Paul Simon is often placed in the “folk-rock” box when it comes to genre. However, listen to his discography, and you’ll find that this songwriter is constantly toeing the line between that and whatever experimental sounds he’s feeling. Here are four songs of Simon’s that are a little weird but also a little bit revolutionary.
“50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”
Although this song is definitely quirky, “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” is arguably one of Simon’s best. However, even Simon once admitted in an interview that this song, along with other tracks of his, was an unconventional hit.
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“‘Kodachrome’ I thought was a hit,” he shared. “It sounds like a pop song. All the other ones sound odd. ‘50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’. They didn’t sound like what the hits sounded like at the time. Radio was more open to things that weren’t exactly what every other hit was.”
“Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”
In this track, Simon actually used music from locals in South Africa, which you can totally hear in the song’s introduction. In addition, Simon tells the story of a girl who finds a way to bring joy into even the blander parts of her life.
“She’s a rich girl / She don’t try to hide it / Diamonds on the soles of her shoes / He’s a poor boy / Empty as a pocket / Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose.”
“The Werewolf”
Simon likes to use a lot of unique sounds in his songs. The Indian Gopichand at the beginning of “The Werewolf” is no different. “The Werewolf” sings about people’s imperfections using a deep metaphor, in which Simon ultimately comes to the conclusion that we really don’t know anybody at all.
“Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard”
What’s this one about? It’s hard to say. Apparently, Simon chose the name “Julio” because he just thought it was comical.
“First of all, I think it’s funny to sing – ‘Me And Julio’. It’s very funny to me,” he told Rolling Stone. “And when I started to sing ‘Me And Julio’, I started to laugh and that’s when I decided to make the song called ‘Me and Julio’, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it that.”
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