Paul Simon Quotes

I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called Mother and Child Reunion. It's chicken and eggs. And I said, I gotta use that one.

- Paul Simon

I lived in an attached house. My father used to drive into the wrong driveway all the time. He'd say, Damn it, how do you tell one of these houses from another?

- Paul Simon

I don't believe what the papers are saying They're just out to capture my dime, Exaggerating this, exaggerating that.

- Paul Simon

I don't feel any pressure from fans. But I'm always in some kind of state of emotional turmoil. I would not describe myself as happy-go-lucky. That's not to say that I'm not happy.

- Paul Simon

Improvisation is too good to leave to chance.

- Paul Simon

Artie travels all the time. The rehearsals were just miserable. Artie and I fought all the time. He didn't want to do the show with my band; he just wanted me on acoustic guitar.

- Paul Simon

Faith is an island in the setting sun, But proof is the bottom line for everyone.

- Paul Simon

People often called us perfectionists, but we were not looking for perfection. We were looking for some kind of magic in the music.

- Paul Simon

There's something about the sound of a train that's very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful.

- Paul Simon

I try to open up my heart as much as I can and keep a real keen eye out that I don't get sentimental. I think we're all afraid to reveal our hearts. It's not at all in fashion.

- Paul Simon

Who am I to blow against the wind?

- Paul Simon

I think I have a superior brain and an inferior stature, if you really want to get brutal about it.

- Paul Simon

I would be willing to do almost anything to make Art happy. I care about our friendship. The only thing I won't do is change the essence of my work.

- Paul Simon

I question what emotion Manilow touches. People are entertained by him. But are they emotionally moved? I don't believe anything that Barry Manilow sings.

- Paul Simon

My life so common it disappears and sometimes even music cannot substitute for tears.

- Paul Simon

We got on American Bandstand, where kids would dance to a record and then rate it. We called ourselves Tom and Jerry. I was Jerry.

- Paul Simon

When we came into the studio I became more and more me, making the tracks and choosing the musicians, partly because a great deal of the time during Bridge, Artie wasn't there.

- Paul Simon

We had many more points of agreement than we had points of difference, but we did differ, and the bigger we got, the more insistent we got that each one of us should have his way.

- Paul Simon

Having a track record to live up to and the history of successes had become a hindrance. It becomes harder to break out of what people expect you to do.

- Paul Simon

All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

- Paul Simon

If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything.

- Paul Simon

I think Bridge Over Troubled Water was a very good song. Artie sang it beautifully. The Boxer was a really nice record. But I don't think I've written any great songs.

- Paul Simon

Not every song I write is ecstasy. And it can happen only one time. After that, when you sing the same melody and words, it's pleasure, but you don't get wiped out.

- Paul Simon

Mrs. Robinson is a little dated now, but it has nothing to do with Joe DiMaggio.

- Paul Simon

My voice is my improvisational instrument, the melody instrument. The guitar is harmonic structure. I'm not a good enough guitarist to improvise on it.

- Paul Simon

We've survived by believing our life is going to get better.

- Paul Simon

When I was 15, I made a solo record. It made Artie very unhappy. He looked upon it as something of a betrayal.

- Paul Simon

Artie is a singer, and I'm a writer and player and a singer. We didn't work together on a creative level and prepare the songs. I did that.

- Paul Simon

Being an artist doesn't mean that you're a good artist. That was the bargain I first made with myself: I'd say, I'm an artist, but I'm not really very good.

- Paul Simon

The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains.

- Paul Simon

Why am I so soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard?

- Paul Simon

You want to be a writer, don't know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble pen.

- Paul Simon

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence.

- Paul Simon

It's a big error to think that because you like somebody's work, you're going to like him.

- Paul Simon

As long as you have capital punishment there is no guarantee that innocent people won't be put to death.

- Paul Simon

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.

- Paul Simon

My whole artistic life has always been about change, change, change, move on, move on. It's the only thing I find interesting.

- Paul Simon

I suppose an artist takes the elements of his life and rearranges them and then has them perceived by others as though they were the elements of their lives.

- Paul Simon

We just did what we'd done when we were an act in the '60s. But I found it impossible to hold a dialogue with 500,000 people. In a certain sense, it was numbing.

- Paul Simon

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.

- Paul Simon

One of the things that upset me was some of the criticism leveled at Simon and Garfunkel. I always took exception to it, but actually I agree with a lot of it.

- Paul Simon

I don't think that Simon and Garfunkel as a live act compares to Simon and Garfunkel as a studio act.

- Paul Simon

I don't very often think I've done a good job. I don't like the majority of what I do. I shouldn't say I don't like it, but I'm not satisfied with almost everything that I do.

- Paul Simon

Without Arthur's voice, I never would have enjoyed that success.

- Paul Simon

The record company stay out of my way. Whenever the record is finished, they take it.

- Paul Simon

Anybody can do bad work, but not everybody does good work.

- Paul Simon

I rate each album as better than the last one. That's how I see it.

- Paul Simon

It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no importance once it's finished.

- Paul Simon

How much can you do with two voices? You can sing thirds or you can sing fifths or you can do a background harmony.

- Paul Simon

There must be 50 ways to leave your lover.

- Paul Simon

I always get very calm with baseball.

- Paul Simon

Listen to the sound of silence.

- Paul Simon

Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough.

- Paul Simon

We were always able to sing and blend well together; that's our gift. But aside from that, we're really two different guys.

- Paul Simon

A man sees what he wants to see, And disregards the rest.

- Paul Simon

I don't like fashion. It's very heartless.

- Paul Simon

I'm not in it for the money. I like music. I love to write music. I can't imagine myself not playing or singing or writing. It would just drive me crazy if I didn't.

- Paul Simon

When I began making my own albums, the songs became funkier. They were more about the streets.

- Paul Simon

I'm more interested in what I discover than what I invent.

- Paul Simon

I don't consider myself to be a major talent, so the only solace I can take is to hope I'm growing.

- Paul Simon