![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Simon-and-Garfunkel-Paul-Simon-Art-Garfunkel-Far-Out-Magazine--1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Sony Music Entertainment)<\/p>\n
Sun 18 January 2026 20:30, UK <\/p>\n
Five albums in, and American folk duo Simon and Garfunkel<\/a> had hit their critical and commercial stride.<\/p>\n They were an odd twosome. Originally spinning rock and roll tunes as Tom and Jerry in the late 1950s, the folk revivalism that struck the early 1960s yielded a fitting soundtrack for Paul Simon\u2019s pensive songcraft. While the countercultural trends around them jumped between garage beat, psychedelia, and roots rock by the decade\u2019s end, S&G stuck to their guns, releasing records more indebted to Britain\u2019s balladry over the far-out happenings seizing the day\u2019s Billboard charts.<\/p>\n Yet, S&G\u2019s final LP bow would stand as their defining statement. Featuring the immortal title track, 1970\u2019s Bridge over Troubled Water would subtly expand its musical scope away from folk rock and bring in a little of gospel, some jazzy flourish, and the right amount of pop accessibility, bringing in six Grammy Awards<\/a> and record-breaking levels of sales, the biggest-selling album ever at the time.<\/p>\n The taste of Bridge Over Troubled Water\u2019s sonic direction would be offered a whole nine months ahead of the album\u2019s release when \u2018The Boxer\u2019 was dropped, initially as a stand-alone single but included on the LP at the last minute. Their most complex production yet, over 100 hours were pulled into its grandiose presentation, cut across multiple locations, including Columbia University\u2019s St Paul\u2019s Chapel for its dramatic acoustics, and mixed on two eight-track recorders.<\/p>\n It was clear S&G were pulling no stops for their rousing number. In a pugilist mood, Simon was eager to hit back at the critics and purist folkies naysaying their new direction and calling his songwriting\u2019s integrity into question. What resulted was Simon\u2019s lyrical tale of a young man navigating poverty in New York City for the majority of \u2018The Boxer\u2019s weary wander: \u201cI am just a poor boy \/ Though my story\u2019s seldom told \/ I have squandered my resistance \/ For a pocket full of mumbles such are promises.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think the song was about me,\u201d Simon revealed to Playboy. \u201cEverybody\u2019s beating me up, and I\u2019m telling you now I\u2019m going to go away if you don\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n