When I was in my teens in Australia, I enjoyed watching this song on the Rage program in 1986, which aired the ARIA Top 50 music chart countdown on Saturday and Sunday mornings. My brother and I would be lazing our way into the day, most likely before heading off to do some sporting activity like Athletics, Soccer or Tennis. I look back on these times fondly, of course, and only now appreciate, as a parent myself, how dedicated my parents were to us.
I remember You Can Call Me Al being pretty hip and kooky, with its catchy chorus, African rhythms and world music aesthetic. The video, complemented by the comical juxtaposition of a ‘tall’ Chevy Chase miming the lyrics of a very small Paul Simon, matched the peculiarity of it all. Having no idea what it all meant or what he was saying as a 12-year-old didn’t matter. It was just fun and seemed nonsensical.
When I read the lyrics now as a 52-year-old, they reveal a rather different side to the song. Beneath the catchy tune and amusing delivery are some fairly sobering observations about life, middle age, identity, loneliness and the fear of growing old. The protagonist seems to be questioning his place in the world and even his own sense of identity. So yeh, this all sounds a bit top-heavy, and no one wants to be bludgeoned with it, but with its witty sleight-of-hand remarks and amusing detail, complemented by such idiosyncratic music, what’s not to still like about it?
The song moves from the anxieties of middle age to a rather surreal journey into an unfamiliar foreign land. Having done something similar myself 17 years ago, coming to Colombia on a whim and ending up living here, I can relate to the song’s description of culture shock and the sense of illumination that comes with experiencing somewhere entirely new. It’s tip-top.
It’s wild how it all unfolds. And then, when the sights and sounds have been truly soaked up and you’re beginning to feel at home in this strange new world, it’s almost as good as any spiritual high:
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity, he says, “Amen,” and, “Hallelujah”
The following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:
The lyrics were partially inspired by Simon’s trip to South Africa and experience with its culture and music particularly mbaqanga.
The names in the song came from an incident at a party that Simon went to with his then-wife Peggy Harper. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, who was attending the same party, mistakenly referred to Paul as “Al” and to Peggy as “Betty”, inspiring Simon to write a song.
You Can Call Me Al initially fared poorly, reaching number 44 on the Billboard however, as sales and acclaim for Graceland grew, culminating in a win for Album of the Year at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards in February 1987, the single experienced a resurgence in sales and airplay.
“You Can Call Me Al” became one of Simon’s biggest solo hits, reaching the top five in seven countries.
[Verse 1]
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”
[Pre-Chorus]
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?”
[Pre-Chorus]
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]
[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)
[Pre-Chorus]
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]
References:
1. You Can Call Me Al – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Such a catchy song. I remember hearing about how Chevy Chase learned the lyrics to the piece on the commute over to the studio the day of the video shoot! 😮