(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Thu 23 April 2026 19:46, UK
Paul Simon has never been known as the most energetic live performer in history.
Outside of watching Simon and Garfunkel singing their pretty harmonies on top of the greatest anthems of the 1960s, the core draw to every one of Simon’s solo shows tends to be from the massive group that he fills out around him when he starts playing tunes from the Graceland era. There’s nothing wrong with Simon rounding out his material with new musicians, but he would never throw them the tune ‘I Am a Rock’ for the rest of his life.
When Simon first broke out of the iconic folk duo, though, there was no doubt that he would have a steady solo career. He had written all of the songs in his old outfit, and since he already had tunes like ‘Mother and Child Reunion’ and ‘Duncan’ in his arsenal for his first album, it’s not as if he had suddenly forgotten what made his old anthems work so well.
But for every one of Simon’s classics, there tends to be an asterisk next to ‘I Am A Rock’. Whereas in the 1960s, being corny like this actually carried some weight behind it, hearing Simon talk about being the foundation for something with the most schoolteacher-style tone of voice sounds like listening to some educational tune for kids to learn from half the time.
That’s not to say that it isn’t well-written. There are many different chord extensions in the tune that no one would have thought of at the time, and since Still Crazy After All These Years was around the corner, it felt like he was woodshedding that kind of songwriting method for when he would eventually pen tunes like ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’.
(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
When picking a setlist, though, it always comes back to which songs stand the test of time, and after discussing his live approach with CBS News, Simon said that he would rather not play the track anymore, saying, “Some of them feel old and new, and some of them feel old and dated. I don’t sing ‘I Am A Rock’, although I just saw it in the crossword puzzle the other day.”
While there is still some weight behind the tune in some spots, Simon isn’t that off the mark when talking about it sounding a touch dated. Despite the tune being a metaphor for loneliness and someone stranded in society, it just comes off like a dad trying to talk about all of his problems.
This is strange, considering how good Simon was at making dad rock. Graceland is practically the first part of dad initiation right after wearing exclusively khaki shorts and complaining about the humidity, but whereas that had charm, hearing him sing about such topics in his 20s comes off more like a kid desperate for someone else’s pity in some spots.
Still far from bad for someone just finding their voice as a writer, but when measured against The Beatles and Bob Dylan from around the same time, Simon probably knew that he had better in the pipeline. ‘I Am a Rock’ is a decent piece of folk-flavoured pop, but looking at it next to ‘The Sound of Silence’, there’s no question why Simon wants to reach further beyond the books and poetry protecting him.
That self-awareness has always been one of Simon’s greatest strengths. Rather than clinging to nostalgia or leaning too heavily on the songs that first brought him acclaim, he has consistently chosen to evolve, even if that means leaving certain fan favourites behind. In the case of ‘I Am a Rock’, his reluctance feels less like rejection and more like an artist recognising that he has outgrown the emotional perspective that once fuelled it.
It also highlights the distance between Simon the young songwriter and Simon the seasoned performer. What once felt like a profound statement on isolation now reads, in his own estimation, as something more limited in scope. By stepping away from it in a live setting, he reinforces the idea that his catalogue is not just a museum of past work but a living body of music, one that reflects where he is now rather than where he once was.
