"America" by Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel)

"America" is one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs. It begins with Simon and Garfunkel humming. One voice is humming mi-mi-mi-re-do-re-mi-do and the other starts on do and sings harmony, possibly do-ti-la-so and the some harmony parallel in motion. This phrase is repeated with the addition of some pick up lead guitar notes. The song sounds as if it could be in three-four time. Percussion comes in on the third beat and each beat of the next measures and then Simon begins to sing on the down beat. Paul Simon sings all of the verses in this song and the melody throughout. Garfunkel is the harmonizer and adds the high harmony heard throughout the entire song normally entering on the second line of the verses. The verse begins, "Let-us-be-lovers," which could be "do-mi-la-sol" with the la acting as a sort of appoggiatura. The chord progression seems to move downward at least you can hear the bass playing a definite walk down the scale, sort of resembling the harmony humming part from the introduction. There are at least four verses, we'll say five, with the first and fourth having the same structure, melodically and symmetrically. An organ comes in with the second verse which is very short and an interesting clarinet(or other wind instrument) solo plays, the notes sounding very foreign to the key of the song, comes in before the third verse. At this point the organ plays chords and the clarinet melody may be heard behind the verse. The fourth verse repeats the first verse but with different words. By this we could say that this piece is round. There are some added accompanying ooohs done by Garfunkel. The last "verse" of the song is more of an extension of sorts. Also, the intrumental part at the end is very similar to that of the beginning.
Simon and Garfunkel are so enjoyable to listen to because of their voices and seemingly natural ability to harmonize with each other. Their voices are actually very different in range, tone, and over all sound. Simon's is lower and fuller, more tough sounding while Garfunkel's is high and softer. Their contrast creates a very nice effect that makes the harmonies sound wonderful. Their balance between lea and supporting vocals is also very impressive. The beginning of the song, the two of them humming, caught my attention the instant I first heard the song. Simon's simple story telling along with their improvement on folkish songs is the best part.