"Cecilia" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in April 1970 as the third single from the group's fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Written by Paul Simon, the song's origins lie in a late-night party, in which the duo and friends began banging on a piano bench. They recorded the sound with a tape recorder, employing reverb and matching the rhythm created by the machine. Simon later wrote the song's guitar line and lyrics on the subject of an untrustworthy lover. The song's title refers to St. Cecilia, patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition.
The song was a hit single in the United States, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Cash Box Top 100, it reached number one.
"Cecilia" also did well in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, where it reached number two, and also in Switzerland and Belgium, where it peaked at number three. The song has been the subject of numerous cover versions, most notably by the singer Suggs, whose version featured the ragga duo, Louchie Lou & Michie One and reached number four in the United Kingdom in 1996.
Background
The song's origins lie in a late-night party between the duo and friends.[1] The song's rhythm was developed by Simon, Garfunkel, and Simon's younger brother, Eddie, when the three began banging on a piano bench during the party. They recorded it for fun utilizing a Sony tape recorder and employing reverberation. In doing so, they were able to synchronize their live rhythm with the reverberating sound on the recording. A friend grabbed a guitar, strumming and punctuating the rhythm with "aahs".[1]
Simon later found himself coming back to the tape and its infectious quality. While listening to the recording, he composed the song’s guitar line. Simon found a section, the length of shortly over a minute, that he felt had a nice groove. He and producer Roy Halee made a loop of this section, which was not an easy task before the advent of digital recording.[1] The duo later recorded additional elements of the song at Columbia Records' Gower Street location in Hollywood, typically used for string section recording. Simon & Garfunkel dropped drumsticks on the parquet floor, incorporating their sound into the track. In addition, Simon played random notes on a xylophone, as those elements would be compressed in the final version to where it would not be audible whether or not they were correctly played.[1]
The lyric "making love in the afternoon" was among Simon’s most explicit at the time. Simon states in the 2011 documentary The Harmony Game that, during the song’s initial success, he came upon a recently returned Vietnam War veteran. The man told Simon that soldiers heard the song and found it a sign of the country's changing mores.[1]
In 2008, Stephen Colbert facetiously asked Simon why the narrator of the song would need to get up and wash his face after making love. Simon noted "Well, it’s the ’60s, so I can’t remember."[4]
Composition
Simon has suggested that the "Cecilia" of the title refers to St. Cecilia, patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition, and thus the song might refer to the frustration of fleeting inspiration in songwriting, the vagaries of musical fame or in a wider sense the absurdity of pop culture.[1] The song is generally interpreted as a lament over a capricious lover who causes both anguish and jubilation to the singer. St. Cecilia is mentioned in another Paul Simon song, "The Coast" (from his 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints): "A family of musicians took shelter for the night in the little harbor church of St. Cecilia."
Release
Simon & Garfunkel initially imagined "Cecilia" to be the first real single from Bridge over Troubled Water, following an early release of "The Boxer" in April 1969. Columbia Records chairman Clive Davis instead pressed the duo to instead issue the title track as the lead single.
The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 13 weeks on the chart.[6] It also hit number 32 on the magazine's Easy Listening chart.[6]
The single did not chart in the UK, despite being released as the follow-up to Simon and Garfunkel's number one hit "Bridge over Troubled Water", and most copies of the UK single misspelled the title as "Cecelia" on the label.
Suggs version
In 1995, Suggs (the lead singer of UK pop band Madness) covered the song. The Suggs version featured the ragga duo, Louchie Lou & Michie One.
The track appeared on his debut solo album The Lone Ranger, it became his most successful single, reaching #4 in the UK.
Cover versions
- In 1970, a cover version was released in 1970 by UK group Harmony Grass, which did not chart. French-speaking American musician Joe Dassin sang a French version of this song in 1970, while in February 1971, a version was released in England by the New Wave Band (a group that comprised three members of the band that would soon become 10cc) and Herman's Hermits guitarist Derek Leckenby. It did not chart.
- In 1971, a cover version was recorded by the Serbian and former Yugoslav acoustic music duo Vlada i Bajka.[7]
- In 1971, a cover version was released by Motown's Smokey Robinson and The Miracles' album One Dozen Roses.
- In 1988, a cover version by California-based dance duo Times Two was released, peaking at #79 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1988.[8]
- In 1993, the British version of the ABBA tribute performers Björn Again recorded a cover for their album Flashback.
- In 2009, guitarist Jesse Cook did a cover version of the song on his album, The Rumba Foundation. It featured Jeremy Fisher on vocals.
- In 2009, Indie rock band Local Natives covered the song.[9]
- In 2010, the song was covered on Gaelic Storm's album Cabbage, which was released on August of that year.[10]
- In 2015, the song was covered by the Country and Irish singer Derek Ryan in his studio album One Good Night coupled with a music video of live performances by Ryan.[11]
Live cover performances
- The song was performed on April 6, 2011 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon by Simon accompanied by Jimmy Fallon and the cast of Stomp.
- This song was performed live in 2012 by Singer Songwriter male vocalist Imaginary Friend aka Jessie Epstien, the opening act for Kina Grannis on her European, American and World Tours.
References in other songs
- Faith No More's song "Midlife Crisis," from their 1992 album Angel Dust, features a sample of the first measure of "Cecilia" repeated throughout the song as part of the percussion track.
- In 1998, Swedish pop band Ace of Base released a Europop track titled "Cecilia" from their album Flowers, which continues the story of the Paul Simon's character. Jenny Berggren, lead vocalist for the band, sings, "This is a song about a well-known girl", then tells of Cecilia's continuous bouncing back and forth between lovers.
- The 2012 single "Some Nights" by indie pop group fun. was noted for its similarities to "Cecilia".[12]
- British band The Vamps sampled the song's chorus in their own song entitled "Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart)". It can be found on their debut album Meet the Vamps, released on April 14, 2014. It also served as their fifth single featuring additional vocals by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Simon & Garfunkel version
Times Two version
Suggs version
Notes
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lebeau, Jennifer (Director) (2011). The Harmony Game: The Making of Bridge Over Troubled Water (Motion picture). US: Emerging Pictures.
- ↑ nerdygirl. "Episode 4150 (11/18/2008)". The No Fact Zone. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Simon & Garfunkel Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Vlada I Bajka - Cecilia / Zvuk Tišine (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ Cooper, William. "X2 - Times Two : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ "Local Natives: Daytrotter Session recorded Jul 29, 2009". Daytrotter.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ "Music". Gaelic Storm. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
- ↑ Music video of "Cecilia" by Derek Ryan
- ↑ "Does Fun’s “Some Nights” Sound Like Simon & Garfunkel “Cecilia”?". NOW 100 FM. March 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Simon & Garfunkel Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1970" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Simon & Garfunkel – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Simon & Garfunkel. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19700530.html
- ↑
- Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- ↑ "American single certifications – Simon & Garfunekl – Cecilia". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "Times Two – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Times Two. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 1996-05-11" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Suggs – Cecilia". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Cecilia in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
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