Like Milton Erdfarb, I too was taken by the lyrics of Paul Simon’s opus “Seven Psalms,” released in the early fall of 2023 (“Paul Simon: A Pintele Yid?” July 18, 2024). And like Mr. Erdfarb I too wondered how much of Mr. Simon’s being Jewish informed the Jewish seeming themes in the song: references to King David, repeated references to God as the creator of everything and to each man’s mortality.
I would like to think that these themes do in fact reflect on Mr. Simon’s Jewish connection. But as Simon himself says quite clearly, he has no real Jewish affiliation.
Similarly, Albert Einstein was emphatic that he was in no way an observant Jew although people cite this or that quote to show that Einstein did in fact have positive feelings toward his Jewishness. In the case of “Seven Psalms,” however, the Jewish themes that Mr. Erdfarb cites are in fact themes common to many faiths. King David is important to many Western religions as is the theme of “the Lord” which the song repeats again and again.
We may not be able to know what was in Paul Simon’s head when he wrote these lyrics. A faith-based life does not speak to everyone yet those individuals can still have timeless messages to share. Regardless of what inspired Simon, I still maintain that anyone looking for contemplative inspiration about life and mortality and who also enjoys thoughtful lyrics and a variety of compositional music styles should take the 33 minutes to listen to “Seven Psalms” in its entirety from start to finish. And, like me and perhaps Mr. Erdfarb, listen to it again.
