The 1970 song that was “considerably better” than anything Paul Simon had written before
Paul Simon and songwriting go hand in hand. Ever since he was young, he has had a knack for melody, lyricism and rhythm.
When you look at his career throughout Simon and Garfunkel, and as a solo artist, there is a healthy mixture of music that Simon has been responsible for, which touches upon various themes and is influenced by sounds from across the world.
There was no particular method to Paul Simon’s creative process; some songs took longer than others, and he found his inspiration in a range of different places. For instance, on his solo album Graceland, he was famously inspired by African music, so much so that he went to Africa to record the album with band members who influenced him.
When he listened to Accordion Jive Hits No. 2 by The Boyoyo Boys, he found himself drawn to the track ‘Gumboota’, which gave rise to the album and the cover ‘Gumboots’. “If it wasn’t that ‘Gumboots’ led me into the whole project, I would have dropped ‘Gumboots’ from the album,” he admitted, “Because I think it’s the weakest of the South African cuts.”
It wasn’t just Africa that inspired his songwriting, either. One of his tracks, ‘American Tune’, had a melody derived from the Johann Sebastian Bach composition, ‘St Matthew Passion’. This song was a reimaging of a classic German piece by Hans Hassler called ‘Mein Gmüth ist mir verwirret’.
That willingness to draw inspiration from vastly different musical traditions became one of Simon’s defining strengths. Rather than simply borrowing melodies or styles, he reshaped them through his own songwriting, creating works that felt both deeply personal and universally resonant.
The point is that Paul Simon put a lot of time, care, and research into his music. Whether that meant travelling overseas or back in time, he could find something he could draw from when it came to making music. This was never a quick process; he was notorious for taking his time and ensuring every song he worked on was perfect. However, there was one exception to this, and interestingly, it occurred when he was writing one of his most famous tracks.
Simon and Garfunkel were huge inspirations in folk music, producing a number of excellent songs that have since found their way into the history books. One of their most notorious is ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. This wasn’t just a good song; it was a turning point for Simon, who recognised what he was writing as something special and became more confident with his lyrics.
The song also marked a creative milestone because it demonstrated Simon’s ability to combine emotional directness with sophisticated composition. Its blend of gospel influences, poetic imagery and understated sincerity helped elevate it beyond the conventions of contemporary folk music.
“I have no idea where it came from,” he said when discussing the making of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, “It came all of a sudden. It was one of the most shocking moments in my songwriting career. I remember thinking, ‘This is considerably better than I usually write’.”
If not for this track, Simon may not have taken more risks when making music later on, so the songwriter owes a great deal to it. With that in mind, it’s funny that this was one of his only songs where the lyrics came almost immediately.
Looking back, the speed with which ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ came together feels almost miraculous for a songwriter renowned for painstaking craftsmanship. While Paul Simon often laboured over every word and melody, this timeless classic serves as a reminder that, every so often, inspiration arrives fully formed, and when it does, the results can define an entire career.
