In So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon Chooses Beautiful

When I think of great American songwriters, few names come to mind as readily as Paul Simon, whose words have been deeply ingrained in the public consciousness for nearly half a century. From the naïve enthusiasm of youthful cross-country travelers in America to the world-weary but accepting maturity of American Tune, he has commented extensively on the joys and sorrows of the American condition. Meanwhile, his Bridge Over Troubled Water, sung with such splendor by his soon-to-be-ex-singing-partner Art Garfunkel, was just the salve an aching nation needed during the tumult of the early 1970s. It seems appropriate, then, to post a review of Paul Simon’s latest album, So Beautiful or So What, on Independence Day. That said, this truly is an album for all seasons.

Getting Ready for Christmas Day - It’s a little funny to find an opening track about Christmas on an album released in April, but the song fits in with the album’s themes of reflecting on religion, divinity and making preparations. The tone is jubilant and optimistic, with the verses acknowledging life’s hardships but soaking up contentment anyway. Exuberant chaos surrounds Paul’s words, partly because of the recording of the call-and-response sermon by Rev. J. M. Gates that inspired the song, partly because of what I can only guess is some strange manipulation of the guitar strings to produce a spooky shrieking sound. I would’ve guessed a more unusual instrument was used here, but the album notes only mention guitars and drums. I find the effect a little unnerving, but maybe that’s the point, with Christmas jarring the speaker abruptly out of self-pity and giving him something positive to focus on. An upbeat start to the album. “If I could tell my mom and dad that the things we never had never mattered; we were always okay. Getting ready, oh ready, ready for Christmas Day…”

The Afterlife - In this percussion-heavy song featuring several different types of guitars, Paul imagines the entry into Heaven as a rather tedious bureaucratic process: “You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line…” Still, the rambling song has a whimsical feel to it, and even a reverent one by the end as all the waiting is worth it. “After you climb up the ladder of time, the Lord God is near. Face-to-face in the vastness of space, your words disappear, and you feel like you’re swimming in an ocean of love…”

Dazzling Blue - Lots of interesting instruments in this one, including the fiddle, the glockenspiel, vocal percussion, the tabla, the clay pot and the dobro. There’s a sense of mystery about this song, which feels fitting for Fourth of July with its talk of “dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen to make a marriage bed.” It’s a love song, seemingly about a life shared together and enduring many trials. This one feels like it could be autobiographical, with the talk of rainy days and distance recalling Kathy’s Song and of a musician’s life on the road recalling Homeward Bound. The general feel I get from the album is one of curiosity and contentment, wondering about the mysteries of the world but being more focused on gratefully enjoying the ride, whatever it may mean. I wonder if Paul ever watched LOST; he seems to have the same sort of outlook as show-runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse… “Sweet July, and we drove the Montauk Highway and walked along the cliffs above the sea, and we wondered why, and imagined it was someday and that is how the future came to be.”

Rewrite - Very distinct guitar work on this one, along with the kora, the djembe, and angklung and glass harp. A good portion of the song is purely instrumental, which feels reflective of the deep thinking the speaker is doing. On the one hand, he seems to be talking about writing a novel, reminding me of the Beatles’ Paperback Writer, but by the end, I get the sense that it’s more about wishing he could rewrite his life and simply undo the mistakes he has made. Given the optimistic tone of the album, I’m inclined to think that this man, whose whistling seems to indicate a cheerful frame of mind, is actually doing something to make amends rather than just daydreaming about it. As with most of the songs here, there’s also a spiritual thread, as he is addressing God and thanking Him for listening and helping him turn his life around. “I’ll eliminate the pages where the father has a breakdown and he has to leave the family but he really meant no harm. I’m gonna substitute a car chase and a race across the rooftops when the father saves the children and he holds them in his arms.”

Love and Hard Times - This song has a very different sound to it right off the bat because it is so slow and the most prominent instrument, at least initially, is the piano. Gradually other instruments join in, giving the song a richly orchestral feel as flutes, guitars, violas, clarinets and English horns, among others, take turns being highlighted. Flutes in particular stand out to me, accentuating statements of natural beauty like “Orange blossoms opened their fragrant lips.” It’s a rather odd song, since it begins with God and Jesus visiting Earth and remarking that they seem to be more appreciated in their absence, then turns into a love song. However, the lyrics come back around to God again in the final lines as the speaker remarks, “Thank God, I found you,” and he seems to mean it literally. An interesting reflection on the tendency of deep feelings to bloom in adversity. “’Well, we got to get going,’ said the restless Lord to the Son. ‘There are galaxies yet to be born. Creation is never done…’”

Love Is Eternal Sacred Light - We’re back to up-tempo and guitar-heavy again in this curious song that speculates on the nature of the universe. There’s an old-timey Gospel feel here, with the percussion reminding me of a rumbling locomotive and a harmonica adding to the nostalgic flavor. The verses take some complex turns, but the basic theme seems to be that God is love. The speaker spends the first part of the song eloquently theorizing about the origins and nature of the universe and the last part simply enjoying his place in it. Meanwhile, in the middle, Paul’s voice gets extremely low as he has God speak for Himself for two verses, seemingly bemused at the speaker’s ramblings. “Big Bang. That’s a joke that I made up once when I had eons to kill. You know, most folks, they don’t get when I’m joking. Well, maybe someday they will.”

Amulet - This instrumental track is by far the shortest on the album and just features Paul on the acoustic guitar, with faint humming now and then. I’m not sure what the title signifies, but it’s a lovely, stripped-down melody.

Questions for the Angels - This is another slow, meditative song that picks up tempo a bit in the last verse. Again, it’s about pondering life’s enigmas, this time posing conundrums to angels. I love the slight alteration of the chorus the second time around, from “Who believes in angels? Fools do” to “Who believes in angels? I do.” The song contains a strong thread of compassion for those who are disenfranchised, beginning with a “pilgrim” wandering through New York City with scarcely a penny to his name. The thoughts turn from general to increasingly specific, with the end of the song mentioning Jay-Z and weeping zebras. An intriguing reflection. “If you shop for love in a bargain store and you don’t get what you bargained for, can you get your money back? If an empty train in a railroad station calls you to its destination, can you choose another track?”

Love & Blessings - Guitar and drums are the main instruments in use here, though a clarinet makes an impression late in the song, which is marked by excerpts from a 1938 recording of the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet. The repeated line of “Bop-bop-a-whoa” hearkens back to The Afterlife, which ends with the speaker unable to articulate anything but nonsense fragments of an old rock song. There’s a bit of a melancholy edge to this one, a sense of ephemerality; his point seems to be to cherish every moment because they good times don’t last forever – but then, neither do the bad times. “Love and blessings, simple kindness fell like rain on thirsty land. Fields and gardens long abandoned came to life in dust and sand.”

So Beautiful or So What - This title song is a mid-tempo, guitar-heavy number that emphasizes the importance of one’s outlook. It acknowledges darkness and suffering in the world, even referencing the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but the idealistic tone that pervades the album is once again evident here, as the speaker chooses to focus on the positive, and the final repetition of “So beautiful, so beautiful…” makes a fitting final statement for this album. “Life is what you make of it, so beautiful or so what.”

In his introduction in the liner notes, acclaimed musician Elvis Costello praises Paul Simon for rejecting “the allure of fashionable darkness.” While a certain somber quality has always run through Paul’s music and even his voice has a sad edge to it, beauty has always been present as well, and just months shy of the iconic 70-year mark he discussed in Old Friends, he seems to be very much at peace with the world, the universe and his place in it. He speaks as a man who does not have all the answers, but what a pleasure it is to listen to him explore the questions.