David Tanguay

“They’ve All Gone to Look for America”



Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2008

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The duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are American popular musicians known collectively as Simon and Garfunkel.

Simon and Garfunkel released a song in 1968 titled "America" during those turbulent days of the 60s young long haired hippies and just plain rebellious young people were leaving home and hitchhiking and traveling on buses all over the land.

Many have their own ideas about the meaning of the song. However, I personally have my own theory of defining the song. When they sing, "They've all gone to look for America"

I believe the young were looking for the America that was hidden from the world and especially from Americans in particular.

      The lyrics to the song


Let us be lovers well marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America
Kathy, I said as we boarded a greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said be careful his bowtie is really a camera

toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
we smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

Kathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the new jersey turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America

                                    
                                          Simon and Garfunkel
 

 

 

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