The Meaning Behind Paul Simon’s Picture-Perfect “Kodachrome”

Paul Simon was working on a new song called “Goin’ Home” when the word “Kodachrome” interrupted his writing. He didn’t know what it meant but thought it would make a far more exciting song title than “Goin’ Home.” 

The Kodak company owns the trademark to Kodachrome, a type of color film—now discontinued—dating to 1935. It was one of the first color materials used in cinematography and photography. Eastman Kodak exclusively developed Kodachrome until the U.S. Department of Justice intervened in 1954 to enforce its antitrust laws. 

With “Kodachrome,” Simon found an interesting metaphor to write behind, and he also pursued a powerful sound he heard emanating from the deep South.  

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Look Around You All You See Are Sympathetic Eyes

“Kodachrome” is an admiration of everything that brightens the world. However, the song begins with Simon lamenting the needless information he acquired in school:

When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school
It’s a wonder I can think at all
And though my lack of education hasn’t hurt me, none
I can read the writing on the wall

Then, his world becomes vivid with memories. Looking for a meaning behind the metaphor, “Kodachrome” may be an effort to find the light in a world inching toward darkness and despair. Like film development, it’s a process that sometimes requires much effort. 

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah

Painting a Picture

Human memory is famously untrustworthy, and tools like audio and visual devices are necessary protections against faulty recollections. But those tools are easily manipulated to form a narrative. Think of all those Instagram posts of fixed-up selfies and sunny vacations. The pictures only form part of the story, and though Simon’s classic predates social media by a lifetime, his lyric Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day acknowledges how even a ’70s Nikon in the right hands can frame a narrative. 

In an interview with Grammy magazine in 1997, he said he couldn’t remember if the second verse lyric was supposed to be Everything looks worse in black and white, or Everything looks better in black and white. He sings “worse” on the recording, but live, he sings “better.”

“Kodachrome” was the first single from Simon’s third solo album, “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon” (1973). It’s a bright summer anthem, and Simon’s voice echoes an intimate version of Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson. 

Trademark

Kodak required Simon’s album to note the Kodachrome trademark. The trademark further complicated matters in Britain, where the BBC refused to play songs with company endorsements. Because of this policy, “Kodachrome” was not released as a single in Britain. 

Muscle Shoals

Simon recorded “Kodachrome” at Alabama’s Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, using the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. He searched for the band that played on the Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There,” sweeping the American South for gospel, jazz, and soul music.  

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm section was comprised of bassist David Hood, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Roger Hawkins, and Barry Beckett on keys. Known as The Swampers, they played on iconic records by Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Wilson Pickett. Lynyrd Skynyrd famously wrote about the second FAME gang in “Sweet Home Alabama,” Now Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers. 

The Swampers created Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1969 after leaving FAME Studios, where they worked as session musicians for owner Rick Hall. They partnered with producer Jerry Wexler, who, among his many accolades, is credited for the phrase “rhythm and blues.” Writing for Billboard in 1949, he convinced the magazine to change the Race Records chart name to Rhythm & Blues Records. Wexler was crucial to the development and exposure of the Muscle Shoals sound. 

Wexler loaned the musicians money for equipment, and as Vice President of Atlantic Records, he provided a steady flow of clients to the new studio. 

Snapshot

“Kodachrome” wouldn’t be the last time Paul Simon created a masterpiece by traveling to a touchstone in music history. He brought African music to mainstream audiences with “Graceland” in 1986. He wasn’t interested in mimicking these genres; he went to the source, used the musicians responsible for the music he fell in love with, and applied their talent to tell stories. “Graceland” wasn’t, and still isn’t, without controversy, but Simon’s evident joy and the endurance of his songs displaces the debates over U.N. sanctions or charges of cultural appropriation. Or maybe it’s all how you frame it. 

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns