You can call me Al

[bella]

Can anyone tell me what the lyrics of You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon mean?

I'm not very poetic. I had a look at them and I don't know what's going on there.

[discerning]

Much of the success of the album was due to the lead single, the upbeat "You Can Call Me Al," whose lyrics describe a man experiencing an identity crisis. The track featured many memorable elements—a catchy synthesizer riff (played by Adrian Belew of King Crimson], an easy whistle solo, and an unusual bass run, in which the second half was a reversed recording of the first half. "You Can Call Me Al" was accompanied by a humorous video featuring actor Chevy Chase, which introduced Simon to a new audience through MTV.

Note: the album was Graceland. You might find the video on line, no time to search now.

Hope this helps,

[bella]

Thanks. I had that song going through the back of my mind for several hours on the weekend. Out of the blue. Usually that's what God does when He's trying to tell me something.

I used to know someone called Al, but had forgotten that was what I used to call him.

Still don't understand the song. And I could probably forcibly make some assumptions about what it means. But I think I'll leave it. Maybe God will make something clear at another time.

[rarara]

Hey thanks for the memory Bella. Just watched the pink room vid with Chevy Chase. So funny and cute.

Paul Simon is a poet and has great insight on life and people. I spent many rainy afternoons as a kid listening to my Mum's Paul Simon albums and loved reading the words on the back covers.

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

Hope you get some revelation; meanwhile I am bopping up and down.

I recently found an album of his from 2006 called Surprise. It's really beautiful.
x

[bella]

Rarara I love Paul Simon too. Some of my all-time favourite songs are from the 80s. I think we've had this discussion before. The hair, the makeup, the clothes, the music.

The line of the song that kind of resonates with me most about this "Al" is "if you'll be my bodyguard, I will be your long lost pal, I can call you Betty and Betty if you call me you can call me Al".

At first, I didn't really know him, but God had me praying for him. Years later, he keeps popping up in dreams and I said to God the other day, "I really think you need to get someone else to pray for him, because it's just really annoying and I don't want him invading my life (through dreams), just because you want someone to pray for him".

Not my circus not my monkeys.

[rarara]

The way I understand the song and this line is that it is like an arrangement of a relationship that covers up his loneliness, like he's renting a friend.
Or a relationship of sorts. His life has been stripped down and the props have gone and he is having an uncomfortable reality check.
Also makes me think of the Jewish people, God is the Bodyguard or the Keeper of Israel and we are his long lost friends. Whether born Jewish or grafted in.
He certainly has Paul Simon in His sights, of that I am sure.
I'm sure that doesn't really answer your puzzle but somehow I wanted to reply.

Love rarara

[bella]

Thank you!