Quotes By Paul Simon

There must be 50 ways to leave your lover.

When I was 15, I made a solo record. It made Artie very unhappy. He looked upon it as something of a betrayal.

I'm not in it for the money. I like music. I love to write music. I can't imagine myself not playing or singing or writing. It would just drive me crazy if I didn't.

Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough.

It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no importance once it's finished.

Not every song I write is ecstasy. And it can happen only one time. After that, when you sing the same melody and words, it's pleasure, but you don't get wiped out.

I rate each album as better than the last one. That's how I see it.

We were always able to sing and blend well together; that's our gift. But aside from that, we're really two different guys.

How much can you do with two voices? You can sing thirds or you can sing fifths or you can do a background harmony.

Without Arthur's voice, I never would have enjoyed that success.

There's something about the sound of a train that's very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful.

I would be willing to do almost anything to make Art happy. I care about our friendship. The only thing I won't do is change the essence of my work.

We got on American Bandstand, where kids would dance to a record and then rate it. We called ourselves Tom and Jerry. I was Jerry.

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence.

It's a big error to think that because you like somebody's work, you're going to like him.

I'm more interested in what I discover than what I invent.

Artie travels all the time. The rehearsals were just miserable. Artie and I fought all the time. He didn't want to do the show with my band; he just wanted me on acoustic guitar.

One of the things that upset me was some of the criticism leveled at Simon and Garfunkel. I always took exception to it, but actually I agree with a lot of it.

People often called us perfectionists, but we were not looking for perfection. We were looking for some kind of magic in the music.

My whole artistic life has always been about change, change, change, move on, move on. It's the only thing I find interesting.

Improvisation is too good to leave to chance.

I think I have a superior brain and an inferior stature, if you really want to get brutal about it.

Artie is a singer, and I'm a writer and player and a singer. We didn't work together on a creative level and prepare the songs. I did that.

Mrs. Robinson is a little dated now, but it has nothing to do with Joe DiMaggio.

When I began making my own albums, the songs became funkier. They were more about the streets.

I always get very calm with baseball.

A man sees what he wants to see, And disregards the rest.

I don't feel any pressure from fans. But I'm always in some kind of state of emotional turmoil. I would not describe myself as happy-go-lucky. That's not to say that I'm not happy.

Having a track record to live up to and the history of successes had become a hindrance. It becomes harder to break out of what people expect you to do.

I lived in an attached house. My father used to drive into the wrong driveway all the time. He'd say, Damn it, how do you tell one of these houses from another?