Paul Simon says he has always been a spiritual dimension to his music. But the overt references to religion in
His latest album, So Beautiful and So What, surprised even him. There are songs about God, angels, creation,
pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife.
Simon says that religious subjects were not aware - do not describe themselves as religious. But in an interview with the PBS program Religion & Ethics weeklies, said the spiritual realm fascinates him.
"I think it's part of my thoughts on a fairly regular basis," he said. "I think it more as a spiritual feeling. It's something that I recognize in myself and who I like and I do not quite understand."
Simon can not understand, but he did not write and sing about it much, and that has generated attention. One blogger suggested Irish So Beautiful and So What may be the best Christian album of 2011. Cathleen Sojourners' False Gospel, who writes frequently about religion and pop culture, called it "one of the most memorable music collections of spiritual reflection" in recent memory.
"It's very beautiful ... album, and he is a big surprise for me, and frankly a huge blessing," said False.
During career spanning half a century, Simon has received numerous awards including 12 Grammy Awards. His first Grammy came in 1968 for best contemporary vocal duo, along with his musical partner Art Garfunkel. Their 1970 Grammy-winning song Bridge Over Troubled Water was influenced by gospel music.
Simon comes from a Jewish background. "I grew up in such a way, just be bar mitzvahed and so much Jewish education, although it had no interest. None," he said.
Now at 70, said he has a lot of questions about God. In his songs, Afterlife, that wonders what happens after death. He imagines a queue, as in the Department of Motor Vehicles.
How chorus goes: "You must fill out the form and then wait in line."
But there is a serious aspect, as the song continues:
"Face-to-face in the vastness of space / Your words disappear / I feel like you're swimming in the ocean of love / And the current is strong."
"By the time you get up and talk to God, and actually get there, there is no doubt that you could possibly have that could have any meaning," Simon explained.
One of the most unusual tracks on the album, Prepare for Christmas, contains excerpts from the sermon delivered in 1941 by prominent African-American pastor JM Gates. Simon heard a sermon on a set of old recordings, and said that attention to the rhythms of the "call and response" Gates "in the style of teaching.
The Love and Hard Times song begins with the line:
"God and His only son, paid a courtesy visit to Earth on Sunday morning."
According to Simon: "At the beginning of a sentence that is the foundation of Christianity, said: It will be interesting what now I have to say on a topic that obviously has not studied.?"
The song ends with a story of love that really speaks to his wife, and repeats the line, "Thank God I Found You".
"When you look to be grateful for the highest level, you need to have concrete and specific, that is God. And it is that the song is about," he said.
Simon said that the beauty of life and land often leads him to think about God.
"How is it created everything? If the answer is God created everything, he was not the creator, than say, the Great What a great job," he said.
But he said that there would be worried if you find that there is no God. "Oh well, so there is no other answer. I do not know the answer," he said.
Anyway, he added: "I'm only here for a nanosecond pollen, and I am very grateful."
Simon took the efforts of his questions with some religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama. I used to talk for hours with the British Protestant theologian John Stott, who died last year. Simon Stott made a big impression on him.
"I left there feeling that I have a better understanding of where the faith comes from when there is no plan," he said.
Many of the songs Simon raise universal questions about such things as the purpose and meaning in life.
"Very often people read and hear things in my songs, which I think is more real than what I wrote," he said.
False Simon calls "God-chronicler by accident."
"He looks at the world and kind of wondering what the hell is going on, how many of us do. He asks good questions and it seems that his finger on the heartbeat of culture spiritually," she said.
Simon said he was pleased - and somewhat surprised - that some people have told him that I believe that God spoke to them through their music.
"Is it a profound truth I do not know," he said. "I feel like a ship, and passed by me and was the editor, and I'm glad."
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