Kathy's Song

I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm continuing
Tapping on my roof and walls.

And from the shelter of my mind
Through the window of my eyes
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets
To England where my heart lies.

My mind's distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you're asleep
And kiss you when you start your day.

And as a song I was writing is left undone
I don't know why I spend my time
Writing songs I can't believe
With words that tear and strain to rhyme.

And so you see I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.

--            Kathy's Song

Simon & Garfunkel

This is one of the all time great love songs.

Paul Simon wrote it in 1964 while he and Kathy were separated (not romantically but by distance).

This is a story that begins with a description of the circumstances of the storytelling itself, then proceeds to tell a story, then ends by connecting that story back to the present circumstances.

In this case: It starts with the image of "rain," then moves to a conflict between the life a songwriter has chosen and the woman he left behind, then ends with the songwriter comparing himself to the rain he opened with.

Simon misses Kathy, the woman he left behind in England. He had been there, and dated her, then came back to the States to make it big in life. Now, he is wondering if he made the right choice.

Maybe the rain reminds him of famously rainy England. But he keeps thinking back to Kathy-- "My thoughts are many miles away/They lie with you." The word "lie" is a subtle pun on the expression "my thoughts lie elsewhere."

Favorite lines.. 

"there but for the grace of you go I" 

we're all like drops of rain, can you imagine finding someone who makes your life more than just a weary path to death?

The raw and powerful emotions expressed in such simple words reminds me of the fact that life is simple, to love is even simpler and the truest and the most powerful emotions lie in lucid & humble feelings.

"I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you."

Finding such a deep love but having to part -- an age-old occurrence made anything but banal, rather, is being celebrated and his beloved fondly missed.

..... and To my beloved ....

"And so you see, I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true;
I stand alone without beliefs.
The only truth I know is you."

Click below to enjoy the song

Kathy's Song...