Overs (song)

Song by Simon & Garfunkel

"Overs"

Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album  Bookends
Recorded| October 16, 1967
Columbia Studio A
(New York City)
Genre|

* Folk rock

Length| 2:14
Label| Columbia
Songwriter(s)|

* Paul Simon

Producer(s)|

* Paul Simon
* Art Garfunkel
* John Simon

"Overs" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968).

## Background

[edit]

"Overs" was one of many songs completed during the duo's sessions with John Simon, alongside "Fakin' It," "Save the Life of My Child" and "Punky's Dilemma".[1] The song concerns an old couple beginning to tire of one another.[2] In their 1968 appearance on Kraft Music Hall, Simon explained that "Overs" is a companion piece to their earlier composition, "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her"; that song concerns the belief in true love, while "Overs" relates to the loss of that belief.[3]

It has been suggested that the song, which was originally written for but cut from The Graduate (1968), was inspired by the film’s depiction of two lovers (the Robinsons) in a loveless marriage.[2] The lyrics contain almost no rhyme.

## Composition

[edit]

"Overs" is a departure from Simon’s earlier work in that it reveals "increasing independence from standard diatonic, major/minor, and/or modal rock- and folk-based styles."[4] As a result, it "displays a logical consequence of both of these trends: a more jazz-oriented style," including a larger selection of chords and looser form.[4] The song contains multiple instances of wordplay related to the word over, including the final line, "I stop and think it over."[2]

The sound effects at the start of the song are of somebody striking a match to light up and inhale a cigarette.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fornatale 2007, p. 66−68.
2. ^ a b c Fornatale 2007, p. 91.
3. ^ "Three for Tonight". Kraft Music Hall. January 3, 1968. NBC.
4. ^ a b Bennighof 2007, p. 36.
5. ^ Bonca, Cornel (2014-10-10). Paul Simon: An American Tune. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810884823.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
* Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.

* v
* t
* e

Simon & Garfunkel

* Paul Simon
* Art Garfunkel

Studio albums|

* Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
* Sounds of Silence
* Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
* Bookends
* Bridge over Troubled Water

Live albums|

* The Concert in Central Park
* Live from New York City, 1967
* Old Friends: Live on Stage
* Live 1969

Compilation albums|

* Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
* The Simon and Garfunkel Collection
* 20 Greatest Hits
* The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel
* The Best of Simon and Garfunkel
* Two Can Dream Alone
* Tales from New York: The Very Best of Simon & Garfunkel
* Tom & Jerry
* The Essential Simon & Garfunkel

Box sets|

* Collected Works
* Old Friends
* The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970)
* The Collection: Simon & Garfunkel
* Simon & Garfunkel: The Complete Albums Collection

Soundtrack albums|

* The Graduate

Videos|

* The Concert in Central Park
* Old Friends: Live on Stage

Discographies|

* Simon & Garfunkel
* Art Garfunkel
* Paul Simon

Other|

* Songs recorded
* Paul Simon solo albums
* Paul Simon songs
* Art Garfunkel solo albums
* Bridge over Troubled Water (Paul Desmond album)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Simon & Garfunkel singles

* Discography
* List of songs recorded

Sounds of Silence|

* "The Sound of Silence" / "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'"
* "I Am a Rock" / "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall"

Parsley, Sage,
Rosemary and Thyme|

* "Homeward Bound" / "Leaves That Are Green"
* "The Dangling Conversation" / "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine"
* "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" / "April Come She Will"

Bookends|

* "A Hazy Shade of Winter" / "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her"
* "At the Zoo" / "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
* "Fakin' It" / "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies"
* "Mrs. Robinson" / "Old Friends" / "Bookends"

Bridge over
Troubled Water|

* "The Boxer" / "Baby Driver"
* "Bridge over Troubled Water" / "Keep the Customer Satisfied"
* "Cecilia" / "The Only Living Boy in New York"
* "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" / "Why Don't You Write Me"

Other singles|

* "America"
* "My Little Town"
* "Wake Up Little Susie"

Other songs|

* "Richard Cory"
* "Patterns"
* "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)"
* "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night"
* "Save the Life of My Child"
* "Overs"
* "Punky's Dilemma"
* "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"
* "Voices of Old People"

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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