lyric analysis- AMERICA BY SIMON AND GARFUNKEL

 

mood board for America- Simon & Garfunkel

 

industrial context: Warner Music Group

Industrial context: 

- Warner Music Group is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. 

- Warner Music Group Corp.,^[6] commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Group (SMG).

- Len Blavatnik personally controlled 73.03% of Warner Music Group’s total outstanding shares as of the start of 2023, according to MBW’s calculations based on Warner’s SEC filings. Access Industries founder Blavatnik – who, at last count, ranked in 38th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $33.5 billion. 

- As of March 2025 Warner Music Group has a market cap of $17.12 Billion USD. This makes Warner Music Group the world's 1102th most valuable company by market cap according to our data.

possible locations for my music video

Brick Lane- 

- Brick Lane has a lot of graffiti which I think will add a fun and creative backdrop for my video. Also, the roads are filled with historical buildings which I think will add a vintage aesthetic. 

- Furthermore, the area is full of diverse culture which will add realism and depth to my music video.

Bethnal Green- 

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timeline of folk music

 FOLK MUSIC TIMELINE

Pre-20th Century-

• Folk music develops as an oral tradition, with ballads, work songs, and storytelling.

• British, Irish, and European folk influences shape early American folk music.

Early 20th Century-

• The Carter Family and Lead Belly popularize folk recordings.

• Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger use folk music for activism.

1950s-1960s-

• The Weavers, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan bring folk to the mainstream.

• 1965: Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence is remixed with electric elements and becomes a hit, blending folk with pop and rock.

• Simon & Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) are released.

1970s-1990s-

• Folk-rock thrives with Joni Mitchell, CSNY, and Fairport Convention.

• Paul Simon’s Graceland (1986) globalises folk.

• Simon & Garfunkel reunite for tours in the ’80s and ’90s.

2000s-Present-

• Indie-folk emerges (Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Sufjan Stevens).

• Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers bring folk-pop into the mainstream.

timeline of music videos

 

themes for the song: America by Simon & Garfunkel

chosen song- America by Simon & Garfunkel 

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who are Simon and Garfunkel? 

Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number ones—"The Sound of Silence" and the two Record of the Year Grammywinners "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge over Troubled Water"—and "Homeward Bound", "I Am a Rock", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (also a cover hit for the Bangles), "America", "The Boxer" and "Cecilia".

Meaning behind the song:  

I feel it refers to the elusive American Dream, the promise young people are assured as they set out on the world that they can conquer anything. A theme seen throughout the works of Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, and Kerouac; it is merely that: a dream. As the two lovers here progress on their journey, they run out of cigarettes, they grow bored, and they go to sleep. There is nothing left to do but count the cars in the turnpike, who are of course all doing what they are doing- looking for America. 

themes:

- longing

- existential uncertainty

- romantic optimism

- lost idealism

- the fading American Dream

- dissatisfaction

America by Simon & Garfunkel explores themes of an unachievable dream- this being the American Dream. It follows a man and his girlfriend going on a road trip in search of this 'New America' where they will be free from all their troubles. It begins hopeful with the man thinking of this trip as romantic; however, as the song goes on, this optimistic perspective shifts into one of dissatisfaction and uncertainty as he realises that this ideal world doesn't exist and he comes to the understanding that everyone is looking for the same thing in life yet no one will reach it.