I was reflecting on a line from Paul Simon’s American Tune this afternoon.
And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I remember being brought to tears when I saw Paul Simon’s solo version of American Tune in the very darkest days of Covid. Not only did the lyrics touch me deeply, but I was saddened to see how old and frail he looked. I remember thinking that he was going to die, all because of the madman we had running our country. Paul Simon made it through, but John Prine did not.
American Tune
Song by Paul Simon (1973)
Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I've often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I'm alright, I'm alright
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home
And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
But it's alright, it's alright
For we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
Road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what has gone wrong
And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying
We come on the ship they call The Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours
And sing an American tune
Oh, and it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest
The Lamentations of Elder G
Reflections on why this song seems as relevant today as it did 50 years ago….
“It remains true because the condition remains true.
Every generation feels the trembling.
Every decade brings its storm.
And every human heart eventually knows what it means to feel like a stranger in its own land —
or in its own life.”
not because they solve anything,
but because they tell the truth kindly.”
“American Tune” is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), released on Columbia Records. The song, a meditation on the American experience, is based on the melody of the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” and bears a striking resemblance to J. S. Bach’s “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter“. The song reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lyrics
Wikipedia
In an interview with Tom Moon in 2011, Paul Simon was asked about political references in his songs, and he said: “I don’t write overtly political songs, although ‘American Tune’ comes pretty close, as it was written just after Nixon was elected.”
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” is a Christian Passion hymn based on a Latin text written during the Middle Ages.
Text
Original Latin
The hymn is based on a long medieval Latin poem, Salve mundi salutare, with stanzas addressing the various parts of Christ’s body hanging on the Cross. The last part of the poem, from which the hymn is taken, is addressed to Christ’s head, and begins “Salve caput cruentatum”. The poem is often attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153), but is now attributed to the medieval poet Arnulf of Leuven (died 1250). A selection of stanzas from the seven cantos were used for the text of Dieterich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri addressing the various members of the crucified body
Wikipedia
- the feet
- the knees
- the hands
- the pierced side
- the breast
- the heart
- the face
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
O sacred head now wounded
With grief and shame waighed down
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns thine only crown
How pale Thou art with anguish
With sore abuse and scorn
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn
What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners' gain
Oh mine was the transgression
But thine the deadly pain
Lo, here I fall, my Savior
'Tis I deserve thy place
Look on me with thy favor
Vouchsafe to me thy grace
What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest Friend
For this, thy dying sorrow
Thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to thee
wikipedia