The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. It was on the B-side of the 1967 single "At the Zoo", and was subsequently re-issued in 1971 as an A-side single.

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
1971 release, where "The 59th Street Bridge Song" was given the A-side
Single by Simon and Garfunkel
from the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
B-side	"I Am a Rock"
Released	1971 (1967 as B-side to "At the Zoo")
Recorded	16 August 1966
Genre	Folk rock
Length	1:56
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Paul Simon
Producer(s)	Bob Johnston
Simon and Garfunkel singles chronology
"El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (1970) "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (1971) "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (Live)" (1972)

59th Street Bridge, seen from Manhattan, in 2010

"59th Street Bridge" is the colloquial name of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge in New York City. The song's message is immediately delivered in its opening verse: "Slow down, you move too fast".

The studio version features Dave Brubeck Quartet members Joe Morello (drums) and Eugene Wright (double bass).

Footage of Simon and Garfunkel performing the song at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is featured in the film Monterey Pop.

On his farewell tour, Simon "penalized" himself for wrongly performing the lyrics to another song by singing this song, which he confesses to hating.[1]

The theme song to the American children's TV show H.R. Pufnstuf, originally composed by Sid and Marty Krofft, was found to closely mimic "The 59th Street Bridge Song" after Simon sued; his writing credit was subsequently added to the H.R. Pufnstuf theme.[2][3]

Covers and performances

• A popular cover version from 1967 was recorded by Harpers Bizarre, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the Easy Listening chart.[4] Their version was arranged by Leon Russell, who played piano on the track. Other musicians included Glen Campbell, Carole Kaye and drummer Jim Gordon. It also featured a harmonic choral a cappella section and a woodwind quartet with a flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.
• Former Simon songwriting partner Bruce Woodley recorded a cover with his band The Seekers on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green.
• The song was covered by The Free Design on their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun.
• The song was covered by Italian vocal band Quartetto Cetra on their 1967 single "La ballata degli innamorati/Tre minuti", with Italian lyrics written by Tata Giacobetti.
• The melody was used by Nana Mouskouri in 1967 for her song "C'est bon la vie".
• Brenda Lee's version appears on her 1968 album For the First Time Decca DL 4955.
• Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short performed this song at their 1968 Town Hall performance, documented on the live album At Town Hall.
• The song appears on the album The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. During the track's mixing, Paul Simon added harmony vocals to the final chorus.
• Jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman recorded it on his 1973 album I've Been There.
• The song was covered by Berni Flint and Lena Zavaroni on her TV show Lena Zavaroni and Music (1979).
• The Coolies cover it on their 1986 album dig..?, along with eight other tongue-in-cheek covers of Simon & Garfunkel classics.
• Pizzicato Five made a Japanese-language version of the song, included on both the single The Audrey Hepburn Complex and the album Pizzicatomania!.
• The song was covered by the Boston band Jim's Big Ego on the album Don't Get Smart.
• Jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond recorded the song on his Bridge Over Troubled Water album; an album consisting of all Simon and Garfunkel compositions.
• The Grateful Dead were known to have quoted portions of the song in their music. The most notable instance was within the performance of "Dark Star" on 13 February 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York, NY on the Dick's Picks Volume 4 album.
• O.A.R. has been covering this song in concert since 2002. They play their own arrangement which always serves as an intro to fan favorites "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker" or "City on Down".
• The song was parodied by Bob Rivers as "Feelin' Boobies".
• Tori Amos performed the song at several of her concerts in 2005.[5]
• The song was covered by Rachael MacFarlane on her 2012 debut album Hayley Sings.
• During live performances, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page would often include snippets of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" in the guitar solo of the song "Heartbreaker". While usually edited out of official live releases, the snippet can be heard on numerous Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings.

In popular culture

• The song was used in a 2003 series of Gap commercials featuring R&B/soul singers Angie Stone and Mýa.[6]
• The song was used in the first season of US TV series Desperate Housewives, during a scene where Lynette Scavo hallucinates her own suicide.
• In 1991, Harpers Bizarre's cover of the song was featured in The Wonder Years Season 5 Episode 10, "Pfeiffer's Choice".[7]
• The song was used in an episode of The Simpsons (season 6, episode 25) called "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". Mr. Burns alludes to the song, saying, "Hello lamppost, whatcha knowin'? I've come to watch your power flowin'."
• The song was used in the trailer for Hal Ashby's 1975 comedy-drama Shampoo for which Paul Simon composed the original score.
• The song was used in the season 3 premiere of The Leftovers (season 3, episode 1) called "The Book of Kevin". Protagonist Kevin Garvey asphyxiates himself with plastic wrap and duct tape in his room as the song plays.[8]
• A variant of the song was performed by Paul Simon and Stephen Colbert as the opening segment for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on May 25, 2017.[9]
• The Switched-On Rock version is Dr. Chapatín's theme on the Mexican comedy series Chespirito.

References

1. "Paul Simon wraps up farewell tour back home". CBC News. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
2. PUFNSTUF (1970, U.S.) Archived January 17, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
3. "H.R. Pufnstuf (1969–1970): Trivia", IMDB.com. Accessed Sept. 16, 2017.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 111.
5. Tori Amos Song Summary
6. Mack, Ann M. (28 February 2003). "Laird's Gap Is 'Groovy' for Spring". AllBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
7. "S5E10: Pfeiffer's Choice - The Wonder Years Soundtrack". Tunefind. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
8. Cook-Wilson, Winston (17 April 2017). "In season 3 of the Leftovers, everyone is waiting around to die". Spin. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
9. "Paul Simon And Stephen Colbert Are 'Feelin' Groovy'". YouTube. Retrieved 26 May 2017.

External links

• "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" Lyrics from Paul Simon's official site