Paul Simon: ‘My Generation’s Time Is Up’

Paul Simon's new critically acclaimed collection, Seven Pslams, deals with mortality in a way that has yet to be covered by a veteran rock icon. Simon, who believed he was done creating new music, began the song cycle upon waking up from a dream on the 24th anniversary of his father's passing and scribbling down the words “Seven Pslams.”

Simon recalled to London's The Sunday Times: “The dream was specific. (It said) 'You are writing, or are meant to write, a piece called Seven Psalms.' It was a very insistent statement, so much so that I wrote it down. And the next day I looked at the Bible and thought, 'Well, the piece isn’t going to be like this.' And then it was a case of, 'Well, what is it going to be like? I have no idea, but then it wasn’t my idea anyway. I’ll just wait here until I have more information.'”

Simon went on to say, “It’s a spooky thing to be writing something and just be thinking, 'Oh, this is what the song needs.' And then it’s, 'By the way, this is about you. You’re actually the subject of this.' It’s just the age we're at. Gordon Lightfoot just passed away; Jeff Beck too. My generation’s time is up.”

Paul Simon told us that he doesn't think too hard while writing his material, instead letting things come about organically: “They come out the way the come out, I don't plan them. When I start a song, I don't know what it's going to be about, and my criterion is 'Did I say something that was true as far as I knew.' And that's all. And then try to make it sound interesting and maybe have a good rhythm so that people can feel rhythm while they're listening. Y'know, I think I'm a rhythm songwriter who doesn't write for dance.”