Paul Simon Says Writing This Song Was One of the Most “Shocking Moments” of His Career

When Simon & Garfunkel released “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in 1970, they likely had no idea that the song would become their most popular hit. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is the title track of their fifth album together. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel enjoyed a six-week No. 1 hit with “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. It also earned the duo five Grammy Awards,

A song about enduring friendship, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” says, “When you’re weary, feeling small / When tears are in your eyes / I will dry them all / I’m on your side / Oh when times get rough / And friends just can’t be found / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down.”

By the time “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released, Simon & Garfunkel already had plenty of success. Their previous hits include “The Sound Of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and others. So no one was more surprised than Simon by “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, ” which he wrote by himself.

“I have no idea where it came from,” Simon admits in the documentary, The Making Of Bridge Over Troubled Water. “It came all of the sudden. It was one of the most shocking moments in my songwriting career. I remember thinking, ‘This is considerably better than I usually write.’”

What Paul Simon Says About Art Garfunkel Singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

Simon might have been the writer of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. But it’s Garfunkel who sings lead on the song. It’s a decision Simon later admits he regrets. It also became the beginning of the end for Simon & Garfunkel as a duo.

“We were really best friends up until Bridge over Troubled Water,” Simon says in the documentary, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. “[Afterwards], it didn’t have the harmony of the friendship… that was broken.”

Simon also admits he felt bothered that Garfunkel received so much praise for “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, even though he wrote it. At the same time, recording was getting delayed because of Garfunkel’s blossoming acting career, which took him away for extended periods of time.

“During the making of Bridge Over Troubled Water, there were a lot of times when it just wasn’t fun to work together,” Simon tells Rolling Stone. “It was very hard work, and it was complex. And both of us thought – I think Artie said that he felt that he didn’t want to record – and I know I said I felt that if I had to go through these kind of personality abrasions, I didn’t want to continue to do it.”

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” was followed by “Cecilia”, a Top 5 single. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is their last No. 1 single in the United States.

Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images