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Simon & Garfunkel — Bridge Over Troubled Water
Album: Bridge Over Troubled Water
Avg rating:
8.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3855









Released: 1969
Length: 4:49
Plays (last 30 days): 0
When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you

I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on, Silver Girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Comments (505)add comment
 jkscoggin wrote:
I was 9 years old, listening to Kasey Kasum in our appartment in Taipei. When this come on as number 2 for the entire decade, my mother and I could not imagine what number one would be. You light up my life? What a let down! Still bothers me to this day too!  




I was older, about to visit my buddy Steve, and I was listening to Kasey Kasem count down the best songs of the decade. When this was number two I couldn’t budge. What was greater than this?

Yes, it was Debby Boone’s “You Light Up my Life.” I think that was the moment I gave up on caring what was “important” on the radio charts.
My grandpa used to sing this song to me every night to help me sleep. One of my all time favorite songs ever and nothing will ever change that.
Art Garfunkel singing at his hopeful and so totally naive best.  You can literally hear it in his voice.  It pretty much sums up the entire generation at that time.  This I say thru the jaundiced lens of time.  Too much water gone under that bridge by this point but even so the bridge, and the power it evokes, remains in place if not the generation who had such dreams.  So it always goes.  

Highlow
 paloeguevo wrote:


Daniel here kept listening for at least 3 mroe years (his last comment was 3 years ago) So here I am hoping he became a better person and stopped complaining just because he does not like a song.

We can only hope!  
 Proclivities wrote:




I will never not see this.  :-)
 daniel_rusk wrote:

Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!



Daniel here kept listening for at least 3 mroe years (his last comment was 3 years ago) So here I am hoping he became a better person and stopped complaining just because he does not like a song.
One of the top 5 vocal performances in pop/rock imo.
 AhhtheMusic wrote:

Best showcase of Arthur Garfunkel's amazing voice ever.  He blessed us with his blessing!  This song will be a classic for the ages.



Hard to decide, but maybe Central Park version is even better
Always felt they overdid the ending to this. Like some kind of symphony, to remind us we just heard a great song. Maybe a little marketing?
Imagine trying to sing this in an 8th grade chorus class. 

Harmony?  Melody?   What's that? 
sounds poorly recorded for such an orchestrated tune
Best showcase of Arthur Garfunkel's amazing voice ever.  He blessed us with his blessing!  This song will be a classic for the ages.
I'm not a huge fan of S&G.... but Art's singing of the last verse is one of the all-time great voices in popular music.  Ever!
 Larrygrrl wrote:

My mom just died last week.  This song is so healing.  Thank you, RP!



and now i can't stop crying.
Possibly the perfect song. 
The Audio book where Malcom Gladwell interviews Paul Simon is 100% worth the listen.

One of Paul's biggest career regrets is letting Art sing this song.  "I gave it away...."

So much good stuff in there.

But let's face it.  Art does have the better voice.
 rtrt wrote:

Its dynamic range - see loudness wars




YES! Internet does not get any better than FLAC on RP!  Dynamic range is the difference between loud & soft, measured in decibels. MP3s, Spotify, Pandora, etc., squash dynamic range, killing the subtleties & nuances of many well recorded great performances! ...Google:  "Loudness Wars" for a more detailed explanation. 
One of the top 10 vocal performances in pop/rock (imo).
 rtrt wrote:

Its dynamic range - see loudness wars




YEP! Engineers that stomp on dynamic range should be shot!! Spotify gets really nasty!
 LoudshirtsBand wrote:

Until PS stormed off due to the accolades AG received whilst singing the vocals! 

Really? Shame since he wrote it and probably had a greater appreciation for Art's voice than most. From everything I've read, it's a complicated sibling like relationship.
 Proclivities wrote:


 
This photo-game is thoroughly annoying.
 idiot_wind wrote:
Has any other band tried covering this song?

Although I can  remember singing  it  in junior high chorus.  
 

There's a brilliant version by Johnny Cash in American IV!
 mrtuba9 wrote:
I know my hearing is starting to fade at 50, but do all of their ballads start off so quietly?
 
Its dynamic range - see loudness wars

Hold on Dan...It will be all right!
 daniel_rusk wrote:
Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!
 
https://meme.xyz/meme/31942


I'll Take The Dramatic Exit
 vanillagorilla wrote:
Watch the live performance from New York Central Park, they got back together and the chemistry was magical...love that
 
Until PS stormed off due to the accolades AG received whilst singing the vocals! 
Gave rhis a 9 because it is simon and Garfunkel
Uplifting, here in April of 2020. 
We just lost Bill Withers, who's 'Lean On Me',  is the same.

Everyone is hanging in there I hope .

 idiot_wind wrote:
Has any other band tried covering this song?

Although I can  remember singing  it  in junior high chorus.  
 

of course starting with Elvis himself
Has any other band tried covering this song?

Although I can  remember singing  it  in junior high chorus.  
Art has such a beautiful voice. Much underated.
 loopy_in_loudoun wrote:
In 1970, I worked at E.J. Korvettes in Watchung, NJ - a department store that was a precursor to K-Mart and WalMart. They played music over the PA system to keep the shoppers happy - mostly current top 40 stuff. Whenever this song came on, the most amazing thing would happen: People - shoppers, clerks, managers - would stop what they were doing and either gaze off into the distance or stare at the floor. For the whole song. At the time it seemed like a scene from a movie, but it was real life happening right before my eyes. 

The power of music. 
 
In 1970, the  puerile joke was that E.J. Korvettes stood for Eight Jewish Korean Vets..
If you remember Korvettes, what about S. Klein "On The Square" in Newark...?-)

Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.
 lizardking wrote:

hmmm....you're asking for this to not be played again and announcing you're not going to listen to RP anymore.  So...if a song is played and you're not logged on, does it still make a sound? 

I am a big fan of RP's approach to providing an alternative to "regular ole FM (or AM for the oldest RPsters) programming" which is accurately defined as eclectic.  I also really enjoy that folks from around the world are logging in to hear Bill's station.  Even people in Africa, where my dad was born and raised, listen to RP.  Here's a concept for you....just Listen to the Music, mute what you don't like or use the PSD or skip features....or....wait....why am I even saying anything else to you:  You're leaving RP.  PEACE OUT!

LONG LIVE RP!!

PS - the reason I don't like hearing this classic S&G tune is that it was one of the 4 songs I played at my mom's funeral 9 years ago.  I still have it rated as a 9.
 

Well said, Lizard King
Crescendo. 
My mom just died last week.  This song is so healing.  Thank you, RP!
NO matter how many time I hear this it never fails to give me chills.
If this is not a solid 10 I don't know what is...
 loopy_in_loudoun wrote:
In 1970, I worked at E.J. Korvettes in Watchung, NJ - a department store that was a precursor to K-Mart and WalMart. They played music over the PA system to keep the shoppers happy - mostly current top 40 stuff. Whenever this song came on, the most amazing thing would happen: People - shoppers, clerks, managers - would stop what they were doing and either gaze off into the distance or stare at the floor. For the whole song. At the time it seemed like a scene from a movie, but it was real life happening right before my eyes. 

The power of music. 
 
Whoa, E.J. Korbettes. I remember that store well. Now I do feel old! lol. But will always love this song.
 (anonymous) wrote:
"sail on silver bird"
 
Sail on Silverberg.

Yes, it's over familiar but there is no doubt that it is a masterpiece. A 10.
I know my hearing is starting to fade at 50, but do all of their ballads start off so quietly??
 Alastair wrote:
One of the few that deserves an 11.  
 
I fully agree. Superb.
One of the few that deserves an 11.  
 Tomasni wrote:
Long Live   Radio Paradise

Simon & Garfunkel  Bridge Over Troubled Water

is a STRONG 8 - Most Excellent to me  
 
Not quite a weak 9?  It's a strong 9 for me!  Though it immediately takes me back to April 3, 2008 (my mom's funeral) so it really kicks me in the gut and makes skipping possible....though not today....Long Live RP!!
 palatin8 wrote:
Nothing against the song, but I never liked any `Wall of Sound´ kinda production yet. Was always too mashed-up and over-produced to me. With a good multi-room audio, wall of sound gains a new quality to me. Is it just me rethinking? Or is it just RP's flac stream?
 
Like Let It Be, that "wall of sound" approach worked well for the compressed range available, and for me, defined the end of AM Radio. 
AMAZING
I years this ess one of the songs that split the duo. Paul spent days, o er 100 hours in the studio polishing the recording and adding tracks and effects which annoyed Art no end. He wanted to re ord and perform and didn't care for the hours, days, weeks in the studio.
Long Live   Radio Paradise

Simon & Garfunkel  Bridge Over Troubled Water

is a STRONG 8 - Most Excellent to me  
Nothing against the song, but I never liked any `Wall of Sound´ kinda production yet. Was always too mashed-up and over-produced to me. With a good multi-room audio, wall of sound gains a new quality to me. Is it just me rethinking? Or is it just RP's flac stream?
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Yes, Paul wrote the songs, but he could never put in a vocal performance like this.
 
HAH.  You just nailed every Dylan cover ever. (I also disagree.  I think Simon's harmonies are on point.)
Yes, Paul wrote the songs, but he could never put in a vocal performance like this.
YEOW!
Such a grand production for a coupla dudes from where... Queens? 
 bseib wrote:
In the spirit of a catbeard, Art Garfunkel has quite a 'stache on that album cover.
 

With the album cover, seems an eclipse of Garfunkel is underway. 
I remember getting this album by mistake through one of those record clubs that used to be so popular back in the day. I forgot to return the postcard turning down the Selection of the Month, and I ended up getting this album in the mail a few weeks later. One of the best mistakes I ever made.
Somewhere I heard that this is one of the recordings that drove Art Garfunkel up a wall. He apparently wanted to record some more songs and release the album. Art wanted to sing for a public, but Paul Simon spent hours and hours (weeks probably) in the studio putting endless finishing touches on the track polishing adding strings, taking them out, adding reverb and compression listening and listening and redoing it over and over.
It is a fascinating production!
Just bumped up my rating from 8 to 9.

Beautiful song.
 k3rmit wrote:
One of the 10 best songs ever recorded, IMO.
Passes the "gives me chills" test every time.

 
Yep.
it just gets better in a different way every time
Watch the live performance from New York Central Park, they got back together and the chemistry was magical...love that
 k3rmit wrote:
One of the 10 best songs ever recorded, IMO.
Passes the "gives me chills" test every time.

 
I agree
Goosebump inducing = 10000000000000% Such an amazing song!!!!
Two generations old! More even.

Incredible that human beings are not only here, but sentient, and that we make music like this, too.
One of the 10 best songs ever recorded, IMO.
Passes the "gives me chills" test every time.
its a steady 8 for me, but I still hit the psd button. Love RP
Is this song from another time and another planet?
 daniel_rusk wrote:
Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!
 
So sorry to hear the brain surgery didn't work out.
As for "leaving RP", don't tease us with false promises; you posted again this month. What a joke.
 daniel_rusk wrote:
Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!

 
Bill: please ignore this fool.  Thx.
IMHO, this song might have deserved a simpler treatment... it sounds so overproduced to me.
 daniel_rusk wrote:
Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!

 
hmmm....you're asking for this to not be played again and announcing you're not going to listen to RP anymore.  So...if a song is played and you're not logged on, does it still make a sound? 

I am a big fan of RP's approach to providing an alternative to "regular ole FM (or AM for the oldest RPsters) programming" which is accurately defined as eclectic.  I also really enjoy that folks from around the world are logging in to hear Bill's station.  Even people in Africa, where my dad was born and raised, listen to RP.  Here's a concept for you....just Listen to the Music, mute what you don't like or use the PSD or skip features....or....wait....why am I even saying anything else to you:  You're leaving RP.  PEACE OUT!

LONG LIVE RP!!

PS - the reason I don't like hearing this classic S&G tune is that it was one of the 4 songs I played at my mom's funeral 9 years ago.  I still have it rated as a 9.
Please never again. This is why I'm leaving RP. And also,  No more African shit!
If I never, ever hear this song again it will still be too much.

But I guess I'm glad everyone else likes it. 

 

Simon & Garfunkel
Bridge Over Troubled Water

is a STRONG 8 to me


 robotbass wrote:

This is a GREAT classic tune but reflects the over production that prompted Simon to leave Garfunkel.
Probably what makes Eva's version more appealing.

 
Eva Cassidy did BOTW ?  I was thinking this morning, with Eva on cd, driving from one task to the other, how Eva's career should have been so much longer.  I know, I know, Life is Unfair. But, she could have contributed so many great songs. It's the same deep disapproval I have of war, so much talent lost, books never written, inventions delayed or denied, songs never created. Something would have been created, but what we don't know, the creator is lost forever.  I've got to go find something to get depressed over. Thanks for listening.
Ah, yes,I've got to find her discography. 
gorgeous
 VH1 wrote:
Many have tried to sing this song, and failed! {#Clap}

 
Yeah, like us in 7th grade music. I really did not like singing S&G tunes, especially this one. Solid 9 for me today {#Jump}
Many have tried to sing this song, and failed! {#Clap}
I was 9 years old, listening to Kasey Kasum in our appartment in Taipei. When this come on as number 2 for the entire decade, my mother and I could not imagine what number one would be. You light up my life? What a let down! Still bothers me to this day too! 

LizK wrote:

Yikes, it baffled me too.  It's not even rock & roll.  Plenty of better stuff.

 


The essence of music from my era. S and G embody the music of the late century. Few aspire to their level.
and it wasn't even the best song on the album
Always goosebumps.......
 hallogallo wrote:

All props to Paul, but this a captivating song.  

Yes, maybe I'm sentimental that way, but it is from my formative musical years and thus, still quite moving.

{#Good-vibes} 

 

 
Save some props for Artie's magnificent vocal.  Paul is a genius level songwriter, next to Neil Young and Bob Dylan, possibly the greatest North American solo songwriter of the "rock and roll era."
Brilliant but always totally bums me out....just brings me down immediately got to PSD....
In the spirit of a catbeard, Art Garfunkel has quite a 'stache on that album cover.
 garrettb wrote:
Such traumas define us :)

Steely_D wrote:
It's the end of the 70s, and I pull up into Steve's apartment's parking lot. 
Kasey Kasem is counting off the 100 Best Songs of the 70s Decade. This song makes the #2 spot.
So I sit, waiting through the commercial break, to see which song comes next.

"...here it is, the number one song of the entire 70s decade...Debbie Boone with 'You Light Up My Life.'"

It's surprising how, so many decades later, that still troubles me. 

 

 
Yikes, it baffled me too.  It's not even rock & roll.  Plenty of better stuff.
 BCarn wrote:

Not as good as the song you wrote. Oh...wait a sec...

 
No sense in insulting each other. Let's discuss the music instead.
 lindergr55 wrote:
Hated it when it came out...   Hmmm, still hate it.  Overwhelming schmaltz.

 
Not as good as the song you wrote. Oh...wait a sec...
First song I ever heard on a really nice stereo, at a neighbor's house. Fisher 500 tube receiver, AR turntable with Shure cartridge and KLH 6 speakers. Goosebumps.

All props to Paul, but this a captivating song.  

Yes, maybe I'm sentimental that way, but it is from my formative musical years and thus, still quite moving.

{#Good-vibes} 

 
  Iconic ...{#Crown}
Such traumas define us :)

Steely_D wrote:
It's the end of the 70s, and I pull up into Steve's apartment's parking lot. 
Kasey Kasem is counting off the 100 Best Songs of the 70s Decade. This song makes the #2 spot.
So I sit, waiting through the commercial break, to see which song comes next.

"...here it is, the number one song of the entire 70s decade...Debbie Boone with 'You Light Up My Life.'"

It's surprising how, so many decades later, that still troubles me. 

 


Hated it when it came out...   Hmmm, still hate it.  Overwhelming schmaltz.
Glorious :)
 
Bill you should play the Fiona Apple & Johnny Cash version of this song.  It's amazing!  :)
Self-absorbed. yup
over-wrought. yup
Only think worse I can think of is "McArthur Park".
I was 18 when this song came out. "Um, can you put some Zep on?"
It's the end of the 70s, and I pull up into Steve's apartment's parking lot. 
Kasey Kasem is counting off the 100 Best Songs of the 70s Decade. This song makes the #2 spot.
So I sit, waiting through the commercial break, to see which song comes next.

"...here it is, the number one song of the entire 70s decade...Debbie Boone with 'You Light Up My Life.'"

It's surprising how, so many decades later, that still troubles me. 
This song comforts me since 30years!
 10th_rock wrote:

I agree with Biscobret, this song is whiny, and self absorbed.  Each and every time it plays I cannot remove my earbuds fast enough.  A minus 10 is my rating. 
{#Frustrated}{#Wall} 

 
SELF absorbed & Whiny??? Did you ever LISTEN to the lyrics?
He is singing about always "Being there" for someone....
 lemmoth wrote:

Seriously???? You must have had an adult overplay or overpraise this work of genius while you were a child.

 
I agree with Biscobret, this song is whiny, and self absorbed.  Each and every time it plays I cannot remove my earbuds fast enough.  A minus 10 is my rating. 
{#Frustrated}{#Wall} 
Last great song these two did together.
 Chi_Editrix wrote:
Maybe in addition to "godlike" there should be a category "iconic." There are certain songs I just can't rate — they are so deeply embedded in my life, they evoke a time and place that's a part of me. 

To me, "iconic" always seemed like an odd word to use as a description for a piece of music ( a "visual" word for an "aural" experience), but that use seems to be more common in recent years.  Still, it's a better word than "epic" - which is horribly over-used.  I guess I'm being too literal about it.  Anyhow, wonderful song.
it is indeed a Gloriously beautiful S & G classic, it's strong and lovely, but I really need some Rick James action here at work, not funeral music
 Biscobret wrote:
Ewww...  can't do it...  that's a BIG number, 8.5 — I know I'm in the minority - but damn this is a cheesy ass song...

PSD brought me to Wilco — Someone Else's Song - PERFECT!  Same speed, but so much more...

 
Seriously???? You must have had an adult overplay or overpraise this work of genius while you were a child.
Laz, please rise, remove your cap, and silently observe your personal national anthem.
One of the best songs in the history of songs!
Nothing to say - 10
My mother's funeral ...
Ewww...  can't do it...  that's a BIG number, 8.5 -- I know I'm in the minority - but damn this is a cheesy ass song...

PSD brought me to Wilco — Someone Else's Song - PERFECT!  Same speed, but so much more...
Boy, that Artie kid could sing...
{#Notworthy}      {#Notworthy}      {#Notworthy}

.... timeless classic 
So 'Timeless' I remember when it was first launched if it came on the jukebox in the pub on a Friday night it was drinks down and everyone would sing it in total, wow such great memoreis, story goes that Paul wrote it when his wife had the first signs of grey hair appearing.Hence the passage that begins with ''Sail on Silver Girl, Sail On By, Your Time Has Come''  Thanks for the play Bill and Rebecca,
Without a doubt one of the best songs ever written. Fascinating to watch the documentary "The Harmony Game" on how that whole record was made. The part re: the song BOTW is really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C142zuvARvw
Agreed,,,,
 Chi_Editrix wrote:
Maybe in addition to "godlike" there should be a category "iconic." 

 
Agreed. 

Even though this isn't necessarily one of my favorite songs, I give it a 10 just on general principle. 
This song brings memories of me being 5, my parents' divorce, and my mother crying on a couch in a small room in a stranger's nondescript apartment. Brings up all the supressed bad memories of my childhood.
So. Good. 

Elvis (Presley) also does a very nice version. : ) 
Hard to listen to this song knowing that the rest of the album will not soon follow.
 Hannio wrote:


Ya know, I never thought so before, but you're right.  It's very schmaltzy.  I was just thinking that when I saw your post.

 
Schmaltzy? Hmm. The strings might be but they don't kick in for a bit. Garfunkel's voice, the piano–nah. It would be a great song with just those 2 elements. It's a song that begs for that soaring crescendo. Is there any other Paul Simon song that seems schmaltzy? I think not so one time should be forgivable.

 The rumor is that it was an inspiration for McCartney's "Long and Winding Road" (but Paul didn't see his song ending up with strings)