"Punky's Dilemma" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968).
| "Punky's Dilemma" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Simon & Garfunkel | |
| from the album Bookends | |
| Recorded | October 5, 1967 |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Length | 2:10 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Paul Simon |
| Producer(s) | Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, John Simon |
Background
edit"Punky's Dilemma" was one of two songs (the other being "Overs") that Paul Simon offered to director Mike Nichols for his film The Graduate.[1] Nichols was not particularly taken with either, which led to Simon writing "Mrs. Robinson".[1]
The song was partially worked on by John Simon (no relation),[2] who was hired to "kick-start" the recording when Paul Simon had writer's block.[3] Morgan Ames, writer for High Fidelity magazine, attended a recording session during which "Punky's Dilemma" was being constructed, in October 1967.[2] The team spent over 50 studio hours recording "Punky's Dilemma," re-recording vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied.[4]
Composition
edit"Punky’s Dilemma" is breezy and minimal musically, with a soft jazz-style percussion and seemingly improvised guitar lines dominated by seventh chords.[5] As rock critic Robert Christgau wrote, the song "seems the essence of lightheartedness on casual hearing but is really a poignant and ironic presentation of a young man's military alternatives: resisting or playing along with the draft."[6]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Eliot 2010, p. 90.
- ^ a b Fornatale 2007, p. 66.
- ^ Fornatale 2007, p. 62.
- ^ Simon & Garfunkel interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ Bennighof 2007, p. 39.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1973). Any Old Way You Choose It. Cooper Square Press. p. 169. ISBN 0815410417.
Sources
edit- Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
- Eliot, Marc (2010). Paul Simon: A Life. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8.
- Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.