"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"

Paul Simon

(Image from Wikipedia)

I just have to complain and rant a little. I noticed the other day, in a NYT review, "Isn't It Rich?", of Stephen Sondheim's recent book, Finishing the Hat, that the author made a snarky remark about Paul Simon's 1972 hit single, "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard":

A song from "the heart" of a character has to be truthful, but if it isn't, it's not the author's lie -- it's the character's. But if a pop singer or songwriter writes a love song, a song of regret or even a bit of inscrutable doggerel like "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," it's autobiography.

Doggerel? That gem by Paul Simon? Remember the lyrics? Open a second browser and listen along on You Tube:

The mama pajama rolled out of bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation

It's against the law
It was against the law
What mama saw
It was against the law

The mama looked down and spit on the ground
Every time my name gets mentioned
The papa said oy if I get that boy
I'm gonna put him in the house of detention

Well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard

In a couple of days they come and
Take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek

And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard

I recall first hearing this song way back in 1972 with my friend Robert Adler on his family's dairy farm, but that's merely autobiography on my part.

Anyway, back to the charge of "inscrutable doggerell"! How dare that NYT writer characterize Paul Simon's lyrics that way! Even in an article praising Stephen Sondheim's lyrics. So . . . who wrote this crap about rhymin' Simon?

Oh. It was Paul Simon. The man himself. A humble bit of autobiography, I suppose. Apparently, he has a new album coming out: So Beautiful or So What. And his article on Sondheim is very well done, and says some interesting things about the creative process. Which is also Sondheim's intention in his book:

"Finishing the Hat" -- a fascinating compilation of lyrics, commentary and anecdotes, covering the years 1954 to 1981 -- is essentially about process, the process of writing songs for theater . . . . After reading . . . I felt as if I had taken a master class in how to write a musical. A class given by the theater's finest living songwriter.

I guess if Paul Simon thinks this highly of Sondheim, then he's well within his rights to denigrate his own lyrics.

So . . . never mind.