Leaves That Are Green

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"Leaves That Are Green"
Song by Simon and Garfunkel
from the album Sounds of Silence
A-side "Homeward Bound"
Genre Folk pop, folk rock [1]
Length2:20
Label Columbia Records
Songwriter Paul Simon

"Leaves That Are Green" is a song written and originally recorded by Paul Simon for his 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook . [2] [3] It was later re-recorded with Art Garfunkel for the 1966 album Sounds of Silence , adding an electric harpsichord, rhythm guitar, and bass. [4] It was also the B-side to the hit song "Homeward Bound".

Contents

Reception

Cash Box described the song as a "melodic ballad about the ever-constant aging process". [5] Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald described the music as having a "sprightly folk-pop tempo and feel" with "inventive percussion and harpsichord", and described the lyrics as using "changing seasons to convey the feelings at the disintegration of a romance". [6] Simon biographer Laura Jackson described the song as "peaceful number" in which Simon uses the changing seasons to illustrate that time goes on, and all things come and go. [7] Simon biographer Cornel Bonca criticizes the "cliched nature imagery" but notes that the "delightful" harpsichord opening "belies the lyrics' winsome gloom". [8] On the other hand, music critic Paul Williams used a line from "Leaves That Are Green" to demonstrate Simon's skill as a phrasemaker with a gift for words: "She faded in the night like a poem I meant to write...and the leaves that are green turn to brown." [9]

Music journalist David Browne considered the theme of the song to be "premature nostalgia". [10] Music journalist Chris Charlesworth considers "Leaves That Are Green" to be Simon's first and possibly prettiest of many of Simon's songs that deal with the passage of time. [11] Charlesworth praised the "intricate guitar picking" but criticizes a "failure of the imagination" in the third verse, where the lyrics just say hello and goodbye. [11]

Performances

Simon played "Leaves That Are Green" at a live concert at his alma mater Queens College in 1964, where he also played "The Sound of Silence". [3] Simon & Garfunkel performed the song live on their 2004 tour. [3]

Influence and covers

The opening lines were quoted by Billy Bragg's song "A New England". [12] [13]

Dorris Henderson covered "Leaves That Are Green" as a single in 1965. [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Leaves That Are Green - Simon & Garfunkel | Song Info | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ↑ "The Paul Simon Songbook - Paul Simon | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Thompson, Dave (2019). Paul Simon FAQ. Backbeat. pp. 42, 53, 257. ISBN   9781493050758.
  4. ↑ "Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  5. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 5, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. ↑ Greenwald, Matthew. "Leaves That Are Green". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  7. ↑ Jackson, Laura (April 2004). Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography. Kensington. p. 73. ISBN   9780806525396.
  8. ↑ Bonca, Cornel (2014). Paul Simon: An American Tune. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 29, 31. ISBN   9780810884823.
  9. ↑ Williams, Paul (2002). The Crawdaddy! Book: Writings (and Images) from the Magazine of Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 12. ISBN   9780634029585.
  10. ↑ Browne, David (2012). Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970. Hachette. ISBN   9780306822131.
  11. 1 2 Charlesworth, Chris (1997). The Complete Guide to the Music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel. Omnibus Press. p. 19. ISBN   0711955972.
  12. ↑ Harvey, Chris (July 5, 2017). "Simon & Garfunkel: 18 best songs" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Paul Simon's Political Storm". Artworks. April 29, 2025. Event occurs at 11:18. BBC. Radio 4 . Retrieved May 6, 2025. I've always been a huge fan of Paul Simon: I still am. I borrowed a line from a Simon and Garfunkel song called 'The Leaves That Are Green' for the opening line of my song 'A New England'
  14. ↑ Unterberger, Richie (2003). Eight Miles High: Folk-rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. Backbeat. ISBN   9780879307431.
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