Track 3 of Paul Simon's You're The One is probably my favorite song on a uniformly quiet and comforting album. It's a catchy little tune with reflective lyrics and a cryptic punchline. Maybe I'll understand it when I'm old enough.
The first time I heard "Peggy Sue"
I was 12 years old
Russians up in rocket ships
And the war was cold
Now many wars have come and gone
Genocide still goes on
Buddy Holly still goes on
But his catalog was sold.
First time I smoked
Guess what? - paranoid
First time I heard "Satisfaction"
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday's here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say "Man, you're old
Getting old
Old
Getting old."
We celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day
And Buddha found Nirvana along the Lotus Way
About 1,500 years ago the messenger Mohammed spoke
And his wisdom like a river flowed
Through hills of gold
Wisdom is old
The Koran is old
The Bible is old
Greatest story ever told
Disagreements?
Work 'em out.
The human race has walked the Earth for 2.7 million
And we estimate the universe at 13, 14 billion
When all these numbers tumble into your imagination
Consider that the Lord was there before creation
God is old
We're not old
God is old
He made the mold
Spoken:
Take your clothes off
Adam and Eve
Written and arranged by Paul Simon. Reproduced without permission.