59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – Simon & Garfunkel
The sun didn’t always shine when I was growing up, despite living in the ‘Suntrap of the South’. In fact, I have strong memories of having to sit in front of a tiny fan heater or waiting for the coal fire to catch, being careful not to touch the white-hot gas poker. However, some days the sun blazed away without a care in the world and occasionally there would be a soundtrack to accompany it.
On those days the light & heat would rise up over Kings Holiday & Caravan Park and the radio would come on at the same time. Music would drift in and out and I’d be tempted to get my cream & red plastic Beatles guitar (by Selcol) out from underneath the bed to try and join in. These attempts lasted a whole 5 minutes before I’d go into the other bedroom and sitting in my pyjamas and dressing gown, I’d let the music and the sun streaming through the opened curtains wash over me.
Feelin’ Groovy was brilliant because it was a pure, simple singalong. It featured the word groovy (which was in itself, very groovy) and crucially it was very short, less than 2 minutes long, irrespective of the version played by the disc jockey. It sounded like the singer(s) world was a truly fabulous place to be, a place almost beyond comprehension!
Rumours abound as to whether the song was: Just a joyous reflection on the nature of day-to-day existence. A more nuanced note of optimism from Paul Simon sharing the belief that things were finally turning his way, after a relatively tough time trying to break the English folk scene in ’65 (see Homeward Bound). Or was it just simply an acid trip put to acoustic guitar with heavenly vocal accompaniment?
None of that mattered to me at the time of course. It was just my favourite song, a song that seemed to be on the radio ALL the time. Listening to it now, I am transported back to Langney Green, the main bedroom, the kitchen (and the smell of burnt toast), my first trip to New York and my pilgrimage to the bridge of the title.
Ironically, when I first heard the outro of ‘Smithers-Jones’ by The Jam and the lines “put on the kettle and make some tea, it’s all a part of feelin’ groovy”, I felt completely vindicated that my first favourite song was being echoed by my by now favourite band, but subsequent commentary suggests that Weller (who wrote the coda to Foxton’s main lyrics) took inspiration more from Ray Davies than from Paul Simon. But hey, that’s not important. What is, is that this song still lifts me up more than half a century after having first heard it…
…Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
Hello lamppost, what'cha knowing
I've come to watch your flowers growin'
Ain't you got no rhymes for me?
Doo-ait-n-doo-doo, feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy
I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morningtime drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy
Songwriter: Paul Simon
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
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