"You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon

The coolest part about this song, aside from the phat bass lick that occurs before the chorus is sang one last time, is the way the chord progression is such a major part in creating the mesmerizing rhythm of the song. Paul Simon is known for his utilization of African based percussion in most of his songs and "Call Me Al" is no exception. The song contains three verses, having the same melody, which are each separated by a chorus, which uses a different melody. The chord progression is hard to distinguish but it seems to have a stepwise tonality as if the chords are moving down the scale within the songs given key. The song does not contain any noticeable cadences and the ending sort of fades away without an actual finish, sort of an easy way out.
I enjoy this song because of its African beats and rocking chord progression. "Call Me Al" makes me want to get up and dance or be able to play bass guitar. The lyrics are another interesting aspect of the song because each verse shares the depressed seeming state of three different men. The uplifting chorus must be meant to give help to these depressed characters, "If you be my bodyguard, I can be your long, lost pal." The song is altogether attracting to the ears and the very powerful chorus makes everything okay for the sad verses.