Duncan (Paul Simon song)

"Duncan"
"Duncan"
Single by Paul Simon
from the album Paul Simon
B-side	"Run That Body Down"
Released	July 1972
Recorded	1971
Genre	Pop rock; folk rock;
Length	4:34
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Paul Simon
Producer(s)	Roy Halee; Paul Simon;
Paul Simon singles chronology

"Duncan" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third and final single from his second self-titled studio album (1972), released on Columbia Records in July 1972 backed with "Run That Body Down".^[1] The song peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1972.^[2]^[3]

A ballad in E-minor, "Duncan" tells the story of Lincoln Duncan, a fisherman's son. An inability to fall asleep in a cheap motel due to the loud sex that a couple is having next door sends Duncan off on a long reverie. He recalls his decision to leave "the boredom and the chowder" of his hometown in the Canadian Maritime Provinces and head towards New England. He recalls running out of money, losing his confidence and faith in himself, and gaining them back after losing his virginity to a young female street preacher – "just like a dog I was befriended". In the last stanza, he is lying on the ground at night playing his guitar and thanking God for his fingers. Between the stanzas, the song features instrumental interludes, played on 2 flutes, by Los Incas, an Andean group which had previously collaborated with Simon & Garfunkel on "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" in 1970.^[4]^[3]

Cash Box said that "the instrumental bridge is straight out of the Pied Piper mystique."^[5] Record World felt it was "slightly more subdued" than the first two singles from the album.^[6]

Live performances

A concert rendition featuring Urubamba performing the interludes was included on the 1974 album Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'. It gained radio airplay itself, and has gone on to become a semi-regular on satellite radio's Deep Tracks station.^[7] Simon has included the song in his set lists for some subsequent tours as well.

During a show in Toronto on May 7, 2011, Rayna Ford, a fan from Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, called out for Simon to play the song, and said something to the effect that she learned to play guitar on the song. Paul Simon invited her on stage, handed her a guitar and asked her to play it for the crowd.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Personnel

Paul Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar, arranger, producer
Los Incas – flute, charango, percussion

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Canada (RPM)^[11]	39
US Easy Listening (Billboard)^[12]	30
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	52

Notes

References

^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography, 8th edition. Open City Books. p. 967. ISBN 1-84195-860-3.
^ "Paul Simon > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Jackson, Laura (2004). Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography. Citadel Press. pp. 138, 142. ISBN 0-8065-2539-8.
^ Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 24, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 24, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
^ Fitzhugh, Bill. "All Hand-Mixed Vinyl, segment 72". Deep Tracks (XM 40). Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
^ "Kelligrews woman wows Paul Simon audience". CBC.ca. May 9, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
^ "Paul Simon And A Moment Of Pure Sobbing Joy". NPR Music. May 14, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
^ "Rayna Ford performs Duncan on stage". YouTube. May 8, 2011. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
^ "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 17 (26). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. August 12, 1972. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "Paul Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
^ "Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2015.

Sources

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.

This 1970s single–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[grd-1] Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography, 8th edition. Open City Books. p. 967. ISBN 1-84195-860-3.

[amg-2] "Paul Simon > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved January 31, 2009.

[jackson-3] Jackson, Laura (2004). Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography. Citadel Press. pp. 138, 142. ISBN 0-8065-2539-8.

[bennighof-4] Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.

[5] "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 24, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.

[rw-6] "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 24, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved March 31, 2023.

[fitz-7] Fitzhugh, Bill. "All Hand-Mixed Vinyl, segment 72". Deep Tracks (XM 40). Archived from the original on December 28, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2009.

[8] "Kelligrews woman wows Paul Simon audience". CBC.ca. May 9, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2013.

[9] "Paul Simon And A Moment Of Pure Sobbing Joy". NPR Music. May 14, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2013.

[10] "Rayna Ford performs Duncan on stage". YouTube. May 8, 2011. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2013.

[RPM1-11] "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 17 (26). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. August 12, 1972. Retrieved November 12, 2015.

[AC-12] "Paul Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

[Billboardhot100-13] "Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2015.

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v t e Paul Simon songs
Discography
The Paul Simon Songbook	"I Am a Rock" "Leaves That Are Green" "April Come She Will" "The Sound of Silence" "A Simple Desultory Philippic" "Patterns"
Paul Simon	"Mother and Child Reunion" "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" "Duncan"
There Goes Rhymin' Simon	"Kodachrome" "Loves Me Like a Rock" "American Tune" "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" "Something So Right" "St. Judy's Comet"
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'	"The Sound of Silence"
Still Crazy After All These Years	"Gone at Last" "My Little Town" "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" "Still Crazy After All These Years"
Greatest Hits, Etc.	"Slip Slidin' Away" "Stranded in a Limousine"
One-Trick Pony	"Late in the Evening" "One-Trick Pony" "Oh, Marion"
Hearts and Bones	"Allergies" "The Late Great Johnny Ace" "Think Too Much"
Graceland	"You Can Call Me Al" "Graceland" "The Boy in the Bubble" "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" "Under African Skies" "Homeless"
The Rhythm of the Saints	"The Obvious Child" "Proof" "Born at the Right Time"
You're the One	"Old" "You're the One"
Surprise	"Father and Daughter" "That's Me" "Outrageous"
So Beautiful or So What	"Getting Ready for Christmas Day" "The Afterlife"
Stranger to Stranger	"Wristband" "Cool Papa Bell" "The Werewolf"
Featured singles	"Wonderful World" "The Blues" "The Boxer" "New York Is My Home"
Other songs	"Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War" "Thelma"
Category