Bookends (song)

"Bookends", also known as "Bookends Theme", is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). It appears twice on the track listing, as the first (shortened version) and last (known as the Reprise) songs on side one of the original vinyl LP. "Old Friends" and “Bookends” were placed on the B-side of the "Mrs. Robinson" single, issued on April 5, 1968 by Columbia Records. A "clean" version of "Bookends" (without the segued string from "Old Friends") was featured on Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.

"Bookends Theme"
Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Bookends
RecordedMarch 8, 1968[1]
Genre
Length
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

Background

The "Bookends Theme" that opens and closes side one is played on the acoustic guitar, with no additional instruments.[2] The song is a brief acoustic piece (once compared to English rock band the Moody Blues) that evokes "a time of innocence."[2][3]

The “Bookends Theme (Reprise)” is preceded by "Old Friends", which segues into the song with a single high, sustained note on the strings.[4] The “Bookends Theme (Reprise)” contains vocal accompaniment from the duo. "The text refers to the passage of time, and to memories of a loved one, and thus fittingly concludes the series of intervening songs, which address interpersonal relationships at times of life that progress from song to song," wrote James Bennighof, author of The Words and Music of Paul Simon.[2] The piece closes the entire suite with the "resigned admonition" to "Preserve your memories / They're all that's left you."[4]

The song was used in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer.[5]

Notes

    References
    1. Fornatale 2007, p. 80.
    2. Bennighof 2007, p. 34.
    3. Eliot 2007, p. 95.
    4. Bennighof 2007, p. 37.
    5. Jenna Strucko (May 14, 2012). "You've Never Heard Simon And Garfunkel's Bookends?!". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved May 7, 2014.

    Sources
    • Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Eliot, Marc (2010). Paul Simon: A Life. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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