Bridge Over Troubled Water Songs Ranked
Bridge over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 on Columbia Records. Following the duo’s soundtrack for The Graduate, Art Garfunkel took an acting role in the film Catch-22, while Paul Simon worked on the songs, writing all tracks except Felice and Boudleaux Bryant’s “Bye Bye Love” (previously a hit for the Everly Brothers). With the help of producer Roy Halee, the album followed a similar musical pattern as their Bookends LP, partly abandoning their traditional style to incorporate elements of rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, world music, pop and other genres. It was described as their “most effortless record and they’re most ambitious”. Here are all of Bridge Over Troubled Water songs ranked.
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11. Why Don’t You Write Me
“Nice little pop song. I don’t relate to it yet but I’d probably relate more to “Why Don’t You Text Me”. Reminds me of The Beatles and their love songs, except this one has that big capitalist band style of Simon and Garfunkel”
10. Bye Bye Love
“Another love song. In the end the real purpose of life is love. Without it you feel like your not living. A bit of a weird composition for them, but it does remind me of hearing Paul Simon live”
9. El Condor Pasa / If I Could
“This song inspired my brief phase of listening to andean folk music. This also bled into american indie folk music that was inspired by andean music. I always liked the native tribal spirit and aesthetic behind flutes and the fabrics and paintings that I surrounded myself with during this time”
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8. Song for the Asking
“Sometimes I wish that they ended this album differently but then I remember how important love is. Sometimes being a teenager makes love feel trivial or optional, but I think they might have been trying to create a message of the love everlasting”
7. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
“This song hits even closer to home. More about my dad’s side of the family: everyone from my great grandparents down built homes. Most everyone took a job in construction and the one who perfected this craft the most was my grandpa. He was one of the largest home builders in Boise, ID. After the housing market crash in 2007 they lost pretty much everything and went bankrupt. Just this last year we went through their storage unit and took out hundreds of thousands of blueprints and artifacts. He taught me how to draft blueprints when I was 10 and he always had a lot praise for Frank Lloyd Wright. I also like his architectural style and it has become a part of my designing aesthetic. I also like to think of this song as me saying goodbye to my family’s pattern of construction, which also leads to me saying goodbye to their pattern of mormonism”
6. Cecilia
“This was the first song I really liked from them when I was 6. It was their get up and dance song and it reminded me of the pop tunes I heard on the radio like sugar sugar by the archies. It also was a part of the aesthetic that El condor pasa inspired me with but in a more romantic hometown pop way”
5. The Only Living Boy in New York
“A very spiritual song. One of my favorite pieces from them, as it carries the ethereal feel of The Boxer in a more lonely and isolated feel. It feels great to listen to coming back in town alone on a Sunday night. Sometimes when you have introspective thoughts you can feel all alone or that your the only one who is truly awake, but this song connects you back to the world. Reminds of Pink Floyd’s Time”
See more: Simon & Garfunkel Songs Ranked
4. Baby Driver
“This song is probably relatable now more than ever. The whole purpose of a teenager’s life is to get a car and hit the road with a girl. I just bought my first car this year and also tons of other new teenager crap but this song always humbles me to the unimportance of it all. Also a lot of relatable lyrics regarding growing up in the middle class which can sum up the capitalist tone to this song”
3. Keep the Customer Satisfied
“I always made connections to this song and Pink Floyd’s Money. I know all the lyrics to both songs. It actually it reminds me of most of Dark Side Of The Moon. Both represent the depressing parts of capitalism, but this song almost ironically sensationalizes it. Either way its always stuck in my head”
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water
“This was my grandma’s favorite song growing up. When her parents divorced she always found comfort in it. Aside from being a great song it always reminds me of when my parents divorced and I took comfort in Boards of Canada”
1. The Boxer
“Another fact about my grandpa, The Boxer is his favorite song. It always reminds me of his legacy and way of life. I remember when we heard Paul Simon play it live and it really made his year. The lyrics relate to him a lot more than to me, but this song still strikes a very ethereal feel for a 70’s folk pop tune”