Paul Simon was the sole guest on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday, March 14. During a lengthy interview segment, Simon discussed various aspects of songwriting and his famous compositions while also promoting the upcoming MGM+ documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
Videos by American Songwriter
In an extended version of the interview, which has been posted on The Late Show’s YouTube channel, the 82-year-old singer/songwriter revealed which of his songs he would include in an ideal short concert set.
“I would play, as up-tempo songs, ‘Graceland,’ ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,’ … maybe ‘Late in the Evening’ or ‘Mother and Child Reunion,’” Simon shared. “And for ballads I would play ‘The Sound of Silence,’ ‘The Boxer’ I like, or even ‘Still Crazy After All These Years.’”
Simon also revealed that he would be playing a five-song set at a White House dinner. He explained, “The songs I’m picking [for that event] are the ones that are most familiar. They’re not necessarily … my list of what I’d most like to do.
Simon Talks About the Simon & Garfunkel Hit He Hates Performing
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer revealed also talked about a well-known song of his that he doesn’t like to perform live—the 1966 Simon & Garfunkel hit “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy).”
“I loathe that song,” Simon told Colbert. “Sometimes in shows, if I made an error in some other song, I would sing that song as punishment.”
He then explained, “Here’s what it is: I come up to the line and I just don’t want to sing, ‘Life I love you, all is groovy.’ No, I don’t want to sing it.”
When Colbert teasingly asked, “You don’t love life?” Simon responded, “I don’t want to sing it. I’m fine with life.”
About In Restless Dreams
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon will debut on MGM+ over the course of two nights, March 17 and March 24, at 9 p.m. ET.
The documentary follows Simon as he worked on his 2023 album, Seven Psalms, and also profiles his life and music, both as a solo artist and as part of Simon & Garfunkel.
About His New Album and His Hearing Loss Issues
On The Late Show, Simon talked about how the ideas for the songs on Seven Psalms kept coming to him in dreams. He also discussed the serious health issue he experienced while working on the album, when he lost most of the hearing in one of his ears.
Simon noted that he initially was dejected over the difficulties his hearing issue was causing him while trying to make the album, but he eventually realized he could use the adversity in his writing.
“I was so disappointed,” Simon noted. “Until I thought, ‘Hey, maybe it wasn’t supposed to be this easy all the way. Maybe this obstacle is part … of the process of what you’re supposed to think about. It’s an obstacle.’ And so, because I’m thinking about songs all the time, I used it … that way.”
Simon’s Late Show Performance
Following the interview segment, Simon performed a solo acoustic rendition of “Your Forgiveness,” a delicate, meditative song from Seven Psalms.
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