"Losing love is like a window in your heart."
Earlier this week, the kind folks over at Spin Magazine compiled a list of what they believe to be the top 125 albums ever to have been released since their little publication debuted waaaaay back in 1985. Noticeably (and dare I say "egregiously") absent from that list? Paul Simon's Graceland (1986).
(Angry face).
SPOILER ALERT: Dynamite comes in small packages.
DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT: Expect a good number of "Paul Simon is short" jokes to follow accordingly.
How in the blue hell Spin hopes to be taken seriously after leaving such a monumental album off of its "best of" countdown is anybody's guess. Perhaps it wasn't tall enough to reach the minimum height requirement of their list?
(short joke #1).
But all kidding aside -- Spin's oversight is glaring, and it seems as if they're virtually alone in ignoring just how awesome Graceland really is. Time magazine loves the thing. Paul Simon called it the best work of his entire career. Fellow musicians emulate it to this day (I'm looking at YOU, Jason Mraz). Heck, even His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has listed this little-album-that-could (short joke #2) among his own personal ten best pop albums of all time.
That's right: Paul Simon got a shout out from THE FREAKIN' POPE. How's that for high praise? The man is infallible!
Little-known fact: The Pope also has the ability to shoot evil Force lightning from out of his fingertips. I kid you not.
So for today's entry, howzabout we tackle "Graceland" and show those self-important hipsters from Spin just what they're missing?
Reason #1 Why "Graceland" is Certifiably Awesome: Figurative language!
"Figurative language" is pretty much the blanket term that we English dorks like to kick around when talking about writing that comes pre-packed with a boatload of imagery. Similes, metaphors, allusions -- you name it. Figurative language is the poet's go-to tool for "heavy lifting," as it allows an author to cram a pretty massive meaning (and some pretty big ideas) into what might otherwise seem like a relatively small amount of space.
We'll tackle these things immediately. But the key point to remember is that "Graceland" is absolutely brimming with the stuff.
Reason #2 Why "Graceland" is Certifiably Awesome: Similes.
Metaphors are comparisons that DON'T use the words "like" or "as." And similes are comparisons that do. Or, if you wanted to get cheeky -- one might even say that "similes are like metaphors" (see what I did there?).
Regardless, "Graceland" is full of both. Here's two killer similes to start us off:
"Mississippi Delta was shinin' like a national guitar."
Exhibit A: The Mississippi Delta -- (note: "shinin' like a national guitar" optional)
From the opening notes of the song, the pint-sized Paul Simon does a tremendous job of linking real, physical places with figurative and musical images. To that end, the "national guitar" that is so rich and storied in its own musical legacy (southern jazz, blues, and rock music) instantly becomes giant-sized as it seems to "shin[e]" amid the highways and rivers that criss-cross this basin of American culture.
Suddenly, real places take on near-mythic qualities. Open roads morph into oversized musical instruments. Graceland becomes Mecca and the Holy City all rolled into one. And our undersized-singer finds himself "falling, flying, [and] tumbling in turmoil" alongside "ghosts and empty sockets" on a quest to discover the deeper spiritual truths that lie within.
Animated Johnny Cash Coyote: "I'm your spirit guide, Homer."
But our pint-sized songwriter is just getting started. And the awesome similes continue throughout the song:
"Losing love is like a window in your heartA "window in your heart," you say?
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everyone can feel the wind blow."
Ok, ok -- so Paul Simon is totally Jewish. Still, the "window in your heart" imagery is kinda' unavoidably spiritual, now that we look at it...
Christian or Jew, all this talk of "a window in your heart" seems to suggest a that our traveling troubadour is embarking on a much broader and more weighty voyage than a mere road trip to that oft-discussed Elvis Presley uber-mansion. And in the metaphorical imagery that follows, Paul Simon bears precisely such an explanation out to its logical end.
Reason #3 Why "Graceland" is Certifiably Awesome: The Grand Allusion (see what I did there?).
Since we were talking about "spiritual journeys," things can get heavy in a hurry -- and so metaphors are a must. As such, let's start with the most obvious, which we hear sung time and again throughout the song:
"For reasons I cannot explainHmm -- if I'm hearing him right, it sounds like Paul Simon keeps finding himself drawn to seek a mythical "Land" of "Grace." But WHY? Who knows. Though I've gotta' say -- I really don't think we're just talking about Memphis, Tennessee anymore, Toto. And this is getting downright heavenly, now that you mention it.
There's a part of me that longs to see Graceland"
The riddle goes even deeper just a few lines later:
"Maybe I have reason to believeNow sure, Graceland could just be the former residence of The King of Rock and Roll. But when people start singing about how they have this deep and abiding sense that "poor boys, and pilgrims, and families... will be received" in this safe haven -- one can't help but wonder if our knee-high-balladeer isn't *only* singing about the brick-and-mortar resting place of one Elvis Presley.
We all will be received in Graceland"
In fact, this sounds an awful lot like...
(*Actual Heaven may vary. Jewish/Protestant/Buddhist/Muslim/etc. Heaven available upon request. See store for details)
Long story short?
"Graceland" isn't merely a tune about walkin' in Memphis. Instead, Paul Simon's musical pilgrimage takes him not only through the cradle of American rock & roll, but down into the very depths of his soul as a singer, songwriter. and a person of faith -- however allusive that faith may be.
Moral of the story:
Paul Simon is one tiny dude, but he can write pop music with the best of them. And in leaving Graceland off of their best albums of the past 25 years list? Spin Magazine missed the boat...
BIG time.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
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