Another album I’ve come close to covering in full is Paul Simon’s 1986 masterpiece Graceland. This is an album that will never leave my shortlist of the greatest ever recorded, so it makes sense that it has shown up so often on the site.
I’ve given the Song of the Day treatment to all but two of Graceland‘s 11 tracks, and while several of those posts were more about the album as a whole than the specific song, that still counts for these purposes.
One of the two uncovered songs is ‘Homeless,’ a collaboration between Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo lead singer Joseph Shabalala. The music for ‘Homeless’ comes from a Zulu wedding song, and Shabalala provided the Zulu lyrics with Simon adding those in English.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, an a capella vocal group, gained international prominence through their inclusion on Graceland, later collaborating with George Clinton, Michael Jackson, and the cast of Sesame Street, among others.
‘Homeless’ sits in the middle of Side Two, a classic deep cut position, and is likely the least known track on Graceland. It’s also one of the most beautiful, with Simon’s vocals interplaying in lovely fashion with the South African choir.
The other Graceland song I haven’t covered until now, perhaps surprisingly, is the album’s best known track, ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ This was the first single, and the only Graceland song to crack the Top 40 (it peaked at #23).
A catchy song about a midlife crisis and spiritual awakening, ‘You Can Call Me Al’ features a great vocal performance that’s the closest Paul Simon will ever get to rapping. This is definitely a fun song to belt out in the car.
The “I can call you Betty and… you can call me Al” lyrics were inspired by an incident at a party, when Simon and then-wife Peggy Harper were mistakenly referred to as Al and Betty by the French composer Pierre Boulez. The third verse depicts Simon’s first visit to South Africa.
‘You Can Call Me Al’ also features one of the great music videos of its era, in which Chevy Chase lip-syncs the song next to a silent Simon. My family got a lot of laughs out of this video, especially when my mother coined the universal truth that a “tall man in a white jacket looks even bigger when seated next to a short man in a black jacket.”
I’ve always ranked ‘You Can Call Me Al’ toward the bottom of my personal ranking of Graceland tracks, almost entirely because of its ubiquity. It’s been interesting to see it become a favorite of my daughters, who carry none of that baggage. And they’re right… it’s a wonderful song.
A man walks down the street, he says, “Why am I soft in the middle now?
Why am I soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity, I want a shot at redemption
Don’t wanna end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard”
Bone digger, bone digger
Dogs in the moonlight
Far away in my well-lit door
Mr. Beer Belly, Beer Belly
Get these mutts away from me, you know
I don’t find this stuff amusing anymore
[Chorus]
Uh, if you would be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al
[Verse 2]
A man walks down the street, he says, “Why am I short of attention?
Got a short little span of attention and, woah, my nights are so long
Where’s my wife and family? What if I die here?
Who’ll be my role model now that my role model is gone, gone?”
He ducked back down the alley with some, uh
Roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along, along, there were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations
[Chorus]
Uh, if you would be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al
You can call me Al
[Verse 3]
A man walks down the street
It’s a street in a strange world
Maybe it’s the third world
Maybe it’s his first time around
Doesn’t speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound, the sound (Ooh, ooh)
Of cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity, he says, “Amen,” and, “Hallelujah”
[Chorus]
If you’d be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al
You can call me
[Post-Chorus]
Na, na, na-na, na, na, na-na
Na, na, na-na, na, na, na-na, na-na
Na, na, na-na, na-na, na-na, na, na
Na, na, na-na, na, na, na-na-na
[Outro]
If you’ll be my bodyguard (Ooh)
I can call you Betty (Ooh)
If you’ll be my bodyguard
I can call you Betty
If you’ll be my bodyguard
