Save the Life of My Child

"Save the Life of My Child"
"Save the Life of My Child"
Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Bookends
Recorded	December 14, 1967; Columbia Studio A
Studio	Columbia 7th Ave, New York City
Genre	Psychedelic rock;
Length	2:49
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Paul Simon;
Producer(s)	Paul Simon; Art Garfunkel; John Simon;

"Save the Life of My Child" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968).

Background

"Save the Life of My Child" was one of many songs on Bookends recorded with production assistant John Simon.^[1]

Composition

An audio sample of the band's first hit, "The Sound of Silence", softly plays during a cacophony of sounds near the end of "Save the Life of My Child."^[2] John Simon, who was credited with production assistance on the song, created the bassline by playing a Moog synthesizer with help from Robert Moog himself.^[2]^[3] James Bennighof, author of The Words and Music of Paul Simon, considers the churning, distorted groove and electronic instrumentation an accompanying textural element to the subject matter: suicidal suburban youth.^[4] "Save the Life of My Child" is a dramatic story involving drugs, violence and a mother and child relationship. According to Bennighof, the song "deals with individual crises in crowded urban settings, along with references to larger societal forces and at least a hint of some transcendent perspective."^[4]

References

^ Fornatale 2007, p. 66.
^ ^a ^b Eliot 2010, p. 95.
^ Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco. Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. Harvard University Press, 2004.]
^ ^a ^b Bennighof 2007, p. 34.

Bibliography

Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
Eliot, Marc (2010). Paul Simon: A Life. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8.
Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.

This 1960s pop song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[FOOTNOTEFornatale200766-1] Fornatale 2007, p. 66.

[FOOTNOTEEliot201095-2] Eliot 2010, p. 95.

[3] Trevor Pinch, Frank Trocco. Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer. Harvard University Press, 2004.]

[FOOTNOTEBennighof200734-4] Bennighof 2007, p. 34.

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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