The Only Living Boy in New York

Paul Simon wrote this song in 1969, when his partner Art Garfunkel went down to Mexico to Film "Catch-22." It's all about being alone, adrift, untethered from everyone and every thing you know and love or know and hate but at least know. What Paul knew when he wrote it, but Art didn't know when he left, was that "Simon & Garfunkel" were through, and only Simon and Garfunkel would remain. We've all been there, leaving friends, lovers, schools, jobs behind. When you make the choice, it's bittersweet. When the choice is made for you, it's just plain bitter. Paul is somewhere in the middle, left behind in the short term but preparing to make the break for good.

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know your part'll go fine.
Fly down to Mexico.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da and here I am,
The only living boy in New York.

In the song he refers to Art as Tom, the name Art used when they were a teenage duo called Tom & Jerry. When they were fifteen, they actually had a hit single, "Hey Schoolgirl." Imagine that! Paul had ditched Art once before, in 1963, after they cut their first album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.m." The album was going nowhere on the charts and Paul went off to England, worked solo, fell in love. He liked it, maybe he was even happy to be shed of his childhood chum, but then some wiseguy producer added drums and electric guitars to "Sounds of Silence" and made it a Number 1 hit. So Paul came home, left Kathy behind (memorializing her in "Kathy's Song"), and rejoined Art for the sake of history.

So when he wrote this song, these guys had been together a long time, side by side, but now Paul remembers that beautiful feeling of freedom that came over him in London and he wants to fly solo:

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am
The only living boy in New York

Ah, that moment of sweet freedom, nothing to do, no one to consider but yourself. It feels great. Listen to the way Simon's voice, usually such a melancholy vessel, soars as he sings that line: "I've got nothing to do today but smile"--for just a moment we're back on the 59th Street Bridge, "Feelin Groovy." But oh how that mood can shift to loneliness in a flash:

Half of the time were gone but we dont know where,
And we dont know where,
And we dont know where.

How do you make those two feelings co-exist, freedom and loneliness? How do you tell the one you're leaving it's over? Dig down and find the honesty to speak the truth:

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know you've been eager to fly now.
Hey let your honesty shine, shine, shine
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da
Like it shines on me
The only living boy in New York,
The only living boy in New York.

What a song! Shawn Colvin does a beautiful cover in concert (I've included it below). Doesn't bother to change it to "Only Living Girl in New York." It's just a state of mind, and she can capture it as well as any boy--except maybe the one who wrote it.

Simon and Garfunkel version

Shawn Colvin version