The Only Living Boy In New York is a song from Simon & Garfunkel’s final studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water, released on 26 January 1970. The song is, like most of their songs, written by Paul Simon, who in this case also sings the lead lines on his own. The duo can however be heard together in the lovely and prominent choir of backing vocals.
The song is said to be a thinly veiled message to Art Garfunkel, specifically referencing Garfunkel who was in Mexico, acting in the film Catch-22. Filming took eight months, a lot longer than expected, and the production ended up straining their partnership.
To make matters worse, Simon and Garfunkel had both been cast in Mike Nichols’ adaption of Joseph Heller’s novel. But whereas Garfunkel received fourth billing, Simon’s minor role was cut from the movie.
During a 2013 New York showing of Charles Grodin’s documentary Songs of America about the duo, with both Grodin and Garfunkel present, Grodin had traced the beginning of their break-up back to the moment one was cast in the film and the other one wasn’t. He said, “That was the beginning of their split-up. I just think this is outrageous – you don’t ask Simon & Garfunkel to be in a movie and then drop one of their roles on them. You just don’t do that.”
Garfunkel added, “Yes, Chuck’s gone right to the heart of the difficulty in Simon & Garfunkel when he says, ‘Artie and Paul were cast for Catch-22, and Paul’s part was dropped.’ That, of course, is an irritant of the first order. So I had Paul sort of waiting: ‘All right, I can take this for three months. I’ll write the songs, but what’s the fourth month? And why is Artie in Rome a fifth month? What’s Mike doing to Simon & Garfunkel?’”
The Only Living Boy in New York includes references to a lot of these events. It was written by Simon as he was waiting for Garfunkel to return from the movie production. Simon was left alone in New York, writing songs and preparing sessions for the upcoming album. This added to the feelings of loneliness and abandonment in the song.
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know your part’ll go fine
Fly down to Mexico
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da and here I am
The only living boy in New York
The song combines a mix of strumming acoustic guitars, a start-stop drum pattern, and a the mentioned choir of harmonies. It has been compared with some of Elton John’s songs, especially Rocket Man.
Of recording the many voices for the harmony section, Garfunkel has said: “I started getting into open-mouth harmony, in a very loud, strident way. We were screaming at the top of our lungs and inside an echo chamber. I remember that day that Dylan dropped by to visit. We came out of the booth after all this screaming, and there he was.”
There is another aspect to the song which makes it significant – that of Simon saying goodbye to Garfunkel while referencing him as ‘Tom.’ This goes back to the earliest days of their recording career, which started in 1957 when they were both 16. At that time, they referred to themselves as Tom & Jerry after the well-known cartoon characters. On The Only Living Boy In New York, Simon (alias Jerry) sings to a friend named Tom (alias Garfunkel, who was Tom when they started working together).
Tom, get your plane right on time
I know that you’ve been eager to fly now
Hey, let your honesty shine, shine, shine now
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da
Like it shines on me
The only living boy in New York
The only living boy in New York
Simon had a feeling deep down that Art wanted to move away from music and do his own thing. The lyrics imply that Paul accepts it and just hopes Garfunkel realises what he wants to do soon. He also seem to realise that the Tom he worked with in 1957 is no longer there, in any case. They have both moved on.
How final this goodbye was meant to be at the time of writing can be debated, as the duo had no concrete plans to break up at that point. They had further shows and an album planned. Simon did feel different about the partnership, as no doubt did Garfunkel, and the recording of Bridge Over Troubled Water was difficult as their relationship had deteriorated. “At that point, I just wanted out,” Simon later said.
Simon’s musical farewell to Garfunkel was used as a b-side on the Cecilia single in April 1970. In New Zealand, however, it became an a-side. The most interesting thing about that one is the choice of b-side, and we can read quite a lot into that pairing if we want: a cover of Bye Bye Love.
Initially they both wanted to take a good break for a few years. None of them had plans to pursue solo projects at first, but after some time, Simon’s wife at the time (Peggy Harper) convinced Simon to call Clive Davis – president of Columbia Records – to confirm the duo’s breakup. Their collaboration ended by phone call in 1973. They said goodbye at the peak of their fame.
For the next several years, the duo would only speak “two or three” times a year. There have been sporadic reunions, but they were sadly destined to remain brief and far between. The Only Living Boy In New York ended up being Paul Simon’s musical goodbye to Art Garfunkel after all.
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