It is really great to see you return to Simon & Garfunkel. You still have a few really good ones to get to yet, for example, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" and "Scarborough Affair / Canticle," among others. I really enjoyed all your thoughts and commentary on the music and lyrics. For me it provides an abstract look into the typical American life at that time, not just the movie character. Both the surface life and the life that we sometimes keep hidden from others. I like what you said about how they like to prod us into thinking about life, without really pushing it in our face. Great reaction!
I'd add "Punky's Dilemma" to the top of the excellent list we have so far. The lyrics might especially appeal to Mrs. Shafer: "I wish I were a Kellog's cornflake, floating in my bowl taking movies."
Hi Lee 👋As you know, I don't live in America, I live in a country that at that time was somewhat closed upon itself. Yet, the message of this song was completely relatable. It still is, people are people, many will avoid things that might disturb the predictability of their lives, regardless of whether those things might be right or wrong, true or false, just never mind, go sit on the sofa and get the attention busy with something else instead of, well, thinking. Thinking is dangerous, it gets you into trouble, and we can't have that. I also completely agree with your suggestions and with your appreciation of Amy's commentaries.
Mrs. Robinson in the movie was an alcoholic. That was the secret that she hides in the pantry with the cupcakes. She checks into a rehab center in the song - that’s why they need to check her in “for our files” and they are “sympathetic”. The Joe Dimagio reference is a loss of hero theme - common in literature. The upbeat a bouncy nature of the song is an intentional opposite of the dark theme - because they want to put on a happy face for the public. We studied this song and the entire movie in my high school English class and this is what I recall some many decades later.. : )
The Robinson secret, if you know the book, is that Mr. Robinson is gay and so Mrs. Robinson meets her sexual needs with younger men. It’s only implied in the film.
The first and foremost rule with Simon & Garfunkel - is NOT TO OVERTHINK IT! The sixties were a time of bashing the establishment and not taking yourself too seriously! At the same time lamenting the fallibility of our heroes!
I always imagined we’re listening to the staff of some sort of church-based sanitarium welcoming a new resident, who has come to recover from some sort of breakdown.
@@seangates1451 LMAO, I needed that today. Do you remember the TV show "Dallas" and the actress Linda Gray? I read somewhere that that was her leg in the iconic movie poster.
YES YES. Everybody should watch that classic great film called The Graduate. If not for entertainment alone, watch it for the “time capsule of the mid 1960s”
"Going to the candidates debate... Laugh about it... shout about it... when you've got to choose. Anyway you look at this - you lose." My favorite lines from this song. 57 years ago and 14 Presidential elections ago...
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you" I was a little kid in the UK hearing this on the radio, knowing nothing about baseball, the name meant nothing, the whole song was a charming puzzle... but the yearning nostalgia in that line hit me between the eyes and I remember it as one of the first times I listened to a pop record and realised, "that's real poetry!"
This is when the American idol, the greatest baseball player of the 40s, the husband of Marilyn Manson, returned to public consciousness by pitching Mr. Coffee coffee makers on TV.
I don't know if Amy has heard this song before. But, I'm pretty sure she comes from a religious background (Amish) that may have actually and successfully screened her from all pop music. Regardless, her delightful 'squareness' makes it fun.
@@edgarsnake2857 but she is apparently a musician, and I don't think she has only just escaped her Amish background. A musician who hasn't been in contact with the Western world's best known songs? And TH-cam is full of professional musicians who comment on very well known songs they hear "for the first time". Sure.
Ironically Paul Simon wanted to use Mickey Mantle (his favorite ballplayer) but it didn't quite fit the rhythm of the song so he ended up using DiMaggio, who admittedly never understood why he was named in this song.
Great reaction. This song is a part of the satirical send-up and commentary that pervaded the 1960's musical scene. Other examples include The Monkees with Pleasant Valley Sunday (written by Carole King (and Gerry Goffin), another great pair of American song writers), the Rolling Stones with Mother's Little Helper and, perhaps most pointed of all, Dylan's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding). The younger generation was talking about the hypocrisy of their elders. Nothing really changes.
yes, good point about Pleasant Valley Sunday (which I thought was Carole King's composition), a look into the sometimes stifling nature of suburbia and conventional life and its foibles
@mojorider8455 Thanks. You are correct about who wrote the song. I know Diamind wrote several of their songs, so I mistakenly defaulted to him. Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote it. My bad for not taking a few moments to check. It's not as if I don't have the totality of written human knowledge at my fingertips. ;)
I took the Joe DiMaggio line to refer to a wounded nation looking for heroes or traditions to help liberate it from its misery or decline. But none is to be found. “Jolting Joe has left and gone away.” Fade out.
I totally agree with your interpretation. People are always looking for heroes, as well as things they can count on to ground them to this life, and that is especially true in dark times.
Original title was Mrs. Roosevelt. If interpreting think of Her and her life and hiding Franklins Polio from the kids. Changed to Mrs Robinson for the movie.
Good morning Amy. Thank you for this reaction. Mrs Robinson is a good song and I remember that I liked it a lot. It is a catchy song with an ironic tune and a fast rhythm, guitar pickings, and vocal harmonies. Simon & Garfunkel was always a group that I looking forward to hearing their new tune.
...Get Out Of My House, Cloudbusting, The Sensual World, Moments of Pleasure, This Woman's Work...she's got dozens of great songs worthy of Amy's time.
Amy, Vlad that was fun. Amy, you need to put a pin 📍 in that "goo goo ga joob". And that line, "sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon"...what if he was on the sofa with a sister or two? ( Fabs 150 )
As the song was in the works before the movie, the idea is basically about a woman who enters a convent because she's having a baby that isn't her husband's and she's hiding it from the world. Paul said the inclusion of "Joe DiMaggio" was because of the number of syllables he needed in that section. Also, there were "de-de-dees" in places where lyrics had not yet been written, and they ended up staying in because they sounded nice. As a result, a lot of the song is unrelated and full of poetic license. The song was as yet unfinished when the film deal developed. Art expressed to the producers that Simon was working on a song called "Mrs. Robinson" they might want to hear, and the producers jumped on it.
Actually, Paul's working version used the name "Mrs Roosevelt" (the lyrics make more sense of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt - she was actually a committed Episcopalian and had several very close relatioships with women who were known to be lesbian) but it was close enough to Robinson to be easily changed for use in the movie.
Not sure where you got the convent idea from. It's about Mrs. Robinson checking in to a drug / alcohol rehab facility. Read the lyrics again with that in mind and it makes more sense.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself", and "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes".
It's not about door to door evangelists. The first verse has Mrs. Robinson checking into a drug / alcohol rehab facility.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself". The next verse supports that... "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes". But in general, I think the song is about the loss of innocence, on many different levels.
I love how the Joe DiMaggio line really opens up the scope of this song. Great choice and wonderful commentary. Thanks Virgin Rock. Recommend watching the Graduate
Great commentary! I hope you listen to Arlo Guthrie someday. One of my favourite songs of his is 'City of New Orleans.' And he has an epic saga, 'Alice's Restaurant', which has become a Thanksgiving song for many :)
Once again, the great baseball season in its final 20 games shines above the political season. Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon, you should be watching the game, Mrs. Robinson can take a back seat and babble on while Jolting Joe is here to stay and will never go away...what a beautiful and reassuring song and a beautiful recording
In 1941 Joe DiMaggio captivated the nation when he hit safely in 56 consecutive baseball games, a feat that hasn't been remotely close to being equaled. It was a simpler time. Where has it gone?
You may have noticed that Paul Simon took the "koo-koo ka-choo" phrase from the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus" which came out a year or two earlier, a little homage to the Beatles. Simon has mentioned Paul McCartney as his favorite song writer, though of course John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus".
Er - funny? Satirical I would agree. Mrs Robinson who maintains a facade of moral rectitude and dignity while who knows what is going on behind closed doors.
Yes, Satire! I think the song is an examination of the world through the eyes of a typical east coast WASP suburban housewife, the clash of her traditional values, and the modern world around her. It drives her to the loony bin.
@@separator94I doubt whether either of them would describe themselves like that. They are non-religious, agnostic and politically of the liberal left. They are certainly not anti-Christian, and have been willing to tap into musical and spiritual themes from Christian denominations, but are not committed to any faith as such.
So sad that neither you nor Vlad know the pronunciation of “Joe DiMaggio.” I encourage you to watch The Graduate, a cinematic milestone and darkly comedic interrogation of The American Dream. You will also learn who is Mrs. Robinson.
DiMaggio is an Italian name and Vlad knows its pronunciation because it's close to his native tongue. But how Americans pronounce it it's a different story.
As I heard it, Simon originally wrote this song as "Mrs. Roosevelt", but changed it to suit the character in The Graduate. I think the theme is clearer with its original title: the loss in innocence that the 60s represented.
To me, the Joe DiMaggio bit is bemoaning the loss of heroes, addressing a society that seems to have lost its moral compass, drifting rudderless in the weird existential (and yes, lonely!) waters of the late 1960s. People used to really look up to baseball stars as role models (Black Sox scandal aside), and this wistful chorus symbolizes a putative simpler time, when we all knew we could believe in Eisenhower, apple pie, and Joe DiMaggio.
Aside from the amazing lyrics, the instrumentation is just fantastic. Very simple but so creative. Latin percussion, including the "bent" notes on the conga (that's the odd "woo" sound leading into the verses); the use of the hi-hat in the chorus to add drive; and the great variety of guitar riffs, both percussive and bluesy. A masterpiece.
I thought "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" meant that she was in rehabilitation for alcoholism. And the secret that she was hiding, keeping it in the kitchen hidden behind the cupcakes, and hiding it from the kids, was the bottles of alcohol. While sitting on the sofa, going to debates etc. were the things she had to do when all she was thinking about was her next drink. She was a heavy drinker in the film The Graduate with this song.
You have to do "America" next! Or maybe, "Kodachrome". Or one of Paul Simon's solo tracks, like "Late in the evening" or "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes". There are so many to choose though. I love the story-telling which is very much a water-color - they always give a feeling and elements of a story but leave so much room to fit your own interpretation to.
Yes please do “America”! And then also do the “America” cover/tribute by First aid kit at the Polar price award ceremony when they sang it to Paul Simon in the audience (when he was in Stockholm to receive the Polar price). They really did an amazing version of the song
The Mrs Robinson in the song has nothing to do with the Mrs Robinson in the film. The movie producers even had to encourage Simon to name the character in the song Mrs. Robinson. He wanted Mrs Roosevelt. 🤷♂️ DiMaggio was a hero and the country needed a hero. None could be found.
As far as I know they re-engineered the script to fit the song, not the other way around. I think Paul and Art were already using Mrs Robinson as a replacement for "Rosseveldt" (which would have clearly been too political at the time). They temporarlity were using Robinson as a substitute, So it suited both director Mike Nichols, and Paul Simon
@@yinoveryang4246 anyway this relevance song - movie exists. If they re-engeneered the script with that aim, the script became relevant to the song. Surely not precisely, but useful for talking about the lyrics, if the movie has been somewhat changed to fit the song, it became an interesting visual comment to the song.
@@albertoquagliaroli4230 There’s a very vaguely defined sense of ennui and lost purpose that both the film and the song arguably share. But I’m afraid that any connection between the Mrs Robinson in the movie and the one in the song is utterly lost on me. Even if I squint, I still can’t see it. If it’s in any respect the Mrs Robinson in the film, who is the narrative voice addressing her? What are the grounds they’d like her to walk around until she feels at home?
@@yinoveryang4246 The movie was based on the novella "The Graduate," which was published in 1963 and which named the character Mrs. Robinson. So no, the script was not re-engineered to fit the song.
Two older brothers and a younger sister. Older brother - Iron Maiden etc, other brother - Simon and Garfunkel and folk stuff. Little sister was ABBA and Blondie. I loved all of it. Got more into punk for a bit
I always thought the Joe DiMaggio lyric reflected the feeling of the country at the time, what with civil rights struggles and Vietnam military escalation going on: this kind of pessimism. Perhaps not unlike today's environment, tinged with cynicism. And DiMaggio was that yearning for a more innocent time, yearning for some hero, some leader to believe in. Whats' that quote from the Bertolt Brecht play? "Pity the land that has no heroes" and the reply was "No, pity the land that needs one."
It is funny. There’s definitely a wink and a grin to the writing and the delivery, along with a bite to it. It leaves with a long look, standing there watching the bus driving away.
It's a wonderful little satirical song by itself, but it's super helpful to listen to the song after having seen the movie _The Graduate_, which was released the previous year, and is a coming of age story about a young man who graduates from school and has to bear the expectations of all his family and their rich friends. There is a Mrs. Robinson in the movie who is the other main character, and you will learn who she is and learn more about the context of the song. Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest and most famous baseball players ever (he dated Marilyn Monroe), who had retired maybe 10 or 15 years prior, so the mention of him was a poke at the eternal yearning of people for "better times".
Knowing who Joe is and was, I believe helps bring out so much more to this song He was a sports hero to so many and the public exposure with Monroe. Thank you for your comment
Fun one, Amy! You should treat yourself to watching The Graduate some evening. I think you will really enjoy it. I think it might have been Dustin Hoffman's first movie? It's a keeper, and this song fits into it just right. Thanks for sharing it!
I've always interpreted this as Mrs. Robinson being institutionalized, maybe in some kind of religious convalescent home. "Fill out these forms, get to know the other "guests", feel free to explore the grounds, you're going to be here for a while so you might as well feel at home." Perhaps that is the secret kept from the kids. "Oh, mom's just gone away to visit her sister." or some such.
The Landmark New Hollywood film, The Graduate was released at the end of1967, noted for its adult content, extra-marital affair, sex, nudity, and language and the inclusion of some Simon & Garfunkel songs. The finished album and songs weren't released until mid-1968, if you saw the film, you heard part of the songs, if you hadn't seen the film, you heard the songs on radio and maybe what the film was about. :)
Your commentary is just a delight. I highly recommend watching and perhaps reacting to The Graduate. It gives a bit more context about Mrs Robinson. My memory of parents' negative opinion of this movie, informs my understanding of the "generation gap" of that time. Although not in the movie, Joe DiMaggio was a much revered figure to the parents' side of the gap, which is perhaps relevant to his mention in the song. While the religious lyrics may be ironic, I always sensed that they also somehow attempted to bridge said gap with love.
Paul Simon's lyrics are often informed by a wry humour and a slightly sardonic take on American culture and the human condition in general. You would love his song American Tune which is a heartfelt and poetic reflection on what happened to the American Dream set to a beautiful adaptation of a Bach chorale (O Sacred Head sore wounded)
You've misunderstood the nature of the lyric. If you see the movie "The Graduate," you'll see that Mrs Robinson is anything but the neighborhood proselytizer. I think the lyric can be interpreted as Mrs Robinson's guilty stream of consciousness, and yes, it does meld into a commentary on the Zeitgeist.
This is the first rock song to win record of the year at the 1969 Grammys. It also won a grammy for best vocal performance duo or group. This is from the movie The Graduate.
Hello Amy, your often mentioning of trains made Jethro Tull coming to mind. Esp. his probably most known Song "Locomotive Breatth". It might hold some surprises and should be fun to listen to...many trains to hear in it, besides some flute. Just my spontaneous thoughts for the evening. Keep Up your great Reviews of Songs we Love. So many still to be discovered by you and thus newly by us. Greetings and a 😀 from Germany, have a great weekend ahead.
My interpretation of this song is that Mrs. Robinson is an old lady who's being put into a nursing home or a mental hospital ("We'd like to learn a little bit about you for our files...," "Most of all you've got to hide it from the kids" etc.). Obviously that little snippet of a story is meant to have a larger cultural resonance. The chorus I see as sort of a patronizing thing that the people in the home might say to their residents who are feeling depressed or whatever. The departure of "Joltin' Joe" I see as a comment on lost innocence.
@@Ulexcool The song is not from the film.. a common myth. It was originally a random S&G track called "Mrs Roosevelt", which the film's producers insisted be changed to Robinson to match the character... but the lyrics don't appear in the soundtrack, just snippets of the unfinished song. It was finished as a standalone song for Bookends with the full "story" of some character that Paul Simon wanted to talk about. Having said that I have never seen any connection with mental illness - it's just a narrator talking about the character of a middle-aged housewife living her disappointing suburban life... so the themes do match the film
@@musopleb "Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" sounds to me like something they'd tell you at some kind of institution. And having grandma in an asylum is definitely something you'd want to hide from the kids. Remember, this is the 1960s. Mental health problems were seen as a source of shame back then. Also there was the whole Rose Kennedy thing.
Joltin' Joe, when he heard the song, was confused, saying something like, "But I'm still right here!" This wonderful discussion shows that the genius of S&G can stretch far beyond or close to the original inspiration for a song. As suggested below, if you watch "The Graduate", that original inspiration will become clear. I've always liked the ironic, lightly wicked harmonies, and the low insinuation of Simon's "Hide it in a hiding place, where no one ever goes./Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes." Secrets, things to hid, most of all "from the kids". These two voices, in all their works together, fit and play about with harmonies and accentuations like no other musical duo I can think of, sometimes close and almost indistinguishable, sometimes capitalizing on Garfunkel's angelic tenor and Simon's deeper, darker grounding. As with the Beatles, I cried when learning they had broken up. 1969-early 1970s was a sad period for that sort of thing.
Paul Simon was from NY of course and he worked one of his sports heroes into the song. He was on the Dick Cavett show once when Mickey Mantle(another Yankee)announced to the world he wet the bed until he was 16 which was pretty funny the way he reacted. The Yankees were huge back then and before so naturally working some pop culture into a song makes a song stick out because quite a few people will perk up when they hear the name mentioned. The Graduate would have been controversial at the time though. Paul Simon goes into detail on the Dick Cavett show which is on youtube. It's a little before my time but some people may have been offended by the Jesus line. Back then some songs mentioning Jesus in an unconventional way were banned from radioplay going into the 70's. I do seem to recall some feeling the line was condescending. All matter of interpretation but the way people thought then and now are quite different.
Paul Simon has written many light-hearted songs. As a solo artist, he wrote and recorded the following such songs: "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard," "Still Crazy After All These Years," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Call Me Al," "Late in the Evening," and "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War." With Garfunkel, some of their light-hearted songs are "Baby Driver," "59th Street Bridge Song," and "Cecilia."
Joe DiMaggio famous baseball player dated Marilyn Monroe during her death. He was called Joltin’ Joe as a nickname. The part comes from Jack Brickhouse, a famous baseball announcer who would say during a home run or a big hit.
As noted this came out in 1968, which coincidentally happened to be the year that Joe DiMaggio returned to baseball (as a coach) after retiring as a player 17 years earlier. Thus, the question of where has he gone was answered.😂
Have you seen The Graduate? It's certainly well-worth seeing. S&G's music is used to very good effect in the film. Paul Simon has remarked that he particularly likes the use of the song Scarborough Fair in the movie.
So to truly understand the song "Mrs. Robinson," you need to understand the movie it was written for and the character of Mrs. Robinson in the movie. "The Graduate" is a comic satire of modern life in the 60s, a coming of age story, about disenchanted gender roles, and moral hypocrisy. The song reflects those themes & the losing of American naivete in a world of increasing cynicism & change. It was an extremely popular & well received movie, which carried over to the success of the song. But yes, satire, social critique & a new climate of greed & crassness, wrapped in Simon & Garfunkel's usual amazing harmonies. I highly recommend the movie as a brilliant commentary of its time, and to also hear the song in its original use, somewhat different than the song as released on the album.
I don't know what "it" is, but I've always thought that, if "most of all you've got to hide it from the kids," the WORST place you could put it is "in your pantry with your cupcakes"! LOL
Well Amy I'm impressed that you can glean so much from a song with having so little context about the time it was written. Over 55 years ago, In time that was so different than today. And to not know its tie in to the movie, the graduate. Or the counter culture and the generation gap. Maybe it would be interesting to compare this to White Rabbit. (or any number of counter culture songs from the 60s.)
You know what “Coo-coo ka-choo Mrs. Robinson” means right? Cuckoo bird? Mrs. Robinson was a Cuckoo bird. Watch the all time great 1967 film called “The Graduate”. This song is from that film’s soundtrack.
Pronounced Di-MAJ-e-o. He reportedly wasn't happy about his name being used in the song. Another baseball legend, Mickey Mantle asked Paul Simon why he didn't use his name and Simon said simply, "Syllables."
The thing I've always remembered is Paul Simon's line upon hearing that Joe was none too pleased with the reference: "I guess he wasn't ready to be a metaphor."
You probably have to watch the movie, the Graduate to fully appreciate. Early acting effort by legendary Dustin Hoffman, written by early Saturday Night Live contributor, Buck Henry.
Paul is a life-long New York Yankees fan, & performed part of this song as a solo, from the middle of center field of Yankee Stadium on the occasion of a Joe Dimaggio commemoration day that was held shortly after his passing in '99. It's on 'the tube', if you're interested ( or even if you're not, I guess)
I always find your analysis interesting and insightful! I agree, this song is a wry comment on the state of society in the late 1960s. One detail I would add to the story, Mrs. Robinson apparently spends some time at a sanitarium ("stroll around the grounds / until you feel at home") presumably because she's so unhappy with her banal middle-class life. Edit: Also please take a look at "Scarborough Fair / Canticle", it's quite a beautiful combination of two old folk ballads.
This was the theme song for the movie The Graduate which was dig on middle america and cheap thin values evident then. Mrs Robinson was a cougar in the movie.
Amy, if Vlad can get you to watch the movie The Graduate, with him you would get more meaning out of this song. I do like your personal interpretation of this song though; I find it delightful. Joe Dimaggio was a baseball player and as they come throughout the decades, some of those players become our childhood heroes. The internet comes up with this meaning of Joe Dimaggio mentioned in the lyrics: "Simon discussed this meeting and explained that the line was meant as a sincere tribute to DiMaggio's unpretentious and modest heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes." I enjoyed this video reaction! Peace. ☮
Where have you gone Joe Dimagio What nation turns its lonely eyes to you. That refers to after WW2 While rebuilding Japan Joe Dimag became the ambassador to help them form a baseball league. Helping them form a country with a pass time to get over the war. And Where has Dimag gone and others like him that gave their time to make the world a better place.
It is really great to see you return to Simon & Garfunkel. You still have a few really good ones to get to yet, for example, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" and "Scarborough Affair / Canticle," among others. I really enjoyed all your thoughts and commentary on the music and lyrics. For me it provides an abstract look into the typical American life at that time, not just the movie character. Both the surface life and the life that we sometimes keep hidden from others. I like what you said about how they like to prod us into thinking about life, without really pushing it in our face. Great reaction!
I'd add "America" to that list as well. :)
Good stuff! 😀👍
It's 'Scarborough Fair', though 😉
@@mightyV444 Paul made himself PersonaNonGrata on the UK Folk scene, by copywriting a traditional folk song... Yanks!
I'd add "Punky's Dilemma" to the top of the excellent list we have so far. The lyrics might especially appeal to Mrs. Shafer: "I wish I were a Kellog's cornflake, floating in my bowl taking movies."
Hi Lee 👋As you know, I don't live in America, I live in a country that at that time was somewhat closed upon itself. Yet, the message of this song was completely relatable. It still is, people are people, many will avoid things that might disturb the predictability of their lives, regardless of whether those things might be right or wrong, true or false, just never mind, go sit on the sofa and get the attention busy with something else instead of, well, thinking. Thinking is dangerous, it gets you into trouble, and we can't have that.
I also completely agree with your suggestions and with your appreciation of Amy's commentaries.
Don't ignore "Bridge Over Troubled Water," you won't be sorry.
Hate that song😂
BOTW is one of the greatest songs ever written!!!!
You think she is an alien who just landed on earth and never heard the song before?
@@ronald3836 Former Amish, I think she is legit.
@@JR-dc9yb Ah, interesting.
Mrs. Robinson in the movie was an alcoholic. That was the secret that she hides in the pantry with the cupcakes. She checks into a rehab center in the song - that’s why they need to check her in “for our files” and they are “sympathetic”. The Joe Dimagio reference is a loss of hero theme - common in literature. The upbeat a bouncy nature of the song is an intentional opposite of the dark theme - because they want to put on a happy face for the public. We studied this song and the entire movie in my high school English class and this is what I recall some many decades later.. : )
The Robinson secret, if you know the book, is that Mr. Robinson is gay and so Mrs. Robinson meets her sexual needs with younger men. It’s only implied in the film.
The first and foremost rule with Simon & Garfunkel - is NOT TO OVERTHINK IT! The sixties were a time of bashing the establishment and not taking yourself too seriously! At the same time lamenting the fallibility of our heroes!
I always imagined we’re listening to the staff of some sort of church-based sanitarium welcoming a new resident, who has come to recover from some sort of breakdown.
Me too!
I always pictured an elderly widow entering a rest home.
Yes! The line, "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" has always reminded me of a new patient's experience at a sanitorium.
Somewhere between AA, marriage guidance and an asylum.
I always thought it was like the betty ford center or some other recovery center
You'll get more context from the film "The Graduate."
"Forgive me if I don't shake your hand." (Mr. Robinson)
@@peterbaruxis2511”oh my God, Mrs. Robinson…!”
That's just one way of looking at it though, the song was adapted for but earlier than the film
@@seangates1451 LMAO, I needed that today. Do you remember the TV show "Dallas" and the actress Linda Gray? I read somewhere that that was her leg in the iconic movie poster.
YES YES. Everybody should watch that classic great film called The Graduate. If not for entertainment alone, watch it for the “time capsule of the mid 1960s”
"Going to the candidates debate... Laugh about it... shout about it... when you've got to choose. Anyway you look at this - you lose."
My favorite lines from this song. 57 years ago and 14 Presidential elections ago...
Brilliant comment by you. Thank you
Don't forget to listen to America, from Simon & Garfunkel
a deeply sarcastic look at american suburbia in the mid sixties
Succinct comment.
"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you" I was a little kid in the UK hearing this on the radio, knowing nothing about baseball, the name meant nothing, the whole song was a charming puzzle... but the yearning nostalgia in that line hit me between the eyes and I remember it as one of the first times I listened to a pop record and realised, "that's real poetry!"
This is when the American idol, the greatest baseball player of the 40s, the husband of Marilyn Manson, returned to public consciousness by pitching Mr. Coffee coffee makers on TV.
I can't believe anyone on the planet hasn't heard this. Great song. But then Simon & Garfunkel is one of the most talented and consistent groups ever.
It was written for the movie The Graduate. It will make sense when you watch the movie.
its not a group its a duo ha ha.
Of course she has heard it before.
I don't know if Amy has heard this song before. But, I'm pretty sure she comes from a religious background (Amish) that may have actually and successfully screened her from all pop music. Regardless, her delightful 'squareness' makes it fun.
@@edgarsnake2857 but she is apparently a musician, and I don't think she has only just escaped her Amish background. A musician who hasn't been in contact with the Western world's best known songs? And TH-cam is full of professional musicians who comment on very well known songs they hear "for the first time". Sure.
Please, react to "Scarborough Fair", another amazing tune by Simon and Garfunkel.
It's an English traditional song from the 15th century. Simon only wrote "the canticle" that's heard in between.
Joe DiMaggio was the baseball player who married Marylin Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe was the actress who married Joe D
Ironically Paul Simon wanted to use Mickey Mantle (his favorite ballplayer) but it didn't quite fit the rhythm of the song so he ended up using DiMaggio, who admittedly never understood why he was named in this song.
@@dziga24 Those are both Americans who married together...
"Joltin' Joe"
Not to be mean, but I cannot believe anyone exists who doesn’t know how to pronounce the name Joe DiMaggio.
Great reaction. This song is a part of the satirical send-up and commentary that pervaded the 1960's musical scene. Other examples include The Monkees with Pleasant Valley Sunday (written by Carole King (and Gerry Goffin), another great pair of American song writers), the Rolling Stones with Mother's Little Helper and, perhaps most pointed of all, Dylan's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding). The younger generation was talking about the hypocrisy of their elders. Nothing really changes.
yes, good point about Pleasant Valley Sunday (which I thought was Carole King's composition), a look into the sometimes stifling nature of suburbia and conventional life and its foibles
@mojorider8455 Thanks. You are correct about who wrote the song. I know Diamind wrote several of their songs, so I mistakenly defaulted to him. Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote it. My bad for not taking a few moments to check. It's not as if I don't have the totality of written human knowledge at my fingertips. ;)
@@seajaytea9340 How about an edit?
@@blechtic Good point! Done.
Bridge Over Troubled Water is probably their best song. Arguably the best song ever.
Please, let's not forget that the original of Bridge Over Troubled Water was arranged and performed with the piano solo by Larry Knechtel...
Because Garfunkel wrote it.
@@aligator9552 No, Simon wrote it.
I heard Paul Weller do an awesome cover of it on the radio once, but can't seem to find a recording of it anywhere.
@@charlotex1 Touche. I can't stand Simon's songwriting when he isn't working with Garfunkle though.
I took the Joe DiMaggio line to refer to a wounded nation looking for heroes or traditions to help liberate it from its misery or decline. But none is to be found. “Jolting Joe has left and gone away.” Fade out.
Also, Joe was divorced from the late Marilyn Monroe. Their marriage wasn't really anything more than a sanctioned fling.
I totally agree with your interpretation. People are always looking for heroes, as well as things they can count on to ground them to this life, and that is especially true in dark times.
Also the more simple way of viewing the world and heroes in the 50s that willfully ignored a lot of life's complexities.
Original title was Mrs. Roosevelt. If interpreting think of Her and her life and hiding Franklins Polio from the kids. Changed to Mrs Robinson for the movie.
Very interesting. Now the Joe DiMaggio reference makes more sense since his hay day was during the Roosevelt administration.
Good morning Amy. Thank you for this reaction. Mrs Robinson is a good song and I remember that I liked it a lot. It is a catchy song with an ironic tune and a fast rhythm, guitar pickings, and vocal harmonies. Simon & Garfunkel was always a group that I looking forward to hearing their new tune.
Off topic: How about some Kate Bush? Maybe "Wuthering Heights", "Babooshka" or "Army Dreamers".
Yes! Please do!! Great Suggestion!
Excellent choice .. Amy will surely love the individuality of Kate's vocals, music, and lyrics !
You gotta be a patron to get a suggestion accepted.
...Get Out Of My House, Cloudbusting, The Sensual World, Moments of Pleasure, This Woman's Work...she's got dozens of great songs worthy of Amy's time.
@@binxbolling oh, darn. Well, maybe a patron will see this and pass along the suggestion 😉
Amy, Vlad that was fun. Amy, you need to put a pin 📍 in that "goo goo ga joob". And that line, "sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon"...what if he was on the sofa with a sister or two?
( Fabs 150 )
As the song was in the works before the movie, the idea is basically about a woman who enters a convent because she's having a baby that isn't her husband's and she's hiding it from the world. Paul said the inclusion of "Joe DiMaggio" was because of the number of syllables he needed in that section. Also, there were "de-de-dees" in places where lyrics had not yet been written, and they ended up staying in because they sounded nice. As a result, a lot of the song is unrelated and full of poetic license. The song was as yet unfinished when the film deal developed. Art expressed to the producers that Simon was working on a song called "Mrs. Robinson" they might want to hear, and the producers jumped on it.
Actually, Paul's working version used the name "Mrs Roosevelt" (the lyrics make more sense of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt - she was actually a committed Episcopalian and had several very close relatioships with women who were known to be lesbian) but it was close enough to Robinson to be easily changed for use in the movie.
Not sure where you got the convent idea from. It's about Mrs. Robinson checking in to a drug / alcohol rehab facility. Read the lyrics again with that in mind and it makes more sense.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself", and "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes".
It's not about door to door evangelists. The first verse has Mrs. Robinson checking into a drug / alcohol rehab facility.... "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself". The next verse supports that... "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes". But in general, I think the song is about the loss of innocence, on many different levels.
Yeah, she is well wide of the actual meaning.
I love how the Joe DiMaggio line really opens up the scope of this song. Great choice and wonderful commentary. Thanks Virgin Rock. Recommend watching the Graduate
Not forgetting Anne Bancrofts part?
@@TheGathumpus she was great in that movie
Great commentary! I hope you listen to Arlo Guthrie someday. One of my favourite songs of his is 'City of New Orleans.' And he has an epic saga, 'Alice's Restaurant', which has become a Thanksgiving song for many :)
"City of New Orleans" was not Guthrie's song. It was written by Steve Goodman.
Once again, the great baseball season in its final 20 games shines above the political season. Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon, you should be watching the game, Mrs. Robinson can take a back seat and babble on while Jolting Joe is here to stay and will never go away...what a beautiful and reassuring song and a beautiful recording
Amy's interpretation of the lyrics is often surprisingly innocent.
I'm glad you didn't say ignorant.
A missionary! Hahaha
In 1941 Joe DiMaggio captivated the nation when he hit safely in 56 consecutive baseball games, a feat that hasn't been remotely close to being equaled.
It was a simpler time. Where has it gone?
It hasn't left, this is a great baseball season, and Jolting Joe has simply changed his name.
You may have noticed that Paul Simon took the "koo-koo ka-choo" phrase from the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus" which came out a year or two earlier, a little homage to the Beatles. Simon has mentioned Paul McCartney as his favorite song writer, though of course John Lennon wrote "I Am the Walrus".
It’s “coo-coo-ca-choo”
@@thekaratekidpartii2169thats the similar sound
“Coo, coo, ca-choo” is a Beatles reference. You’ll get there.
Always sort of annoyed me because that's not the line (in I am the walrus), and now everyone thinks it is
@@petersilktubewhat is it then
@@DefenestrateYourself The lyrics booklet that was published with the original MMT EP, and all the official lyrics have it as "GOO GOO GOO JOOB"
- Cuu Cuu ka Choo is a Cuckoo bird reference, not the Beatles. Mrs Robinson made a ‘cuck’ out of her husband by having an affair with Ben. Get it ??
Love your reactions! Keep em coming!
Paul Simon has an amazing sense of humor…Check out “You Can Call Me Al”
Especially the music video!
Greetings from your fans in New Mexico. I love hearing your prospective on modern music.
Er - funny? Satirical I would agree. Mrs Robinson who maintains a facade of moral rectitude and dignity while who knows what is going on behind closed doors.
Yes, Satire! I think the song is an examination of the world through the eyes of a typical east coast WASP suburban housewife, the clash of her traditional values, and the modern world around her. It drives her to the loony bin.
@@gregorybrown3272 Why would Messianic Jews (Jewish people who believe in Jesus Christ, which they spoke about in interviews) do such a thing?
@@separator94I doubt whether either of them would describe themselves like that. They are non-religious, agnostic and politically of the liberal left. They are certainly not anti-Christian, and have been willing to tap into musical and spiritual themes from Christian denominations, but are not committed to any faith as such.
So sad that neither you nor Vlad know the pronunciation of “Joe DiMaggio.”
I encourage you to watch The Graduate, a cinematic milestone and darkly comedic interrogation of The American Dream. You will also learn who is Mrs. Robinson.
DiMaggio is an Italian name and Vlad knows its pronunciation because it's close to his native tongue. But how Americans pronounce it it's a different story.
@@ardanard-jh5fg - Amy probably did pronounce it correctly to start with then! 😉
This is exactly what the line is about: where have gone Joe DiMaggio? No one tells your name prperly anymore...
Yep. One of the 60s best.
Now you must watch the movie "The Graduate".
"America" is one of their masterpieces. David Bowie also sung this, live!
Okay, but as a classical musician Amy really needs to hear Scarborough Fair.
I think she's going to love that song.
As I heard it, Simon originally wrote this song as "Mrs. Roosevelt", but changed it to suit the character in The Graduate. I think the theme is clearer with its original title: the loss in innocence that the 60s represented.
I've always found this song to be bittersweet, like most of S & G's songs.
To me, the Joe DiMaggio bit is bemoaning the loss of heroes, addressing a society that seems to have lost its moral compass, drifting rudderless in the weird existential (and yes, lonely!) waters of the late 1960s. People used to really look up to baseball stars as role models (Black Sox scandal aside), and this wistful chorus symbolizes a putative simpler time, when we all knew we could believe in Eisenhower, apple pie, and Joe DiMaggio.
Aside from the amazing lyrics, the instrumentation is just fantastic. Very simple but so creative. Latin percussion, including the "bent" notes on the conga (that's the odd "woo" sound leading into the verses); the use of the hi-hat in the chorus to add drive; and the great variety of guitar riffs, both percussive and bluesy. A masterpiece.
My read (from my youth) is that song sardonically portrays the vacuous state of upper middle class US life of the day and their heroes and saviors.
I thought "stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" meant that she was in rehabilitation for alcoholism. And the secret that she was hiding, keeping it in the kitchen hidden behind the cupcakes, and hiding it from the kids, was the bottles of alcohol. While sitting on the sofa, going to debates etc. were the things she had to do when all she was thinking about was her next drink. She was a heavy drinker in the film The Graduate with this song.
See Mrs. Robinson in the greatest movie The Graduate
The song and the movie it goes with paint a portrait of the upper middle-class as staid and corrupt.
You have to do "America" next! Or maybe, "Kodachrome". Or one of Paul Simon's solo tracks, like "Late in the evening" or "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes". There are so many to choose though. I love the story-telling which is very much a water-color - they always give a feeling and elements of a story but leave so much room to fit your own interpretation to.
Yes please do “America”! And then also do the “America” cover/tribute by First aid kit at the Polar price award ceremony when they sang it to Paul Simon in the audience (when he was in Stockholm to receive the Polar price). They really did an amazing version of the song
The Lincoln quote "I laugh because I must not cry" applies to a WHOLE lot of songs of this era.
Scarborough Fair/Canticle
"Laugh about it, shout about it, when you've got to choose.
Every way you look at it you lose!"
Man, does that sound like current events!
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Your awesome and I love your show I watch it every day. I think you misunderstood this song a bit, no worries enjoy your day..
The song was written with the movie “The Graduate” in mind. It fits the plot of the movie 😉
Every time I hear this song I picture the movie poster for The Graduate
The Mrs Robinson in the song has nothing to do with the Mrs Robinson in the film. The movie producers even had to encourage Simon to name the character in the song Mrs. Robinson. He wanted Mrs Roosevelt. 🤷♂️
DiMaggio was a hero and the country needed a hero. None could be found.
I don't think so. There are important elements that move us towards the movie.
As far as I know they re-engineered the script to fit the song, not the other way around. I think Paul and Art were already using Mrs Robinson as a replacement for "Rosseveldt" (which would have clearly been too political at the time). They temporarlity were using Robinson as a substitute, So it suited both director Mike Nichols, and Paul Simon
@@yinoveryang4246 anyway this relevance song - movie exists. If they re-engeneered the script with that aim, the script became relevant to the song. Surely not precisely, but useful for talking about the lyrics, if the movie has been somewhat changed to fit the song, it became an interesting visual comment to the song.
@@albertoquagliaroli4230 There’s a very vaguely defined sense of ennui and lost purpose that both the film and the song arguably share. But I’m afraid that any connection between the Mrs Robinson in the movie and the one in the song is utterly lost on me. Even if I squint, I still can’t see it. If it’s in any respect the Mrs Robinson in the film, who is the narrative voice addressing her? What are the grounds they’d like her to walk around until she feels at home?
@@yinoveryang4246 The movie was based on the novella "The Graduate," which was published in 1963 and which named the character Mrs. Robinson. So no, the script was not re-engineered to fit the song.
You appear to have shredded the Americans 1960s
Bravo!
Two older brothers and a younger sister.
Older brother - Iron Maiden etc, other brother - Simon and Garfunkel and folk stuff.
Little sister was ABBA and Blondie.
I loved all of it.
Got more into punk for a bit
I always thought the Joe DiMaggio lyric reflected the feeling of the country at the time, what with civil rights struggles and Vietnam military escalation going on: this kind of pessimism. Perhaps not unlike today's environment, tinged with cynicism. And DiMaggio was that yearning for a more innocent time, yearning for some hero, some leader to believe in. Whats' that quote from the Bertolt Brecht play? "Pity the land that has no heroes" and the reply was "No, pity the land that needs one."
It is funny. There’s definitely a wink and a grin to the writing and the delivery, along with a bite to it. It leaves with a long look, standing there watching the bus driving away.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis. Bridge Over Troubled Water..perfect
For this song it's important also to consider the movie ad what happens in it...
It's a wonderful little satirical song by itself, but it's super helpful to listen to the song after having seen the movie _The Graduate_, which was released the previous year, and is a coming of age story about a young man who graduates from school and has to bear the expectations of all his family and their rich friends. There is a Mrs. Robinson in the movie who is the other main character, and you will learn who she is and learn more about the context of the song.
Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest and most famous baseball players ever (he dated Marilyn Monroe), who had retired maybe 10 or 15 years prior, so the mention of him was a poke at the eternal yearning of people for "better times".
Knowing who Joe is and was, I believe helps bring out so much more to this song He was a sports hero to so many and the public exposure with Monroe. Thank you for your comment
Ya true, you must see the film to understand this song. Such a classic movie.
Fun one, Amy! You should treat yourself to watching The Graduate some evening. I think you will really enjoy it. I think it might have been Dustin Hoffman's first movie? It's a keeper, and this song fits into it just right. Thanks for sharing it!
Simon and Garfunkel were Jewish but had strong Christian beliefs. (Messianic Judaism)
I've always interpreted this as Mrs. Robinson being institutionalized, maybe in some kind of religious convalescent home. "Fill out these forms, get to know the other "guests", feel free to explore the grounds, you're going to be here for a while so you might as well feel at home." Perhaps that is the secret kept from the kids. "Oh, mom's just gone away to visit her sister." or some such.
Alcohol
@@johnnyspaceman1 "Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes"
The Landmark New Hollywood film, The Graduate was released at the end of1967, noted for its adult content, extra-marital affair, sex, nudity, and language and the inclusion of some Simon & Garfunkel songs. The finished album and songs weren't released until mid-1968, if you saw the film, you heard part of the songs, if you hadn't seen the film, you heard the songs on radio and maybe what the film was about. :)
If you like their harmonies I recommend Scarborough fair. Beautiful!
Your commentary is just a delight. I highly recommend watching and perhaps reacting to The Graduate. It gives a bit more context about Mrs Robinson. My memory of parents' negative opinion of this movie, informs my understanding of the "generation gap" of that time. Although not in the movie, Joe DiMaggio was a much revered figure to the parents' side of the gap, which is perhaps relevant to his mention in the song.
While the religious lyrics may be ironic, I always sensed that they also somehow attempted to bridge said gap with love.
Paul Simon's lyrics are often informed by a wry humour and a slightly sardonic take on American culture and the human condition in general. You would love his song American Tune which is a heartfelt and poetic reflection on what happened to the American Dream set to a beautiful adaptation of a Bach chorale (O Sacred Head sore wounded)
Carole King's "Pleasant Valley Sunday" offers an almost parallel vision to this
You've misunderstood the nature of the lyric. If you see the movie "The Graduate," you'll see that Mrs Robinson is anything but the neighborhood proselytizer. I think the lyric can be interpreted as Mrs Robinson's guilty stream of consciousness, and yes, it does meld into a commentary on the Zeitgeist.
Great analogy of the falling leaf!
She kinda nailed it in her first comment. Context, I think this was written as part of the soundtrack for “The Graduate”.
This is the first rock song to win record of the year at the 1969 Grammys. It also won a grammy for best vocal performance duo or group. This is from the movie The Graduate.
Hello Amy, your often mentioning of trains made Jethro Tull coming to mind. Esp. his probably most known Song "Locomotive Breatth". It might hold some surprises and should be fun to listen to...many trains to hear in it, besides some flute. Just my spontaneous thoughts for the evening. Keep Up your great Reviews of Songs we Love. So many still to be discovered by you and thus newly by us. Greetings and a 😀 from Germany, have a great weekend ahead.
I believe she did review Locomotive Breath.
You are completely right...already done. Thx for making me aware again.
My interpretation of this song is that Mrs. Robinson is an old lady who's being put into a nursing home or a mental hospital ("We'd like to learn a little bit about you for our files...," "Most of all you've got to hide it from the kids" etc.). Obviously that little snippet of a story is meant to have a larger cultural resonance. The chorus I see as sort of a patronizing thing that the people in the home might say to their residents who are feeling depressed or whatever. The departure of "Joltin' Joe" I see as a comment on lost innocence.
Just watch "The Graduate" and stop making up stories in your head 👍
I agree with you , i don`t think its that closely linked to The Graduate.
@@Ulexcool The song is not from the film.. a common myth. It was originally a random S&G track called "Mrs Roosevelt", which the film's producers insisted be changed to Robinson to match the character... but the lyrics don't appear in the soundtrack, just snippets of the unfinished song. It was finished as a standalone song for Bookends with the full "story" of some character that Paul Simon wanted to talk about.
Having said that I have never seen any connection with mental illness - it's just a narrator talking about the character of a middle-aged housewife living her disappointing suburban life... so the themes do match the film
Maybe "Joltin Joe" is the asylum orderly who administers electric shock therapy.
@@musopleb "Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" sounds to me like something they'd tell you at some kind of institution. And having grandma in an asylum is definitely something you'd want to hide from the kids. Remember, this is the 1960s. Mental health problems were seen as a source of shame back then. Also there was the whole Rose Kennedy thing.
Joltin' Joe, when he heard the song, was confused, saying something like, "But I'm still right here!"
This wonderful discussion shows that the genius of S&G can stretch far beyond or close to the original inspiration for a song. As suggested below, if you watch "The Graduate", that original inspiration will become clear.
I've always liked the ironic, lightly wicked harmonies, and the low insinuation of Simon's "Hide it in a hiding place, where no one ever goes./Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes." Secrets, things to hid, most of all "from the kids".
These two voices, in all their works together, fit and play about with harmonies and accentuations like no other musical duo I can think of, sometimes close and almost indistinguishable, sometimes capitalizing on Garfunkel's angelic tenor and Simon's deeper, darker grounding. As with the Beatles, I cried when learning they had broken up. 1969-early 1970s was a sad period for that sort of thing.
Paul Simon was from NY of course and he worked one of his sports heroes into the song. He was on the Dick Cavett show once when Mickey Mantle(another Yankee)announced to the world he wet the bed until he was 16 which was pretty funny the way he reacted. The Yankees were huge back then and before so naturally working some pop culture into a song makes a song stick out because quite a few people will perk up when they hear the name mentioned. The Graduate would have been controversial at the time though. Paul Simon goes into detail on the Dick Cavett show which is on youtube. It's a little before my time but some people may have been offended by the Jesus line. Back then some songs mentioning Jesus in an unconventional way were banned from radioplay going into the 70's. I do seem to recall some feeling the line was condescending. All matter of interpretation but the way people thought then and now are quite different.
Paul Simon has written many light-hearted songs. As a solo artist, he wrote and recorded the following such songs: "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard," "Still Crazy After All These Years," "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Call Me Al," "Late in the Evening," and "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War." With Garfunkel, some of their light-hearted songs are "Baby Driver," "59th Street Bridge Song," and "Cecilia."
one of their more catchy ones, but its well down the list imo of their best...
Joe DiMaggio famous baseball player dated Marilyn Monroe during her death. He was called Joltin’ Joe as a nickname. The part comes from Jack Brickhouse, a famous baseball announcer who would say during a home run or a big hit.
As noted this came out in 1968, which coincidentally happened to be the year that Joe DiMaggio returned to baseball (as a coach) after retiring as a player 17 years earlier. Thus, the question of where has he gone was answered.😂
Have you seen The Graduate? It's certainly well-worth seeing. S&G's music is used to very good effect in the film. Paul Simon has remarked that he particularly likes the use of the song Scarborough Fair in the movie.
Great reaction and commentary, Amy!
So to truly understand the song "Mrs. Robinson," you need to understand the movie it was written for and the character of Mrs. Robinson in the movie. "The Graduate" is a comic satire of modern life in the 60s, a coming of age story, about disenchanted gender roles, and moral hypocrisy. The song reflects those themes & the losing of American naivete in a world of increasing cynicism & change. It was an extremely popular & well received movie, which carried over to the success of the song. But yes, satire, social critique & a new climate of greed & crassness, wrapped in Simon & Garfunkel's usual amazing harmonies. I highly recommend the movie as a brilliant commentary of its time, and to also hear the song in its original use, somewhat different than the song as released on the album.
I don't know what "it" is, but I've always thought that, if "most of all you've got to hide it from the kids," the WORST place you could put it is "in your pantry with your cupcakes"! LOL
Well Amy I'm impressed that you can glean so much from a song with having so little context about the time it was written. Over 55 years ago, In time that was so different than today. And to not know its tie in to the movie, the graduate. Or the counter culture and the generation gap. Maybe it would be interesting to compare this to White Rabbit. (or any number of counter culture songs from the 60s.)
You know what “Coo-coo ka-choo Mrs. Robinson” means right? Cuckoo bird? Mrs. Robinson was a Cuckoo bird. Watch the all time great 1967 film called “The Graduate”. This song is from that film’s soundtrack.
Pronounced Di-MAJ-e-o. He reportedly wasn't happy about his name being used in the song. Another baseball legend, Mickey Mantle asked Paul Simon why he didn't use his name and Simon said simply, "Syllables."
The thing I've always remembered is Paul Simon's line upon hearing that Joe was none too pleased with the reference: "I guess he wasn't ready to be a metaphor."
@@robtaylor5550and Joltin’ Joe said at the time, “I haven’t gone anywhere.”
You probably have to watch the movie, the Graduate to fully appreciate. Early acting effort by legendary Dustin Hoffman, written by early Saturday Night Live contributor, Buck Henry.
For ages, I thought it was a Beetles tune. I love the sly wink and nod Simon and Garfunkel they put into the song.
The song Mrs. Robinson takes on more meaning after you have watched the film The Graduate.
Paul is a life-long New York Yankees fan, & performed part of this song as a solo, from the middle of center field of Yankee Stadium on the occasion of a Joe Dimaggio commemoration day that was held shortly after his passing in '99. It's on 'the tube', if you're interested ( or even if you're not, I guess)
In the 60s women could be admitted to psychiatric hospitals by their husbands for anxiety/depression. My mother went 7 times! I could write a book!
You should take steps to watch The Graduate. A great movie and also adds contextually to the song.
I always find your analysis interesting and insightful! I agree, this song is a wry comment on the state of society in the late 1960s. One detail I would add to the story, Mrs. Robinson apparently spends some time at a sanitarium ("stroll around the grounds / until you feel at home") presumably because she's so unhappy with her banal middle-class life.
Edit: Also please take a look at "Scarborough Fair / Canticle", it's quite a beautiful combination of two old folk ballads.
If you watch the movie, all will become clear.
"Goo goo goo choo," Mrs Robinson (that's Paul Simon quoting John lemon)
This was the theme song for the movie The Graduate which was dig on middle america and cheap thin values evident then. Mrs Robinson was a cougar in the movie.
Amy, if Vlad can get you to watch the movie The Graduate, with him you would get more meaning out of this song. I do like your personal interpretation of this song though; I find it delightful. Joe Dimaggio was a baseball player and as they come throughout the decades, some of those players become our childhood heroes. The internet comes up with this meaning of Joe Dimaggio mentioned in the lyrics: "Simon discussed this meeting and explained that the line was meant as a sincere tribute to DiMaggio's unpretentious and modest heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes." I enjoyed this video reaction! Peace. ☮
Where have you gone Joe Dimagio What nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
That refers to after WW2 While rebuilding Japan Joe Dimag became the ambassador to help them form a baseball league. Helping them form a country with a pass time to get over the war.
And Where has Dimag gone and others like him that gave their time to make the world a better place.
"April Come She Will" is another great one they used in the Graduate film.