Paul Simon was starting to feel a bit bottled up by the expectations of his recording career as the 70s transformed into the 80s. He decided to embark upon a new challenge by diving headfirst into the world of Hollywood.
Videos by American Songwriter
Along the way, he took stock of what it meant to devote your life to music. “One-Trick Pony”, the title track to his 1980 album (and also the name of the movie in which Simon starred that same year), manages to both demystify and celebrate the skills of a musician all at once.
“Pony” Boy
As the 70s wore on, Paul Simon found himself less inclined to go through the whole album-tour cycle, especially because he was at odds with his record company at the time. On top of that, it’s also likely that he needed new creative stimulation, especially after he had conquered the singer/songwriter genre with three landmark albums in the first half of the decade.
Simon decided to try the movies. At first, he was only going to star in a film about a touring musician who’s seen better days. He ended up acting as the writer as well for One-Trick Pony, which was released in 1980.
But it wasn’t as if Simon had abandoned his day job. One-Trick Pony also came with its own studio album attached to it, although it was not quite a soundtrack. Some songs on the album didn’t appear in the film, and the versions of other songs were different from what appeared in the movie.
With the title track, Simon took a somewhat sardonic look at what musicians have to offer. The title suggests a limited range of talents. But as you dig deeper into the lyrics of this song, you’ll realize that Paul Simon manages to make that calling seem noble and necessary. Both for the joy that it provides other people and the satisfaction it delivers to the performer.
Examining the Lyrics of “One-Trick Pony”
Simon takes the phrase “One-Trick Pony” literally at times, referring to the pony’s hooves and claiming that “one trick is all this horse can do.” That line is a subtle admission that there are musicians whose sole focus on their art has made them somewhat incapable of delivering anything else to the people around them.
That doesn’t mean that the contribution should be taken for granted: “But when he steps into the spotlight / You can feel the heat of his heart rising through.”
In the second verse, the narrator references the beast’s techniques for entertaining the crowd. When Simon sings “But he turn that trick with pride,” the phrasing is deliberately meant to call to mind prostitution.
In the middle eight, Simon highlights the glory of the show that the musician delivers.
“He makes it look so easy, look so clean / He moves like God’s immaculate machine.”
The narrator contrasts his own multi-faceted world to this creature’s simple approach, and he ends up envying the performer.
“He makes me think about all these extra moves I’ve made/And all this herky-jerky motion/And the bag of tricks it takes me to get me through my working day.”
It’s almost as if Paul Simon is using the song to wrestle with his own internal struggle about the varying positives and negatives of the musical life. Perhaps he did so to try to some kind of conclusion. In the end, he seems to decide it’s a worthwhile pursuit after all: “He’s got one trick to last a lifetime / But that’s all a pony needs.”
Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.