Slip Slidin' Away

Last Wednesday we happened to catch the last half of a great special on PBS. The Library of Congress was bestowing its first annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to none other than Paul Simon, one of our all-time favorites. We missed musical tributes from the likes of Alison Krauss, Stevie Wonder, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and many others, but we did catch the ubiquitous James Taylor, Lyle Lovett, Marc Anthony (who knocked my socks off doing "El Cóndor Pasa" and "Late in the Evening"), and a few others. If you like Paul Simon's music (I would think everyone does—am I right?), try to catch this on your local PBS station when they re-air it. I can't wait to see the whole thing.

Meanwhile, I've had "Slip Slidin' Away" stuck in my brain for almost a week now. James Taylor performed it, and I was once again struck by Simon's amazing lyric-writing talents. You might be excused if you'd never really paid attention to the words to this one before, because the melody and composition are so familiar and lively, but check out these powerful lyrics:

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away.

I know a man
He came from my hometown.
He wore his passion for his woman
Like a thorny crown.
He said, "Dolores
I live in fear.
My love for you is so overpowering
I'm afraid that I will disappear."

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away.

I know a woman
Became a wife.
These are the very words she uses
To describe her life.
She said, "A good day
Ain't got no rain.
She said, "A bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been."

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away.

And I know a father
Who had a son.
He longed to tell him all the reasons
For the things he'd done.
He came a long way
Just to explain.
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
Then he turned around and headed home again.

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away.

God only knows
God makes his plan.
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man.
We work our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
When in fact we're slip slidin' away.

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away.

Comments

[jo]

Oh how I adore Paul Simon. I ran in the other room and tried to set my cable box up to tape it, but sadly it is not on either PBS local or NH in the next two weeks.
i musn't forget to tape it, I musn't forget to tape it,I musn't...

[Deb C]

Love, love, love Paul Simon. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to catch it when it becomes available on our local PBS stations.

[Elena]

Love both Paul Simon and James Taylor. Isn't that a perfect song for JT too?!

[Karen]

JT also did "Still Crazy After All These Years" -- equally perfect!