"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)" is a song written by American singer-songwriter
Paul Simon. Originally recorded for Simon's 1965 UK-only debut, ''
The Paul Simon Songbook'', it was recorded soon after by Simon and his partner,
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...
, for the
duo's third album ''
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'' is the third studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the ...
''.
It is generally considered a parody of American musician
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's writing style, especially that of "
Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album '' Bringing It All Back Home'', released so ...
", released on Dylan's 1965 album ''
Bringing It All Back Home
''Bringing It All Back Home'' (known as ''Subterranean Homesick Blues'' in some European countries; sometimes also spelled ''Bringin' It All Back Home'') is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in Apri ...
''. The original version was subtitled "Or how I was Lyndon Johnson'd into Submission" in a spoken introduction at the beginning, after Simon announced the song's title. The subtitle does not appear on the sleeve or the disc label. "Desultory" means lacking in consistency, disconnected, random
and a
philippic A philippic ()http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/English/philippic is a fiery, damning speech, or tirade, delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term is most famously associated with two noted orators of the ancient world: ...
is a fiery, damning speech, or tirade, delivered to condemn a particular political actor.
Recording history
Simon's original, solo performance found on ''The Paul Simon Songbook'' is less well known than Simon & Garfunkel's; the album remained out of print until 2004, when it was re-released by Columbia/Legacy.
In early 1965, Simon was in the midst of a period in which he went back and forth between the United States and Great Britain. Eventually spending most of 1965 in Britain, he recorded ''The Paul Simon Songbook'' in London, while making a living singing at folk clubs in Britain. During this period he was also writing with
Bruce Woodley of
the Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...
. The album's liner notes by Judith Piepe, state of the song: "This is, of course, a take-off, a take-on, a private joke, but no joke is all that private or any less serious for being a joke."
In 1966, together with Art Garfunkel, Simon re-recorded the song for the duo's album ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'', with several changes to the lyrics. The list of names dropped is revised.
Lyrics
Bob Dylan references
When Simon complains about a man who is, "...so unhip, when you say Dylan he thinks you're talking about
Dylan Thomas," the next line in the London solo version is "It's all right Ma. It's just something I learned over in England," referencing the Dylan songs "
It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "
I Shall Be Free No. 10." However, the Simon and Garfunkel song says, "It's all right Ma. Everybody must get stoned."
[ the second part referencing the Dylan song " Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35". There is another potential Dylan reference in the line "I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone," possibly alluding to "]Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album '' Bringing It All Back Home'', released so ...
" where Dylan sings that "the phone's tapped anyway." In the 1965 original, the line was "Barry Kornfeld's mother's on the phone."
At the end of the 1966 recording Simon says, "Folk rock," and, after an audible noise, "I've lost my harmonica, Albert." This presumably refers to Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk an ...
. In the 1965 version, however, Simon sings, "When in London, do as I do: find yourself a friendly haiku... Go to sleep for ten or fifteen years." This could be a reference to Simon's girlfriend at that time, Kathy Chitty, whom people referred to as 'The Haiku'.
People mentioned in lyrics
In 1965:
* Lyndon Johnson, President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
(1963–1969)
*Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
, flag of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
* Jack Kerouac, American novelist
* John Birch, American Baptist missionary and martyr; namesake of American politically right-wing John Birch Society
The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ide ...
active in that period
* Larry Adler, noted harmonica player
*Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
, American film producer
*Diz Disley
William Charles "Diz" Disley (27 May 1931 – 22 March 2010) was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and banjoist. He is best known for his acoustic jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, for his contributions to the UK trad ...
, British jazz guitarist
*John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, member of The Beatles
*Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first list of Prime Ministers of In ...
, Indian politician
*Walter Brennan
Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...
, American actor
*Cassius Clay
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
, American boxer, later known as Muhammad Ali
*James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
, Irish writer and poet
*Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
British luxury car maker
* Tom Wilson, record producer who produced several of Bob Dylan's '60s LPs, Simon & Garfunkel's début album, and the electric version of " The Sound of Silence"
*Barry Kornfeld, second guitarist on Simon and Garfunkel's ''Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
''Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.'' is the debut studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early gig as "Tom and Jerry", Columbia Records signed the two in late 1963. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy ...
'' album
In 1966:
* Norman Mailer, American writer
*Maxwell Taylor
Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, ni ...
, American soldier and diplomat
* John O'Hara, American writer
*Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...
, American political figure (U.S. Secretary of Defense at the time)
*Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
, record producer
*Lou Adler
Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass R ...
, record producer
*Barry Sadler
Barry Allen Sadler (November 1, 1940 – November 5, 1989) was an American soldier, singer/songwriter, and author. Sadler served as a Green Beret medic, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served in the Vietnam War from late December 1964 ...
, U.S. Army Green Beret and American musician
* Roy Halee, Simon and Garfunkel's record producer
In both:
*The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, British rock group
*The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, British pop and rock group
* Ayn Rand, novelist and philosopher
*Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...
, American singer, Paul Simon's partner in Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
* Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and writer - as opposed to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, American singer and songwriter
* Lenny Bruce, American comedian
*Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, frontman of The Rolling Stones
*" Silver Dagger", nineteenth-century folk song largely associated with Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
*Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
, American visual artist
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simple Desultory Philippic, A
Simon & Garfunkel songs
Songs written by Paul Simon
1965 songs
Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston
Songs about Bob Dylan