The town that inspired Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America’
‘America’ featured on folk duo Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 album Bookends and tells the story of a hitchhiking couple seeking the essence of America.
Inspired by a trip Paul Simon took with his girlfriend Kathy Chitty, ‘America’ follows them from Pittsburgh to New Jersey, with a brief shoutout to a small city in Michigan called Saginaw. A portrait of the American dream, the track features Simon & Garunkel’s classic vocals, soft folky guitar, and an unusual lyrical style. The song is written as a story, with no rhymes – only the refrain of “looking for America” is repeated. Simon and Kathy go from optimistic lovers “marrying their fortunes together” to “lost”, “empty and aching.”
The Saginaw-inspired track appeared on Bookends, Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album. Coupled with Bridge over Troubled Water which they released just two years later, the LP is widely considered their best. Single ‘Mrs. Robinson’ gained the duo a number-one, and the album received commercial and critical success.
Bob Dyer, a Saginaw-based DJ and promoter, recalls the time Simon spent in the city, during which he wrote ‘America’. Dyer booked Simon & Garfunkel for a gig in Saginaw in 1966 as part of a concert series called Y-A-Go-Go. In 2004, he recalled to The Saginaw News, “I asked Paul Simon if they were still charging the $1,250 we paid them to play and he said they were getting about four times that much then.”
When Dyer asked Simon why he hadn’t pulled out of the show, he replied that he “had to see what a city named Saginaw looked like.” Dyer continued, “Apparently, he liked it; he wrote ‘America’ while he was here, including that line about taking four days to hitchhike from Saginaw.”
The track has retained relevance over fifty years later, particularly to residents of the city. In 2010, an artist began painting the lyrics to ‘America’ around the city. He told M Live, “For me and several people I know who are from Saginaw, it is our homesick song.”
He continues, “When I was in school and really missing Saginaw, I would keep playing that song over and over again, and would be thinking about how I left Saginaw to find my dreams, too, and wondered if that was really the right decision.” But its continued impact is not limited to Saginaw – the track featured in the 2000 cult teen film Almost Famous.
‘America’ has also taken on political meaning and formed part of Bernie Sanders’ campaign in 2016. Simon spoke to Billboard about its use: “Look, here’s a guy, he comes from Brooklyn, he’s my age. He voted against the Iraq War. He’s totally against Citizens United, thinks it should be overturned. He thinks climate change is an imminent threat and should be dealt with. And I felt: Hats off to you! You can use my song.”
Simon & Garfunkel’s story of a lost couple chasing the American dream has its roots in Saginaw, Michigan, allowing residents to find comfort in the song, but its themes and innovative songwriting style saw its legacy stretch further afield.
Listen to Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America’ below.
