Teaching guide: Area of study 3 (Traditional music) Graceland – Paul Simon Background information
Paul Simon is an American singer songwriter, born in 1941. Simon formed the famous duo Simon & Garfunkel with school friend Art Garfunkel in 1956. The duo released five albums and are considered one of the most successful groups of the 1960s. Simon composed the songs and his interest in folk music is evident in songs such as ‘Homeward Bound’ and ‘Scarborough Fair’. Other big commercial hits include ‘Mrs Robinson’, ‘Sound of Silence’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. Simon & Garfunkel split in 1970 and pursued solo careers.
In the next five years, Simon released three acclaimed solo albums. One of his earlier hits ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard’ from the album Paul Simon released in 1972 demonstrates his earlier interest in African music with the inclusion of African percussion instruments.
The album Graceland was released in 1986 and is to date his most successful acclaimed solo album. The album was influenced by Paul Simon’s interest in South African township music. He travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa and spent two weeks recording with South African musicians.
Paul Simon was heavily criticised for breaking United Nations cultural anti-apartheid rules by visiting South Africa and recording with black South African musicians. The apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa and was in place from 1948 to 1994. The system kept black people separate from the white, allowing white people privileges in society and restricting black people. Black people were often forced to live in settlements called townships. It was the music from these townships that interested Simon.
On returning to America, these recordings formed the basis of a collection of diverse and eclectic songs featuring a number of different styles including Rock, Pop, Country, Zydeco, Isicathamiya and Mbaqanga. South African musicians were flown over to the USA to add the finishing touches to the album.
Paul Simon was banned from visiting South Africa again by the ANC (African National Congress) but this was revoked in 1987. A counter argument was that he was promoting the work of South African musicians and helping to make the genre more readily accessible across the western world.
The album Graceland fuses Western folk and rock with African rhythms, melodies and instrumentation. The year after the album was released, Simon toured with many of the original South African musicians, travelling to Zimbabwe.
There are 11 tracks on the album – this guide will look at three tracks – ‘Graceland’, ‘Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes’ and ‘You Can Call Me Al’. The all-male choral group that sings on one of these tracks also perform on the track ‘Homeless’.
Please note that the timings are given as a guide only and may vary according to different recordings.
‘Graceland’ from Graceland Instrumentation/personnel:
South African performers:
Guitar - Ray Chikapa Phiri
Fretless bass – Bathiki Kumalo
Drums – Vusi Khumalo
Percussion – Makhaya Mahlangu
Pedal steel guitar – Demola Adepoju
Western performers:
Vocals – Paul Simon, Everly Brothers (Don Everly and Phil Everly)
Backing vocals – Paul Simon
Context of the song
Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee was the home of the legendary singer Elvis Presley. Elvis was buried there and fans regularly make the trip to pay homage to their idol. In the song, Simon talks about making the trip, but the song is also about the recent break-up of his second marriage. The initial idea of the ‘Graceland’ title came from the fact that he thought the song had a flavour of Sun Records country sound from the 1950s and 60s and the early Elvis recordings had this sound. The very simple rhythm forms the basis of the song, it is a simple eight beat rhythm with alternating bass and snare drum.
Verse/chorus form Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Long instrumental introduction
Bars 1-20 (20 bars)
0 – 41” Bars 1 – 8 (0-16”) tonic chord (E/I). Bars 1 - 4 repeated. Fretless bass guitar opens with a slide/glissando onto the tonic pedal note (E) which is held/sustained for two bars. The pedal note is played an octave lower in bars 3 and 4. Acoustic guitar & electric guitar play tonic chord in second inversion in a repeated rhythmic pattern. Drum kit: bass drum on all four crotchet beats, snare drum and hi-hat on off-beats. An open hi-hat is added in the repeat of bars 1 – 4 on the half beat of beat 2 in bars 1 and 3. Shaker plays continuous semiquavers. Claves play on off-beats of beats 3 and 4 and are joined by tambourine and wood block in bars 1 and 3. Sampled hand claps are added in the repeat of bars 1 – 4. Bars 9 - 20 tonic chord moves briefly to chord A/IV and the harmony is extended to include chords B/V & C#m/VI. Introduction ends with perfect cadence (B/V to E/I ). Bass plays an ostinato on the root of each chord, leaping up and down the octave. African pedal steel guitar plays an off-beat syncopated triadic melodic pattern (falling/descending then rising/ascending) from bar 13 (25”).
Verse 1 Bars 21-28 (8 bars)
41”- 56” Verse 1 is a shortened verse being only a second half of a full verse. Paul Simon’s lead vocals have a limited range using pentatonic scale (E, F#, G#, B & C#) and are entirely syllabic. Two 2-bar vocal phrases both starting with an anacrusis. Pedal steel guitar plays 2-bar off-beat triadic melodic pattern (from the introduction) after the vocal phrases (call & response). Chords E/I, A/IV, C#m/VI & B/V - each chord is played for 2 bars (slow harmonic pace but doesn’t feel slow due to the tempo).
Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Chorus 1 Bars 29-
44 (16 bars)
56”-1’29” Four 4-bar vocal phrases in pattern A-B-C-B. The chorus is mainly syllabic. The title hook ‘Graceland’ features a falling third (G# to E) & is in three of the phrases here (A, B and repeat of B). Phrase A has a small range of only three notes: E, F# & G#. The melodic movement is therefore mainly stepwise with some leaps of a third. Phrase B has a wider range, opening with E (octave above E in phrase A). The melodic movement starts triadic, includes more leaps (sixth on lyrics …-lies and we…) and ends with the title hook. Phrase C starts on the dominant note (B) and includes repeated notes. The return of phrase B opens with an off-beat octave leap. The electric guitar and bass guitar play a rising syncopated arpeggio fill in octaves after each vocal phrase.
Verse 2 Bars 45-64 (20 bars)
1’29”-2’09”
The first full verse opens with a 2-bar instrumental introduction where the guitar plays repeated chords Pedal steel guitar triadic melodic pattern is played with the vocal phrases rather than in between the vocal phrases. Paul Simon’s lead vocal line includes triplet quavers and a dotted rhythm in opening phrase. Bongos play a fill at the end of the first half of the verse, just before the lyrics “and she said losing…”. The lead vocals emphasise the word “losing” by holding the first syllable on for three beats. Contrasting with a mostly continuously moving (mainly quaver) vocal line. The lead vocal line is mostly stepwise with the phrase “Ev’rybody sees you’re blown apart” descending from tonic note E down an octave. In the second half of the verse (bar 57/1’54”) backing vocals sing “ooh” in 2-part harmony. These are sung as a variety of two bar sustained notes and stepwise crotchets.
Chorus 2 Bars 65-80 (16 bars)
2’09”-2’43”
Repeat of chorus 1 with altered lyrics in places resulting in altered rhythms. Multi-tracking has allowed Paul Simon to sing a harmony line with his lead vocals.
Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Verse 3 Bars 81-
100 (20 bars)
2’43”-3’24” The first vocal phrase is extended and as a result, the second vocal phrase is displaced to allow a gap between these phrases (filled by pedal steel guitar). The phrase “Oh, so this is what she means” (3’00) is half-spoken/sung to aid the story telling. The verse ends with the lead vocals singing “Ooh” in harmony with the backing vocals.
Chorus 3 Bars 101-116 (16 bars)
3’24”-3’56” Repeat of previous choruses, again with altered lyrics. Some phrases are altered rhythmically and melodically. Lead vocals are once again harmonised.
Outro Bars 117-end
3’56”-4’51” Opens with verses 2 and 3 material (guitar chords). “Ooh” in 2-part harmony over verse 2 harmony. Percussion & low pitched vocal sample on beats 2 and 4 in the first 10 bars of the outro. Leads into chorus, vocals sing first part of the chorus (Graceland) and ends with instrumental to fade out.
Sonority and style The repetitive groove played by the fretless bass guitarist is typically African in style. The opening of the song uses the characteristic glissando (slide) of the fretless bass. The pedal steel guitar is popular in both West African music and American country music. The timbre produced by the ‘slide’ technique compliments that produced by the fretless bass. Reverb is added to the vocals, complimenting the reverb added to the other timbres, notably the pedal steel guitar and electric guitar. Melody and word setting The melody has a range of an octave (E to E) and there is a lot of triadic movement and includes repeated notes. Word setting is mostly syllabic. Tonality E major throughout. Harmony The main chords are I, IV and V with occasional chord VI. In the second part of the introduction, a second inversion of chord IV is played briefly. On a score this can be written as a slash chord A/E, where the chord is A with E in the bass. The chord D is played in the choruses to incorporate the rising syncopated figure played by the electric guitar and bass guitar. The inclusion of D natural gives a very brief sense of tonal ambiguity. Texture Melody (lead vocals) and accompaniment. Tempo, metre and rhythm Moderate tempo of 118bpm. 4/4 time signature throughout; simple quadruple. Percussion provide a continuous pulse but Paul Simon’s lead vocals are often quite free rhythmically.
‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’ is a song that is in two contrasting parts/sections. The opening introductory section is sung by the South African male a cappella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Paul Simon brought the group back to the USA to complete the recording. The style of singing here is Isicathamiya, a singing style that originates from South African Zulus. An approximate translation of the text is, ‘It’s not unusual but in our days we see those things happen. They are women, they can take care of themselves’.
Section 1 Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description A cappella introduction
Bars 1-8 (8 bars)
0 – 14” Bars 1 – 8 (0-14”) The African male a cappella group divide into two groups. The first group sings “Awa awa” on an E major triad in 3-part harmony and the second group responds in 4-part harmony. There are four 2-bar phrases that are repeated with variations. The “awa awa” is always the same but the lyrics and melodies change in the response. The responses are centred around an E major triad with passing notes/chords in between. All phrases start off-beat, the response includes syncopation and all phrases are homo-rhythmic.
A cappella intro with lead vocals
Bars 9-16 (8 bars)
14”- 28” The a cappella introduction is repeated with a change to the last phrase and now acts as an accompaniment. Paul Simon sings a new melody in English with the accompaniment. His vocal line is much more western in style, completing the fusion between African and American. Paul Simon’s lead vocals have a narrow pitch range and are centred around the tonic chord (E major), namely E and G#. The second degree of the scale, F#, is included either as a passing note or as an appoggiatura. For example, “girl” near the start of the first phrase and “boy” near the start of the second phrase are sung on F# appoggiatura moving back up to G#. The second phrase (“He’s a poor..”) opens with a leap of a sixth and slightly expands the range with the inclusion of the note B. Most of the lead vocal line is conjunct with repetitions of the note G#. Paul Simon’s last phrase “empty as a pocket…” is also sung by the a cappella group. The whole of this passage is beautifully recorded with just enough delay and reverb to give it an ethereal quality, almost as if it were recorded in an echo chamber.
A cappella title hook section
Bars 17-32 (16 bars)
28”-56” Paul Simon opens the first two phrases here with “ta na na” and this phrase is harmonised by one part of the a cappella group. The other 3-parts of the group sing the phrase antiphonally. All parts sing the second part of the phrase “she got diamonds on the soles of her shoes” in 5-part harmony (Paul Simon’s line in doubled an octave lower). The 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th phrases omit “Ta na na” and the first two words of the main hook (“she got”) are omitted. There is a gradual diminuendo on each repeat of the phrase resulting in the final phrase being very soft (pianissimo). The last phrase is slower and Paul Simon ends the section with an appoggiatura that falls down to the tonic note E.
Section 2 Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Instrumental introduction
Bars 33-42 (10 bars)
56” – 1’18” This section opens with an electric guitar solo in a new key, F major. The new key is stated by the opening spread F chord which is followed by a descending passage. Stylistically the section is completely different to the first section. This section seems to be more loosely based on folk rock. In the opening two bars, the melody descends from F (2 above middle C) down two octaves to F below middle C. This opening passage is syncopated and the pulse becomes clearer with the addition of percussion instruments. The electric guitar plays a two bar groove which repeats for the rest of the introduction. The groove is simple and largely based on chords F/I, Bb/IV and C/V. The fretless bass plays a 2 bar groove which is mainly on the root of the chords. It is a very active part with leaps of an octave, a 7th and a 10th. The drum kit plays a short fill in the first 2 bar groove, after which the bass plays on the beat. Snare and hi-hat play on all off-beats. The hi-hat part is varied with open and closed position. The bongos play fast rhythmic patterns that include dotted rhythms, semiquavers, syncopation and off beat notes. The shaker plays continuous semiquavers .
Verse 1 Bars 43-66 (24 bars)
1’18”-2’10” The verse consists of 3 8 bar sections. Paul Simon outlines the tonic triad of F at the start of each section. In the first, “People say she’s crazy...”, the opening note is C above middle C. The melodic movement is mainly stepwise/conjunct after the initial triadic movement. The first section ends with the descending phrase “Diamonds on the soles of her shoes”, ending on the tonic note F (above middle C). In the second, the opening note is F (2 above middle C) and starts slightly earlier, on the last beat of the first section. The ending phrase “diamonds” is sung as a flowing melisma to contrast the mainly syllabic delivery. The final words of the title are omitted. In the third, the opening note is the same as the first section but with an octave leap. Paul Simon sings “oo” in falsetto. The final phrase of the third section is the same as the final phrase in the first section. The guitar, bass and percussion patterns from the instrumental introduction continue throughout the verse. An acoustic guitar joins in at the start of the second section.
Bridge Bars 67-68 (2 bars)
2’10”-2’14” All instrumental parts continue as in the verse. There is a short descending percussion sound here (possibly a talking drum?).
Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Instrumental section
Bars 69-76 (8 bars)
2’14”-2’32” Staccato homophonic syncopated chords played by the horn section (alto sax, trumpet and tenor sax). These have been recorded twice and panned on each channel, but the left channel recording has a modified rhythm to give it extra punch. As with other tracks, lots of delay and reverb is added to enrich the texture. Structured in 2 bar phrases, still chords F/I, Bb/IV and C/V but first chord F/I moves to Bb/IV slightly sooner. The bass groove has slightly changed to accommodate the chords and still includes octave leap. The electric guitar groove from the verse has stopped and now plays in between the horn chords, as does the acoustic guitar. The drum kit now includes a floor tom and a ride bell. Shakers and bongos continue as before.
Verse 2 intro Bars 77-84 (8 bars)
2’32”-2’49” Instrumentation from verse 1 with falsetto vocals (woo) ending with a lovely fluid, improvised fretless bass solo.
Verse 2 Bars 85-108 (24 bars)
2’49”-3’41” Repeat of verse 1 but with variations in melody and rhythm due to the change in lyrics. The third section (last 8 bars) is the same as in verse 1 but Paul Simon extends the word “diamonds” as a melisma. This overlaps into the bridge section.
Bridge Bars 109-110 (2 bars)
3’41”-3’45” Repeat of bridge (with overlapping vocals).
Instrumental section
Bars 111-118 (8 bars)
3’45”-4’03” Repeat of instrumental section.
Verse 3 intro Bars 119-124 (6 bars)
4’03-4’16” Slightly shorter than the introduction to verse 2. The horn section play three descending chords after Paul Simon sings “woo”.
Verse 3 Bars 125-130 (6 bars)
4’16”-4’29” Shortened verse with only 6 bars of second section.
Outro Bars 131 -end
4’29”-5’49” Long outro that repeats the 2 bar phrase “ta na na na na” with Paul Simon harmonised by the a capella group from section 1 of the song. The instrumentation from the verse continues. After 24 bars (5’20”) all instruments stop playing leaving the vocals and the bongos. The bongos play improvised rhythms whilst the vocals continue to repeat the phrase. The song ends with a long slow fade out.
Tonality Section one is in E major and section two is in the unrelated key, F major. Harmony In the second section the chords are I, IV and V in F major.
Tempo, metre and rhythm Section one has a moderate tempo with a slight rallentando at the end of the section. Section two is slightly slower. 4/4 time signature throughout; simple quadruple. Section one is performed with a slight shuffle beat. Paul Simon’s lead vocals are often quite free rhythmically.
‘You Can Call Me Al’ from Graceland Instrumentation/personnel
South African performers:
Guitar - Ray Chikapa Phiri
Bass – Bathiki Kumalo
Drums – Isaac Mtshali
Western performers:
Percussion - Ralph Macdonald
Synthesizer - Rob Mounsey
Six string electric bass - Paul Simon
Guitar synthesizer - Adrian Belew
Bass and baritone saxophone - Ronald E.Cuber
Trumpets – Jon Faddis, Ronald E.Brecker, Lewis Michael Solaf, Alan Rubin
Trombones – David W.Bargeron, Kim Allan Cissel
Pennywhistle – Morris Goldberg
Lead and background vocals – Paul Simon
The title for this song came about from an incident at a party that Paul Simon attended with his first wife, Peggy Harper. Also present at the party was the French composer who inadvertently referred to Paul Simon as ‘Al’ and Peggy as ‘Betty’. The first part of the song appears to be describing a man going through a mid-life crisis and reflecting on his life – ‘Why am I soft in the middle? Where’s my wife and family? What if I die here? Who will be my role model?’ As the song progresses, by the third verse the theme becomes more biographical, reflecting on Paul Simon’s travels to South Africa.
Unlike most of the songs on the album Graceland, ‘You Can Call Me Al’ was recorded entirely at the Hit Factory in New York. It was the first and most successful single from the album. This is not surprising given the infectious nature of the song, upbeat tempo, major tonality and stylistic qualities of dance music, including an 8-piece horn section.
There is quite a lot of tape delay on Paul Simon’s vocal track. His engineer, Roy Halee was having trouble making the rapid and intricate consonant sounds in the vocal track stand out and be audible.
Verse/chorus form Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Introduction Bars 1-8
(8 bars) 0 – 15” The synthesised brass, synthesised guitar and
electric guitar play a two bar homophonic riff. The riff is based on chords F/I, C/V and Bb/IV and it is the main theme from the chorus. The riff starts on beat 2 with chord F, the top note of the chord descends by step to chord C on beat 3. The top note of this chord then descends by step to chord Bb on the half beat of beat 4. The second bar of the riff is almost identical as the first bar but ascends on the final chord to F. Prominent bass and drum kit enter in bar 3 on the second playing of the riff. Slap bass and drum kit play their own repetitive groove. The drum groove consists of a very simple four beat pattern with the bass drum on beats 1, 2 and 3 and the snare on the fourth beat. The hi-hat plays continuous quavers with open hi-hat on some of the off-beats. The drums play a fill (includes toms) in the last bar leading into verse 1.
Verse 1 Bars 9-24 (16 bars)
16”- 44” The verse consists of two eight bar sections. In the first section Paul Simon’s lead vocals are fast paced and highly conversational. He sings them quite freely in relation to rhythm. The vocal melody is almost entirely syllabic and the opening phrase is syncopated. The range of the vocal melody is small with only notes F, G, A, Bb and C. Melodic movement is mostly stepwise/conjunct. The synthesised brass have stopped playing and the guitar continues to play a riff which is now in 2-part rather than in 3-part harmony. The bass continues the same groove from the introduction. The drum kit groove has changed very slightly – the bass drum plays on all 4 beats with no snare on beat 4. The hi-hat plays rapid semiquavers in the 4th (& 8th bar). A 4 bar chord pattern is repeated and includes chords F/I, C/V and Gm/II. The second section introduces backing vocals and the fretless bass guitar. The backing vocals sing “mm” on chord F/I in 3-part harmony in alternate bars. The voices slide up to the note on “mm”. The fretless bass doubles the lower note of the chord and also slides up to the note with the backing vocals. This is incorporated into a fairly high pitched fretless bass line. The addition of both these parts, fills the texture out. Paul Simon’s lead vocals are less rapid in the second section but still fairly fast. The drums play a fill (includes toms) in the last bar leading into chorus 1.
Verse/chorus Bars Track time Description Chorus 1 Bars 25-
32 (8 bars)
44”-59” The chorus consists of 2 4-bar phrases. Paul Simon’s lead vocals are doubled an octave lower on opening phrase “If you’ll be my bodyguard” and “I can call you Betty” by another voice. The synthesised brass and synthesised guitar join the electric guitar to play the punchy 2-bar homophonic riff from the introduction. Backing vocals sing “shoo doo doo doo” doubling the lower note of the homophonic riff an octave higher. The higher pitched fretless bass guitar part from the second half of the verse has stopped playing. The chord progression includes F/I, Bb/IV and C/V. The drums play a fill (includes toms) in the last bar leading into verse 2.
Verse 2 Bars 33-48 (16 bars)
59”-1’29” Repeat of verse 1 but with significant variations in melody and rhythm.
Chorus 2 Bars 49-56 (8 bars)
1’29”-1’44” Repeat of chorus 1 but the ending is higher than in chorus 1.
Instrumental verse
Bars 57-72 (16 bars)
1’44”-2’14” 2 8-bar sections with a penny whistle solo. In the first 8-bar section, each 2 bar phrase starts on the second quaver of the bar (off beat) on high C (2 octaves above middle C). The melody is developed in the second section with each phrase starting on A, 2 notes lower than in the first section. Rhythmically the solo is more folk-based with fast rhythms including semiquavers, a sextuplet and grace notes.
Middle 8 Bars 73-80 (8 bars)
2’14”-2’29” Based on the introduction with additional horns playing the 2-bar homophonic riff.
Verse 3 Bars 81-96 (16 bars)
2’29”-2’59” Repeat of verse 1 but with significant variations in melody and rhythm due to different lyrics.
Chorus 3 Bars 97-104 (8 bars)
2’59-3’14” Repeat of chorus 2.
Verse 4 Bars 105-120 (16 bars)
3’14”-3’44” First half of the verse is sung to “na na...” and the second half is without lead vocals.
Instrumental break
Bars 121-122 (2 bars)
3’44”-3’47” Fretless bass solo without accompaniment. The solo consists of fast paced semiquavers and covers a wide range in just 2 bars.
Outro Bars 123 - end
3”47 - end 8 bar introduction followed by the chorus. Paul Simon sings only the opening phrase of each 4-bar phrase “If you’ll be my bodyguard” and “I can call you Betty”. This is followed each time with 3 bars of falsetto “oohs”. The 8 bar chorus is repeated with a fade out.
Sonority One of the most striking features of the song is Bathiki’s monumental two bar slap bass solo just before the outro. At this point, all the other instruments drop out to leave the solo to cut through. This brief motif was in fact more or less a single bar of music, the first based on a largely descending semiquaver pattern. The second part was in fact studio engineered by Halee. He simply copied it in reverse to create a kind of musical palindrome. The percussive use of the enormous tom toms that feature at the end of the introduction and each subsequent verse leading into the chorus. There are three of them, two rack mounted and one floor. This off-beat fill is panned across the stereo from right to left, the highest being on the right, the middle just left of centre and the floor tom on the left. This provides a quite striking and dramatic effect and gives a real lift to the chorus each time.
