"Punky's Dilemma" is a song by American music duo

Simon & 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 " ...

from their fourth studio album, '' Bookends'' (1968).

Background

"Punky's Dilemma" was one of two songs (the other being " Overs") that

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

offered to director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

for his film ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Wil ...

''. Nichols was not particularly taken with either, which led to Simon writing "

Mrs. Robinson "Mrs. Robinson" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, '' Bookends'' (1968). Written specifically for the 1967 film ''The Graduate'', the song was released as a single on April 5, 1968, by Columbia Re ...

". The song was partially worked on by John Simon, who was hired to "kick-start" the recording when Paul Simon had

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

. Morgan Ames, writer for '' High Fidelity'' magazine, attended a recording session during which "Punky's Dilemma" was being constructed, in October 1967. The team spent over 50 studio hours recording "Punky's Dilemma," re-recording vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied.

Composition

"Punky’s Dilemma" is breezy and minimal musically, with a

soft jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

-style percussion and seemingly improvised guitar lines dominated by seventh chords. As rock critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote, the song "seems the essence of lightheartedness on casual hearing but is really a poignant and ironic presentation of a young man's military alternatives: resisting or playing along with the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control 1968 songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Songs written by Paul Simon Song recordings produced by John Simon (record producer) Song recordings produced by Paul Simon Song recordings produced by Art Garfunkel