The Paul Simon Lyric That Took the Temperature of the Nation

Some people prefer music to be an escape from any serious issues going on in the world. That’s understandable, but there’s also a place in the music landscape for artists to be influenced by current events or some sort of overhanging turmoil affecting a lot of people.

Paul Simon wrote his 1973 song “American Tune” with a political event lingering in the back of his mind. But his talents transformed the song into something much more vast and all-encompassing, a lament for unrealized ideas and unfulfilled dreams.

“Tuning” in to a Solo Career

We know him now as the architect of one of the finest singer/songwriter careers in the history of music. But there was a time when people doubted whether Paul Simon would succeed on his own. Even though he had always written Simon & Garfunkel’s material, folks doubted his music would hit home the same way without his singing partner.

Those doubts were put to rest pretty quickly when Simon’s self-titled solo album arrived in 1972. In addition to being a critical triumph, it delivered some big hit singles as well. Buoyed by that triumph, Simon went right back to work crafting the follow-up, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon.

On the new record, Simon tried out several different musical settings for his songs. He recorded much of the album with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, while also touching on Dixieland and gospel music on specific tracks. The music of “American Tune” displayed inspiration from antiquated chorale songs from hundreds of years earlier.

He began writing the song shortly after Richard Nixon was reelected to the presidency in 1972. Simon sensed in that event a shift in the culture, one that left behind some of the liberal beliefs that had gained a foothold in the previous decade. The song never mentions Nixon or an election, instead focusing on the personal impact it had on one man and others like him.

Examining the Lyrics to “American Tune”

Simon poured all his feelings about the election and the larger meaning behind it into some of his most poetic lyrics. His narrator admits right from the start how adrift he feels, and when he sings about being so far away from home, you feel that it’s more a figurative distance he’s referencing.

He widens the scope in the second verse to look around at his peers, sensing battered, uneasy souls with nothing on which they can hang their hopes: I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered / Or driven to its knees. His attempts at consolation are interrupted by reality: Still, when I think of the / Road we’re travelin’ on / I wonder what’s gone wrong.

In the middle eight, Simon shifts into a reverie, as his subconscious tries to lend him support: I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly / And looking back down at me / Smiled reassuringly. The dream ends with the Statue of Liberty taking flight and departing, perhaps in disgust, perhaps in self-preservation.

The final verse attempts to reconcile the country’s past and present with an uncertain future: We come in the age’s most uncertain hours / And sing an American tune. Finally, the narrator gives up on a best-case scenario (You can’t be forever blessed). At least, he’d settle for some kind of temporary peace and quiet: Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day / And I’m trying to get some rest.

Paul Simon’s “American Tune” doesn’t beat its chest. Nor does it overtly announce itself as protesting anything in particular. Yet in its subtle, sad way, it’s as searing as any topical song you can name.

Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns