair" variant was most common in Yorkshire and Northumbria, where it was sung to various melodies, often using Dorian mode, with refrains resembling "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine." It appears in Traditional Tunes by Frank Kidson published in 1891, who claims to have collected it from Whitby.
"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, as the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, re-recorded it on December 14, 1965, and included as the final track on their album Sounds of Silence, which they released on January 17, 1966. It was released as a single in 1966, and subsequently included as the B-side of the 1971 A-side reissue of "The 59th Street Bridge Song ".
The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970) is the third box set of Simon & Garfunkel recordings, released in 2001 by Columbia Records. This 5-CD set contains all of their studio albums from 1964 to 1970. The CDs are packaged in miniature recreations of the original LP jackets, and an annotated booklet is also included.
"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and originally released on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Cash Box called it a "sparkling, spirited lid".
Collected Works is the first box set released by Simon & Garfunkel in 1981. It contains all five of their Studio albums: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., Sounds of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends, and Bridge over Troubled Water. Originally released in 1981 as a 5-LP box set, it was reissued as a 3-CD set in 1990.
Old Friends is the second box set of Simon & Garfunkel songs, released in November 1997. The three-disc anthology collects most of the duo's best-known works, and also includes previously unreleased outtakes. Some of these outtakes subsequently appeared on both the reissues of Simon & Garfunkel's five studio albums as well as the later boxed set The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970).
Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence". The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate. Without the knowledge of Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed under the direction of Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965. This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.
"The Dangling Conversation" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in September 1966 as the second single from the duo's third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966).
"Patterns" is a song written by Paul Simon and included on his 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook, and later recorded by Simon and Garfunkel on their third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The lyrics are about how life is a labyrinthine maze, following patterns which are, because we are trapped in them, difficult to unravel or control.
"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel on their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It is sung solely by Art Garfunkel, and consists mainly of his vocals with heavy reverb and a 12-string acoustic guitar. The lyrics concern finding a lover, although Simon once characterized the subject matter as being about a "belief," rather than about a specific individual.
"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" is a 1966 song by Paul Simon released on Simon & Garfunkel's album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and as a B-side of "The Dangling Conversation", which charted at number 25 on Billboard's Hot 100. It is a commentary on advertising.
"Leaves That Are Green" is a song written and originally recorded by Paul Simon for his 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook. It was later re-recorded with Art Garfunkel for the 1966 album Sounds of Silence, adding an electric harpsichord, rhythm guitar, and bass. It was also the B-side to the hit song "Homeward Bound".
"So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" is a song written by Paul Simon that was originally released on Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 album Bridge over Troubled Water. It has since been released on several Simon & Garfunkel compilation albums. It has also been recorded by the London Pops Orchestra and Joe Chindamo trio. Art Garfunkel, who had studied architecture, requested that Simon write a song about the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Simon knew little about Wright, so just used his name as a substitute and instead wrote a nostalgic song about Garfunkel. Garfunkel sings lead on the majority of the song while Simon sings on the bridge.
"Cloudy" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It was co-written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley of the Seekers; that band later covered it on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green. The Cyrkle released a version of the song on their 1966 debut album, Red Rubber Ball. The title track, Red Rubber Ball, was also written by the duo of Woodley/Simon.