The night sets softly With the hush of falling leaves Casting shivering shadows On the houses through the trees And the light from a street lamp Paints a pattern on my wall Like the pieces of a puzzle Or a child's uneven scrawl
Up a narrow flight of stairs In a narrow little room As I lie upon my bed In the early evening gloom Impaled on my wall My eyes can dimly see The pattern of my life And the puzzle that is me
From the moment of my birth To the instant of my death There are patterns I must follow Just as I must breathe each breath Like a rat in a maze The path before me lies And the pattern never alters Until the rat dies
The pattern still remains On the wall where darkness fell And it's fitting that it should For in darkness I must dwell Like the color of my skin Or the day that I grow old My life is made of patterns That can scarcely be controlled
Cloudy The sky is gray and white and cloudy Sometimes I think it's hanging down on me And it's a hitchhike a hundred miles I'm a rag-a-muffin child Pointed finger-painted smile I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while
Cloudy My thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy They have no borders, no boundaries They echo and they swell From Tolstoy to Tinker Bell Down from Berkeley to Carmel Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill
Hey sunshine I haven't seen you in a long time Why don't you show your face and bend my mind? These clouds stick to the sky Like a floating question, why? And they linger there to die They don't know where they are going And, my friend, neither do I
I'm sittin' in the railway station Got a ticket to my destination On a tour of one-night stands My suitcase and guitar in hand And every stop is neatly planned For a poet and a one-man band
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home where my thought's escapin' Home where my music's playin' Home where my love lies waitin' Silently for me
Every day's an endless stream Of cigarettes and magazines And each town looks the same to me The movies and the factories And every stranger's face I see Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home where my thought's escapin' Home where my music's playin' Home where my love lies waitin' Silently for me
Tonight I'll sing my songs again I'll play the game and pretend But all my words come back to me In shades of mediocrity Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home where my thought's escapin' Home where my music's playin' Home where my love lies waitin' Silently for me Silently for me
Do people have a tendency to dump on you?
Does your group have more cavities than theirs?
Do all the hippies seem to get the jump on you?
Do you sleep alone when others sleep in pairs?
Well there's no need to complain
We'll eliminate your pain
We can neutralize your brain
You'll feel just fine
Now
Buy a big bright green pleasure machine!
Do figures of authority just shoot you down?
Is life within the business world a drag?
Did your boss just mention that you'd better shop around
To find yourself a more productive bag?
Are you worried and distressed?
Can't seem to get no rest?
Put our product to the test
You'll feel just fine
Now
Buy a big bright green pleasure machine!
You'd better hurry up and order one
Our limited supply is very nearly gone
Do you nervously await the blows of cruel fate?
Do your checks bounce higher than a rubber ball?
Are you worried 'cause your girlfriend's just a little late?
Are you looking for a way to chuck it all?
We can end your daily strife
At a reasonable price
You've seen it advertised in Life
You'll feel just fine
Now
Buy a big bright green pleasure machine!
Slow down, you move too fast You got to make the morning last Just kicking down the cobblestones Looking for fun and feeling groovy Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
Hello lamppost, what'cha knowing I've come to watch your flowers growin' Ain't you got no rhymes for me? Doo-ait-n-doo-doo, feeling groovy Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep Let the morningtime drop all its petals on me Life, I love you, all is groovy
Through the corridors of sleep Past shadows dark and deep My mind dances and leaps in confusion I don't know what is real I can't touch what I feel And I hide behind the shield of my illusion
So I'll continue to continue to pretend My life will never end And flowers never bend With the rainfall
The mirror on my wall Casts an image dark and small But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection I am blinded by the light Of God and truth and right And I wander in the night without direction
So I'll continue to continue to pretend My life will never end And flowers never bend With the rainfall
No matter if you're born To play the King or pawn For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow So my fantasy Becomes reality And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow
So I'll continue to continue to pretend My life will never end And flowers never bend With the rainfall
The last train is nearly due The underground is closing soon And in the dark deserted station Restless in anticipation A man waits in the shadows
His restless eyes leap and scratch At all that they can touch or catch And hidden deep within his pocket Safe within its silent socket He holds a colored crayon
Now from the tunnel's stony womb The carriage rides to meet the groom And opens wide and welcome doors But he hesitates, then withdraws Deeper in the shadows
And the train is gone suddenly On wheels clicking silently Like a gently tapping litany And he holds his crayon rosary Tighter in his hand
Now from his pocket quick he flashes The crayon on the wall he slashes Deep upon the advertising A single-worded poem comprised of four letters
And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding The poem across the tracks rebounding Shadowed by the exit light His legs take their ascending flight To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night, ooh
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production.
The album largely consists of acoustic pieces that were mostly written during Paul Simon's period in England the previous year, including some songs recycled from his debut solo record, The Paul Simon Songbook. The album includes the Garfunkel-led piece "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", as well as "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night", a combination of news reports of the day (the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the death of comedian Lenny Bruce), and the Christmas carol "Silent Night".
Many critics consider it a breakthrough in recording for the duo, and one of their best efforts. "Homeward Bound" had already been a top five hit in numerous countries and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" performed similarly. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Pop Album Chart and was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.