Surprise Annotations

icon-sized Surprise cover, baby with water covering the top half of its forehead

CrackingTheSimonCode
Lyrics Annotated

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1. How Can You Live in the Northeast?
	Four bar intro. Slow, heavy chord progression: A, Em, F#m, E. Harsh, foreboding.
We heard the fireworks. Rushed out to watch the sky. Happy go lucky, Fourth of July.	Repeats first four bars. Lyrics are at odds with the music.
How can you live in the Northeast? How can you live in the South? How can you build on the banks of a river When the flood water pours from the mouth? How can you be a Christian? How can you be a Jew? How can you be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu? How can you?	E5 power chord, or no chord at all, whole section. Tempo unchanged but the eighth notes are replaced by sixteenths, effectively doubling the speed. Dancing counterpoint in the electronics. No guitar or bass, infrequent drum notes. Lyrics again contradicting the music.
Weak as the winter sun, We enter life on earth. Names and religion come Just after date of birth.
Then everybody gets a tongue to speak, And everyone hears an inner voice. A day at the end of the week To wonder and rejoice.	Repeats the heavy progression, variation in the melody. Sixteenths and eighth triplets, until the final bar in slower eighth notes, emphasizing "To wonder and rejoice."
If the answer is infinite light, Why do we sleep in the dark?	Same progression as the above four bars, but totally different feel. The first line starts in the middle of the first bar. The second line starts in the third bar. Melodically and rhythmically distinct.
How can you live in the Northeast? How can you live in the South? How can you build on the banks of a river When the flood water pours from the mouth? How can you tattoo your body? Why do you cover your head? How can you eat from a rice bowl, The holy man only breaks bread?
(Simon sings—hums?—a four-bar "Oooh.")	Repeat intro, with added vocal.
We watched the fireworks, 'Til they were fireflies. Followed a path of stars, Over the endless skies.	Reprise fireworks. Heavy chords, light lyrics.
How can you live in the Northeast? How can you live in the South? How can you build on the banks of a river When the flood water pours from the mouth?	Very similar, but the electonics have stopped dancing. Now a slow, legato counterpoint.
I've been given all I wanted. Only three generations off the boat. I have harvested and I have planted. I am wearing my father's old coat.	Eight-bar instrumental, then ten-bar coda in key of E. Vocal is on and then off the beat. "I have ... planted" line starts late in bar 4, ends early in bar 6. Guitar, electronics, drums all heavy.

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2.

Everything About It Is a Love Song.

10-bar intro. Two-chord guitar sequence, F#/C# resolved to C#, each bar. Bass faint, drums silent. Electronics gently increasing. Languid feel.

Locked in a struggle for the right combination—
of words in a melody line,
I took a walk along the riverbank
of my imagination.
Golden clouds were shuffling the sunshine.

Languid, two-chord bars continue. Vocal in 12/8 over slow 4/4 beat.

But if I ever get back to the twentieth century,
guess I'll have to pay off some debts.
Open the book of my vanishing memory,
with its catalogue of regrets.
Stand up for the deeds I did,
and those I didn't do.
Sit down, shut up, think about God,
and wait for the hour of my rescue.

Way up-tempo. Drums quiet but quick. Vocal sixteenth notes. Same chords.

We don't mean to mess things up,
but mess them up we do.
And then it's "Oh, I'm sorry."
Here's a smiling photograph
of love when it was new.
At a birthday party.

8-bar electronics intro to this section. Buzzing in background like hive of bees. Substantial crescendo pressages vocal.
Vocal comes in on A#maj7. Drops to A on "Oh, I'm sorry." Electronics continues threatening buzzing.
Lyrics totally change with "Here's a smiling ..." but only change in music is that the chords go to Dm, then Am.

Make a wish and close your eyes;
surprise, surprise, surprise.

Change in the lyrics completed. Electronics a bit less threatening. A# ("Make a wish ...") followed by D ("Surprise ..."). "Sur" precedes the bar. "prise" is on the beat.

Early December, and brown as a sparrow,
frost creeping over the pond.
I shoot a thought into the future,
and it flies like an arrow,
through my lifetime.
And beyond.

Vocal back in 12/8, key of D. Guitar chords up a half step to G/D resolving to D. Feeling of peace in the electronics.
Sparrows (see here) are white/brown speckled. Cross-reference to "Once Upon a Time ..."—"I look out my window, it's brown and it's bleak."

If I ever come back as a tree, or a crow,
or even the wind-blown dust;
find me on the ancient road
in the song when the wires are hushed.
Hurry on and remember me,
as I'll remember you.
Far above the golden clouds,
the darkness vibrates.

Again, up tempo, sixteenths in the vocal. Chord continues G/D resolving to D.

The earth is blue.
And everything about it is a love song.
Everything about it.
Everything about it is a love song.
Everything about it.
Everything about it is a love song.

Coda continues G/D resolving to D, each bar. Vocal in sixteenths, so has the opening tempo but does not have the languid feel of the opening. Melody almost an arpeggio, D major chord.

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4.

Sure Don't Feel Like Love.

Opens with 10 bars of what Simon calls "the track"—drums and bass. This will carry through the rest of the song. (I loved this song's rhythm back when I had no idea what it was about.)

I registered to vote today.
Felt like a fool.
Had to do it anyway.
Down at the high school.
Thing about the second line.
You know, felt like a fool?
People say it all the time.
Even when it's true.
Compelling track continues. Key is G. Key and track continue. No chord changes.

So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Cause it sure don't feel like love.

Flatted sevenths (blues) in vocal.

A tear drop consists of electrolytes and salt.
The chemistry of crying is not concerned with blame or fault.
Same key, rhythm, but vocals dramatically slower.

So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Cause it sure don't feel like love.

Paul Simon vocal trio.

How does it feel? Feels like a threat.
A voice in your head that you'd rather forget.
Melody built on G, B and D.

No joke, no joke. You get sick from that unspoken.
Sure don't feel like love.
No joke, no joke. Some chicken and a corn muffin
Well that feels more like love. Some of the Bs drop to A#. Very bluesy.

Yay!
Boo!
Yay!
Boo!

Four bars with each "Yay!" and "Boo!" on the third and fourth notes of the bar.

Wrong again.
Wrong again. Maybe I'm wrong again.
Wrong again. Maybe I'm wrong again.
Wrong again. I could be wrong again.
I remember once in August 1993,
I was wrong, and I could be wrong again.
I remember one of my best friends turned enemy.
So, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again.
I remember once in a load-out, down in Birmingham.

First "Wrong again." is in the 5th bar of 6 otherwise instrumental bars.

Yeah, but that didn't feel like love.
Simon interrupts himself.

Sure don't feel like,
Sure don't feel like,
Sure don't feel like love.
Sure don't feel like,
Sure don't feel like,
Sure don't feel like love.
The track (drums, bass) ends at the end of this section.

It sure. Don't feel.
Like love.
Slow, acappella, multi-track singing.

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5.

Wartime Prayers.

Four-bar intro. Constant tone with gradual crescendo in the electronics. Steel-string acoustic guitar riffs.

Prayers offered in times of peace
Are silent conversations.
Appeals for love, or love's release.
In private invocations.
Bm is first definite guitar chord. At the very end of the song, we'll see that the key was D, though you wouldn't know it from the opening: Bm, C, Bm, A, G, C, G/B, D, F#7, Bsus4, ... This is as harmonically complex as "Sure" was simple.

But all that is changed now.
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God
Hear lunatics and liars.
Drums start on "People."

Wartime prayers.
Wartime prayers in every language spoken.
For every family scattered and broken. Drums, bass, female backup vocals added here.

Because you cannot walk with the holy
If you're just a halfway decent man.
I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genius marketing plan.
I'm trying to tap into some wisdom.
Even a little drop will do.
I want to rid my heart of envy,
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.

Big sound: choir, Herbie Hancock piano, plus guitars and electronics.
Key changes to B. B chord alternates with E (B's subdominant, echoes the "A-men" change at the end of Christian hymns.)
New harmonies, spare arrangement, mostly single vocal, starting with "I want to rid ...".

Times are hard.
It's a hard time,
But everybody knows. All about hard times,
The thing is, what are you gonna do?
Well, you cry and try to muscle through.
Try to rearrange your stuff.
But when the woulds are deep enough,
And it's all that we can bear,
We wrap ourselves. In prayer.

Hancock's piano work featured in this slow section.
Spare accompaniment, mostly piano and acoustic guitar.
Choir returns with "We wrap ..." and big sound returns with "In prayer."

Because you cannot walk with the holy
If you're just a halfway decent man.
I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genius marketing plan.
I'm trying to tap into some wisdom.
Even a little drop will do.
I want to rid my heart of envy,
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.

A mother murmurs in twilight sleep
And draws her babies closer.
With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes,
And kisses on the shoulder.
To drive away despair
She says a wartime prayer.

Spare feel of the "Times are hard." section.
C, G, D progression repeats four times at the end, landing firmly on D at the close. (Melody finishes G to A.)

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6.

Beautiful.

Four bar, guitar intro.

Snowman sittin' in the sun
Doesn't have time to waste.
He had a little bit too much fun,
Now his head's erased.
Good ol' folk rock. Acoustic guitar, Gadd showing why he's in demand for everyone's session. Light but never dull. Bounces along happily.

Back in the house,
Family of three:
Two doin' the laundry
And one in the nursery.

Thematic switch in the lyrics, not in the music.

We brought a brand new baby back from Bangladesh,
Thought we'd name her Emily.
She's beautiful.
Beautiful.

Second thematic switch in lyrics.

Yes sir, head's erased,
Brain's a bowl of jelly.
Hasn't hurt his sense of taste,
Judging from his belly.

But back in the house,
Family of four now:
Two doin' the laundry
And two on the kitchen floor.

We brought a brand new baby back from mainland China,
sailed across the China Sea.
She's beautiful.
Beautiful.

Got to here in A#. Bass playing a double, soft A# at start of each bar.

Go-kart sittin' in the shade:
You don't need a ticket to ride,
It's summertime, summertime,
Slip down a water slide.
Little kid dancin' in the grass,
Legs like rubber band.
It's summertime, summertime.
There's a line at the candy stand.
Key rises to C#. Electronics appear. Still happy folk rock.
Bass now dancing.

Keep an eye on them children,
Eye on them children in the pool.
You'd better keep an eye on them children,
Eye on them children in the pool.

New melody.

Eight-bar instrumental. Bass has that rumba beat going.
Back in A#.

We brought a brand new baby back from Kosovo.
That was nearly seven years ago.
He cried all night.
Could not sleep.
His eyes were bright,
Dark and deep.
Beautiful.

Third lyric theme redux.

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7.

I Don't Believe.

Slow waltz tempo, key of D#.
Four bars, drums, bass and electronics. Add guitar, next four bars.

Acts of kindness,
Like breadcrumbs in a fairytale forest,
Lead us past dangers
As light melts the darkness.
Continues electronics and guitar over bass and drums. Gentle. Could be children's music.
Tonic alternates with dominant seventh.

But I don't believe,
And I'm not consoled.
I lean closer to the fire,
But I'm cold.

Lyric change accompanied by addition of Gm, G7 and Cm.

The earth was born in a storm.
The waters receded, the mountains were formed.
"The universe loves a drama,"^* you know.
And ladies and gentlemen this is the show.

Sixteenth notes replace eighths in vocal. Primary instrument: drums.
Cm11, continuous, this section and next.

I got a call from my broker.
The broker informed me I'm broke.
I was dealing my last hand of poker.
My cards were useless as smoke.

Musically, a continuation of previous section with more electronics.
Lyrics completely break with the previous section.

Oh, guardian angel.
Don't taunt me like this,
On a clear summer evening as soft as a kiss.
My children are laughing, not a whisper of care.
My love is brushing her long chestnut hair.

I don't believe a heart can be filled to the brim
Then vanish like mist as though life were a whim.

Maybe the heart is part of the mist.
And that's all that there is or could ever exist.
Maybe and maybe and maybe some more.
Maybe's the exit that I'm looking for.

I got a call from my broker.
The broker said he was mistaken.
Maybe some virus or brokerage joke
And he hopes that my faith isn't shaken.

Acts of kindness,
Like rain in a drought,
Release the spirit with a whoop and a shout.

I don't believe we were born to be
Sheep in a flock.
To pantomime prayers with the hands of a clock.

Guitar and electronics coda. Six bars Cm11. Then slow, repeat and fade on Gm.

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8.

Another Galaxy.

Extended intro, key of D#.
Electronics and drums start. Beautiful electric guitar solo overlays electronics. Then acoustic guitar, finally acoustic/electric guitar duet over electronics.
Eno and Simon never tighter.

On the morning of her wedding day,
When no one was awake,
She drove across the border.
Leaving all the yellow roses on her wedding cake.
Her mother's tears, her breakfast order.
She's gone, gone, gone.

Note the half step (A# to B) from "roses" to "on" as the chord changes from D# to G7.

There is a moment,
A chip in time,
When leaving home
Is the lesser crime.
When your eyes are blind with tears,
But your heart can see:
Another life, another galaxy.

This would be the chorus in a traditional verse/chorus song.

That night her dreams are storm-tossed like a willow.
She hears the clouds,
She sees the eye of a hurricane,
As it sweeps across her island pillow.
But she's gone, gone, gone.

Except that this does not repeat the verse.

There is a moment,
A chip in time,
When leaving home
Is the lesser crime.
When your eyes are blind with tears,
But your heart can see:
Another life, another galaxy.

D#. Haunting coda. Eno/Simon at its best.

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9.

Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean.

Opens with 8 bars of multiple guitars, key of G.

Once upon a time there was an ocean.
But now it's a mountain range.
Something unstoppable set into motion.
Nothing is different, but everything's changed.

Guitar continues, alternating C and G.

It's a dead end job,
And you get tired of sittin'.
And it's like a nicotine habit
You're always thinking about quittin'.
I think about quittin' every day of the week.
When I look out my window it's brown and it's bleak.
Outta here.
How am I gonna get outta here?
I'm thinking outta here.
When am I gonna get outta here?

Electronics, drums and bass start this section. Still G.

And when will I cash in my lottery ticket,
And bury my past with my burdens and strife?
I want to shake every limb in the garden of Eden,
And make every lover the love of my life.

More melodic, guitar in background^*, no electronics.

I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean.
But now I'm a mountain range.
Something unstoppable set into motion.
Nothing is different, but everything's changed.

Note that the lyrics change to personalizing this bit of prehistory.

Found a room in the heart of the city,
Down by the bridge.
Hot plate and TV
And beer in the fridge.
But I'm easy, I'm open—that's my gift.
I can flow with the traffic, I can drift with the drift.
Home again? Naw, never going home again.
Think about home again?
I never think about home.

But then comes a letter from home,
The handwriting's fragile and strange.
New melody for the first two lines. Electronics added in background.

Something unstoppable set into motion.
Nothing is different but everything's changed.

Background electronics.

The light through the stained glass was cobalt and red.
And the frayed cuffs and collars were mended by haloes of golden thread.
The choir sang, "Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean."
And all the old hymns and family names came fluttering down
As leaves of emotion.

Bass sounding heartbeats in background. Electronics very quiet.

As nothing is different, but everything's changed.

Ends with elecronics fade.

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10.

That's Me.

Electronics fade in. "Tickety-boo" sound from electronics carries throughout.

Well I'll just skip the boring parts
Chapters one, two, three
And get to the place where you can read my face
And my biography.

Throughout the album, lead vocal is just left of center. This leaves lots of room on both sides. Here, "tickety-boo" is on far right.
The chord (if there is a chord) is Csus4.

Here I am, I'm eleven months old,
Dangling from my daddy's knee.
There I go, it's my graduation,
I'm picking up a bogus degree.
That's me. Early me.
That's me.
Well I never cared much for money,
And money never cared for me.
I was more like a land-locked sailor,
Searching for the emerald sea.
Just searching for the emerald sea, boys,
Searching for the sea.

Repeat, every four bars:F (on 1), C (on 3), Csus4 (next 3 bars).

Oh my God. First love opens like a flower.
A black bear running through the forest light
Holds me in her sight and her power.
But tricky skies, your eyes are true,
The future is beauty and sorrow.
Still, I wish that we could run away
And live the life we used to.
If just for tonight and tomorrow.

Acoustic guitar prominent. Add G to the harmony. (First appearance of the good old dominant.)
Extraordinary complexity of rhythm in vocal. Sometimes 4-beat and sometimes 6-beat bars.

Long instrumental (electronics prominent) reprise.

I am walking up the face of the mountain.
Counting every step I climb.
Remembering the names of the constellations.
Forgotten is a long, long time.
That's me. I'm in the valley of twilight.
Now I'm on the continental shelf.
That's me—I'm answering a question
I am asking of myself.

Ooh. Ooh.
That's me.
That's me.

Coda. Vocal "Ooh"s through fresh harmony: C, D#, A#/F, C. "That's me"s in final fade with the new harmony. Melodic lead shifts to bass during fade.

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11.

Father and Daughter.

Free guitar-picked melody, twice.
Then drums pick up a march tempo. Joined by rhythm guitar and bass. Key is E.

If you leap awake in the mirror of a bad dream,
And for a fraction of a second you can't remember where you are,
Just open your window and follow your memory upstream.
To the meadow in the mountain where we counted every falling star.
I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever (forever).
And though I can't guarantee there's nothing scary hiding under your bed,
I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever.
And never leave 'til I leave you with a sweet dream in your head.

Folk rock with complex harmonies:

E "If you"

A "leap a-"

E/G# "wake in the"

F#m7 "mirror of a"

B9sus4 "bad"

E "dream".

I'm gonna watch you shine,
Gonna watch you grow.
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know.
As long as one and one is two.
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you.

A chorus!

Trust your intuition.
It's just like goin' fishin'.
You cast your line and hope you get a bite.

But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the marketplace,
Try to help the human race.
Struggling to survive its harshest night.

I'm gonna watch you shine,
Gonna watch you grow.
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know.
As long as one and one is two.
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you.

Ends on C#m (relative minor).

I'm gonna watch you shine,
Gonna watch you grow.
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know.
As long as one and one is two.
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you.
Ends on Esus2.

Reprise guitar line from intro. End on E.

2. Everything About It Is a Love Song.
	10-bar intro. Two-chord guitar sequence, F#/C# resolved to C#, each bar. Bass faint, drums silent. Electronics gently increasing. Languid feel.
Locked in a struggle for the right combination— of words in a melody line, I took a walk along the riverbank of my imagination. Golden clouds were shuffling the sunshine.	Languid, two-chord bars continue. Vocal in 12/8 over slow 4/4 beat.
But if I ever get back to the twentieth century, guess I'll have to pay off some debts. Open the book of my vanishing memory, with its catalogue of regrets. Stand up for the deeds I did, and those I didn't do. Sit down, shut up, think about God, and wait for the hour of my rescue.	Way up-tempo. Drums quiet but quick. Vocal sixteenth notes. Same chords.
We don't mean to mess things up, but mess them up we do. And then it's "Oh, I'm sorry." Here's a smiling photograph of love when it was new. At a birthday party.	8-bar electronics intro to this section. Buzzing in background like hive of bees. Substantial crescendo pressages vocal. Vocal comes in on A#maj7. Drops to A on "Oh, I'm sorry." Electronics continues threatening buzzing. Lyrics totally change with "Here's a smiling ..." but only change in music is that the chords go to Dm, then Am.
Make a wish and close your eyes; surprise, surprise, surprise.	Change in the lyrics completed. Electronics a bit less threatening. A# ("Make a wish ...") followed by D ("Surprise ..."). "Sur" precedes the bar. "prise" is on the beat.
Early December, and brown as a sparrow, frost creeping over the pond. I shoot a thought into the future, and it flies like an arrow, through my lifetime. And beyond.	Vocal back in 12/8, key of D. Guitar chords up a half step to G/D resolving to D. Feeling of peace in the electronics. Sparrows (see here) are white/brown speckled. Cross-reference to "Once Upon a Time ..."—"I look out my window, it's brown and it's bleak."
If I ever come back as a tree, or a crow, or even the wind-blown dust; find me on the ancient road in the song when the wires are hushed. Hurry on and remember me, as I'll remember you. Far above the golden clouds, the darkness vibrates.	Again, up tempo, sixteenths in the vocal. Chord continues G/D resolving to D.
The earth is blue. And everything about it is a love song. Everything about it. Everything about it is a love song. Everything about it. Everything about it is a love song.	Coda continues G/D resolving to D, each bar. Vocal in sixteenths, so has the opening tempo but does not have the languid feel of the opening. Melody almost an arpeggio, D major chord.

3. Outrageous.
It's outrageous to line your pockets off the misery of the poor. Outrageous, the crimes some human beings must endure. It's a blessing to wash your face in the summer solstice rain. It's outrageous a man like me stand here and complain.	"It's out" precedes the bar. The first one is acappella. "ra geous" starts the bar, emphasizing rage. Guitar starts at the first full bar. A#5 (on 1) Fm/A# (on 3) D#/A# (next 1) A#, (next 3). That progression repeats every two bars for all sixteen bars of the first part. First three "outrageous"s, plus the "blessing" are vocal and guitar, with occasional drum beats. Third "outrageous" Simon sings duet.
But I'm tired. Nine hundred sit-ups a day. I'm painting my hair the color of mud, mud okay? I'm tired, tired. Anybody care what I say? No! I'm painting my hair the color of mud.	Drums start full-time on "I'm tired." Bass begins just at the end. A very minor bit of electronics in the middle.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Aw, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?	Key changes to F#. Folk rock. Traditional drums, bass and guitar. Much lighter than the lyric. F#sus2, first bar. F#sus4 second bar. Repeats three times, then F# alternates with B/F#.
It's outrageous the food they try to serve in the public school. Outrageous, the way they talk to you like you're some kind of clinical fool. It's a blessing to rest my head in the circle of your love. It's outrageous I can't stop thinking 'bout the things I'm thinking of.	More drums than first time.
And I'm tired. Nine hundred sit-ups a day. I'm painting my hair the color of mud, mud okay? I'm tired, tired. Anybody care what I say? No! Painting my hair the color of mud.	Heavy, buzzing electronics added.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Ah, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
	Four bar instrumental. Guitar, electronics, drums and bass.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
	Very pretty, gentle 8-bar, folk-rock instrumental in F#.
God will. Like he waters the flowers on your window sill.	C# and F# alternate.
Take me. I'm an ordinary player in the key of C. And my will was broken by my pride and my vanity.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?	Followed by four-bar instrumental.
God will. Like he waters the flowers on your window sill.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?	Three-bars, instrumental, close the song.

4. Sure Don't Feel Like Love.
	Opens with 10 bars of what Simon calls "the track"—drums and bass. This will carry through the rest of the song. (I loved this song's rhythm back when I had no idea what it was about.)
I registered to vote today. Felt like a fool. Had to do it anyway. Down at the high school. Thing about the second line. You know, felt like a fool? People say it all the time. Even when it's true.	Compelling track continues. Key is G. Key and track continue. No chord changes.
So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe? Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe? Cause it sure don't feel like love.	Flatted sevenths (blues) in vocal.
A tear drop consists of electrolytes and salt. The chemistry of crying is not concerned with blame or fault.	Same key, rhythm, but vocals dramatically slower.
So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe? Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe? Cause it sure don't feel like love.	Paul Simon vocal trio.
How does it feel? Feels like a threat. A voice in your head that you'd rather forget.	Melody built on G, B and D.
No joke, no joke. You get sick from that unspoken. Sure don't feel like love. No joke, no joke. Some chicken and a corn muffin Well that feels more like love.	Some of the Bs drop to A#. Very bluesy.
Yay! Boo! Yay! Boo!	Four bars with each "Yay!" and "Boo!" on the third and fourth notes of the bar.
Wrong again. Wrong again. Maybe I'm wrong again. Wrong again. Maybe I'm wrong again. Wrong again. I could be wrong again. I remember once in August 1993, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again. I remember one of my best friends turned enemy. So, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again. I remember once in a load-out, down in Birmingham.	First "Wrong again." is in the 5th bar of 6 otherwise instrumental bars.
Yeah, but that didn't feel like love.	Simon interrupts himself.
Sure don't feel like, Sure don't feel like, Sure don't feel like love. Sure don't feel like, Sure don't feel like, Sure don't feel like love.	The track (drums, bass) ends at the end of this section.
It sure. Don't feel. Like love.	Slow, acappella, multi-track singing.

5. Wartime Prayers.
	Four-bar intro. Constant tone with gradual crescendo in the electronics. Steel-string acoustic guitar riffs.
Prayers offered in times of peace Are silent conversations. Appeals for love, or love's release. In private invocations.	Bm is first definite guitar chord. At the very end of the song, we'll see that the key was D, though you wouldn't know it from the opening: Bm, C, Bm, A, G, C, G/B, D, F#7, Bsus4, ... This is as harmonically complex as "Sure" was simple.
But all that is changed now. Gone like a memory from the day before the fires. People hungry for the voice of God Hear lunatics and liars.	Drums start on "People."
Wartime prayers. Wartime prayers in every language spoken. For every family scattered and broken.	Drums, bass, female backup vocals added here.
Because you cannot walk with the holy If you're just a halfway decent man. I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind With a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, And cleanse my soul of rage Before I'm through.	Big sound: choir, Herbie Hancock piano, plus guitars and electronics. Key changes to B. B chord alternates with E (B's subdominant, echoes the "A-men" change at the end of Christian hymns.) New harmonies, spare arrangement, mostly single vocal, starting with "I want to rid ...".
Times are hard. It's a hard time, But everybody knows. All about hard times, The thing is, what are you gonna do? Well, you cry and try to muscle through. Try to rearrange your stuff. But when the woulds are deep enough, And it's all that we can bear, We wrap ourselves. In prayer.	Hancock's piano work featured in this slow section. Spare accompaniment, mostly piano and acoustic guitar. Choir returns with "We wrap ..." and big sound returns with "In prayer."
Because you cannot walk with the holy If you're just a halfway decent man. I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind With a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, And cleanse my soul of rage Before I'm through.
A mother murmurs in twilight sleep And draws her babies closer. With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes, And kisses on the shoulder. To drive away despair She says a wartime prayer.	Spare feel of the "Times are hard." section. C, G, D progression repeats four times at the end, landing firmly on D at the close. (Melody finishes G to A.)

6. Beautiful.
	Four bar, guitar intro.
Snowman sittin' in the sun Doesn't have time to waste. He had a little bit too much fun, Now his head's erased.	Good ol' folk rock. Acoustic guitar, Gadd showing why he's in demand for everyone's session. Light but never dull. Bounces along happily.
Back in the house, Family of three: Two doin' the laundry And one in the nursery.	Thematic switch in the lyrics, not in the music.
We brought a brand new baby back from Bangladesh, Thought we'd name her Emily. She's beautiful. Beautiful.	Second thematic switch in lyrics.
Yes sir, head's erased, Brain's a bowl of jelly. Hasn't hurt his sense of taste, Judging from his belly.
But back in the house, Family of four now: Two doin' the laundry And two on the kitchen floor.
We brought a brand new baby back from mainland China, sailed across the China Sea. She's beautiful. Beautiful.	Got to here in A#. Bass playing a double, soft A# at start of each bar.
Go-kart sittin' in the shade: You don't need a ticket to ride, It's summertime, summertime, Slip down a water slide. Little kid dancin' in the grass, Legs like rubber band. It's summertime, summertime. There's a line at the candy stand.	Key rises to C#. Electronics appear. Still happy folk rock. Bass now dancing.
Keep an eye on them children, Eye on them children in the pool. You'd better keep an eye on them children, Eye on them children in the pool.	New melody.
	Eight-bar instrumental. Bass has that rumba beat going. Back in A#.
We brought a brand new baby back from Kosovo. That was nearly seven years ago. He cried all night. Could not sleep. His eyes were bright, Dark and deep. Beautiful.	Third lyric theme redux.

7. I Don't Believe.
	Slow waltz tempo, key of D#. Four bars, drums, bass and electronics. Add guitar, next four bars.
Acts of kindness, Like breadcrumbs in a fairytale forest, Lead us past dangers As light melts the darkness.	Continues electronics and guitar over bass and drums. Gentle. Could be children's music. Tonic alternates with dominant seventh.
But I don't believe, And I'm not consoled. I lean closer to the fire, But I'm cold.	Lyric change accompanied by addition of Gm, G7 and Cm.
The earth was born in a storm. The waters receded, the mountains were formed. "The universe loves a drama,"^* you know. And ladies and gentlemen this is the show.	Sixteenth notes replace eighths in vocal. Primary instrument: drums. Cm11, continuous, this section and next.
I got a call from my broker. The broker informed me I'm broke. I was dealing my last hand of poker. My cards were useless as smoke.	Musically, a continuation of previous section with more electronics. Lyrics completely break with the previous section.
Oh, guardian angel. Don't taunt me like this, On a clear summer evening as soft as a kiss. My children are laughing, not a whisper of care. My love is brushing her long chestnut hair.
I don't believe a heart can be filled to the brim Then vanish like mist as though life were a whim.
Maybe the heart is part of the mist. And that's all that there is or could ever exist. Maybe and maybe and maybe some more. Maybe's the exit that I'm looking for.
I got a call from my broker. The broker said he was mistaken. Maybe some virus or brokerage joke And he hopes that my faith isn't shaken.
Acts of kindness, Like rain in a drought, Release the spirit with a whoop and a shout.
I don't believe we were born to be Sheep in a flock. To pantomime prayers with the hands of a clock.
	Guitar and electronics coda. Six bars Cm11. Then slow, repeat and fade on Gm.

8. Another Galaxy.
	Extended intro, key of D#. Electronics and drums start. Beautiful electric guitar solo overlays electronics. Then acoustic guitar, finally acoustic/electric guitar duet over electronics. Eno and Simon never tighter.
On the morning of her wedding day, When no one was awake, She drove across the border. Leaving all the yellow roses on her wedding cake. Her mother's tears, her breakfast order. She's gone, gone, gone.	Note the half step (A# to B) from "roses" to "on" as the chord changes from D# to G7.
There is a moment, A chip in time, When leaving home Is the lesser crime. When your eyes are blind with tears, But your heart can see: Another life, another galaxy.	This would be the chorus in a traditional verse/chorus song.
That night her dreams are storm-tossed like a willow. She hears the clouds, She sees the eye of a hurricane, As it sweeps across her island pillow. But she's gone, gone, gone.	Except that this does not repeat the verse.
There is a moment, A chip in time, When leaving home Is the lesser crime. When your eyes are blind with tears, But your heart can see: Another life, another galaxy.
	D#. Haunting coda. Eno/Simon at its best.

9. Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean.
	Opens with 8 bars of multiple guitars, key of G.
Once upon a time there was an ocean. But now it's a mountain range. Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.	Guitar continues, alternating C and G.
It's a dead end job, And you get tired of sittin'. And it's like a nicotine habit You're always thinking about quittin'. I think about quittin' every day of the week. When I look out my window it's brown and it's bleak. Outta here. How am I gonna get outta here? I'm thinking outta here. When am I gonna get outta here?	Electronics, drums and bass start this section. Still G.
And when will I cash in my lottery ticket, And bury my past with my burdens and strife? I want to shake every limb in the garden of Eden, And make every lover the love of my life.	More melodic, guitar in background^*, no electronics.
I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean. But now I'm a mountain range. Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.	Note that the lyrics change to personalizing this bit of prehistory.
Found a room in the heart of the city, Down by the bridge. Hot plate and TV And beer in the fridge. But I'm easy, I'm open—that's my gift. I can flow with the traffic, I can drift with the drift. Home again? Naw, never going home again. Think about home again? I never think about home.
But then comes a letter from home, The handwriting's fragile and strange.	New melody for the first two lines. Electronics added in background.
Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different but everything's changed.	Background electronics.
The light through the stained glass was cobalt and red. And the frayed cuffs and collars were mended by haloes of golden thread. The choir sang, "Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean." And all the old hymns and family names came fluttering down As leaves of emotion.	Bass sounding heartbeats in background. Electronics very quiet.
As nothing is different, but everything's changed.	Ends with elecronics fade.

10. That's Me.
	Electronics fade in. "Tickety-boo" sound from electronics carries throughout.
Well I'll just skip the boring parts Chapters one, two, three And get to the place where you can read my face And my biography.	Throughout the album, lead vocal is just left of center. This leaves lots of room on both sides. Here, "tickety-boo" is on far right. The chord (if there is a chord) is Csus4.
Here I am, I'm eleven months old, Dangling from my daddy's knee. There I go, it's my graduation, I'm picking up a bogus degree. That's me. Early me. That's me. Well I never cared much for money, And money never cared for me. I was more like a land-locked sailor, Searching for the emerald sea. Just searching for the emerald sea, boys, Searching for the sea.	Repeat, every four bars:F (on 1), C (on 3), Csus4 (next 3 bars).
Oh my God. First love opens like a flower. A black bear running through the forest light Holds me in her sight and her power. But tricky skies, your eyes are true, The future is beauty and sorrow. Still, I wish that we could run away And live the life we used to. If just for tonight and tomorrow.	Acoustic guitar prominent. Add G to the harmony. (First appearance of the good old dominant.) Extraordinary complexity of rhythm in vocal. Sometimes 4-beat and sometimes 6-beat bars.
	Long instrumental (electronics prominent) reprise.
I am walking up the face of the mountain. Counting every step I climb. Remembering the names of the constellations. Forgotten is a long, long time. That's me. I'm in the valley of twilight. Now I'm on the continental shelf. That's me—I'm answering a question I am asking of myself.
Ooh. Ooh. That's me. That's me.	Coda. Vocal "Ooh"s through fresh harmony: C, D#, A#/F, C. "That's me"s in final fade with the new harmony. Melodic lead shifts to bass during fade.

How Can You Live in the Northeast?

Everything About It Is a Love Song.

Outrageous.

Sure Don't Feel Like Love.

Wartime Prayers.

Beautiful.

I Don't Believe.

Another Galaxy.

Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean.

That's Me.

Father and Daughter.