Because he is a part of mankind, each death takes away a little from his own life. “Each man’s death” says Dunne, “diminishes me”. It could be part of your own land, or your friend’s land. It could be a piece of a cliff (promontory) washing away. But it doesn’t have to be something as large as a continent. If a ball of dirt from the European continent gets washed away from the shore, a piece of Europe itself is gone and now there is less of Europe. Each man is a piece of mankind, of society, a “piece of the continent”, “A part of the main” (mainland). John Donne says no man is an island, all by himself. Who’s right? And can a tone and musical notes contradict its own words? Listen to them both, really listen, and I think you’ll get your answer. Yet Simon and Garfunkel say “I Am A Rock I Am An Island”. In John Dunne’s poem, “No Man is an Island”, he says no man stands alone, even if he should wish it. ‘Homeward Bound’ was on that same date.This post is dedicated to Seth Hammonds, who died at age 15. Paul Simon sang the figure he wanted me to play between verses and asked me to play it in thirds. It was important that session players became familiar with the current hits because many times producers describe the style they want by referring to well known groups. The producer wanted a sound similar to the Byrds. I was given a lead sheet for ‘I Am A Rock’ with just chords and asked to play the electric twelve string guitar. Describing the sessions, Ralph told us: “The band was booked from 7:00 p.m. He remembers organist Al Kooper and drummer Bobby Gregg – both associated with Bob Dylan – also performing on the song. The guitarist on the Simon & Garfunkel hit version of this song was Ralph Casale, who was a top session player in the ’60s. These songs were recorded with producer Bob Johnston at one of the Columbia Records studios in New York City, and now released with a more contemporary sound, “I Am A Rock” became a hit for the duo. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were summoned back to the studio, where they recorded the singles “I Am A Rock” and “Homeward Bound,” which were included on their Sound of Silence album. Late in 1965, the producer Tom Wilson overdubbed and remixed a track from that album, “The Sound Of Silence,” and it became a huge hit. Simon was going solo at this time because the Simon & Garfunkel 1964 debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had stiffed, and the duo split up. The single was issued in September but didn’t chart despite a performance by Simon on the show Ready, Steady. Simon then recorded it himself for his UK solo album (released in America 1981) The Paul Simon Songbook, which was released in the UK in August 1965. Written by Paul Simon before he hit it big as a musician, the song was offered to the duo Chad and Jeremy, who turned it down.
This song has one of more perplexing histories of recordings and releases. He did the same thing in 1973 for his song “Loves Me Like A Rock.” In the vast majority of songs with the word “rock” in the lyrics, it is used to imply music or lifestyle, but for Simon, it was just a piece of stone. The use of the word “rock” is interesting in that Simon considered himself a folk singer, and didn’t associate himself with rock music. It’s far from autobiographical, as Paul Simon was doing his best to write a hit song with this effort, and didn’t write it for himself. When he says, “I am a rock, I am an island,” he means away from everything and everyone.
This song is about a recluse locking himself away from the world. The song was very popular there in 1966, but the chart position suffered because the sales of the single were diluted by multiple releases. In the UK, this was released three times in a one year span: first as the original Paul Simon single in 1965, then in the summer of 1966, it was released as an EP and again as a single.
The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #6 in Canada, #2 in New Zealand, and #17 in the Uk in 1966. The verse I’ve built walls, A fortress deep and mighty, That none may penetrate, I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain, I am a rock, I am an island… says it all. Beautiful melody along with lyrics about someone shutting themselves from life. At times everyone could relate to this song. I first found this song on Simon and Garfunkel’s greatest hits.
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