Punky's Dilemma

"Punky's Dilemma"
"Punky's Dilemma"
Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Bookends
Recorded	October 5, 1967
Genre	Folk rock
Length	2:10
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Paul Simon
Producer(s)	Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, John Simon

"Punky's Dilemma" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968).

Background

"Punky's Dilemma" was one of two songs (the other being "Overs") that Paul Simon offered to director Mike Nichols for his film The Graduate.^[1] Nichols was not particularly taken with either, which led to Simon writing "Mrs. Robinson".^[1]

The song was partially worked on by John Simon (no relation),^[2] who was hired to "kick-start" the recording when Paul Simon had writer's block.^[3] Morgan Ames, writer for High Fidelity magazine, attended a recording session during which "Punky's Dilemma" was being constructed, in October 1967.^[2] The team spent over 50 studio hours recording "Punky's Dilemma," re-recording vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied.^[4]

Composition

"Punky’s Dilemma" is breezy and minimal musically, with a soft jazz-style percussion and seemingly improvised guitar lines dominated by seventh chords.^[5] As rock critic Robert Christgau wrote, the song "seems the essence of lightheartedness on casual hearing but is really a poignant and ironic presentation of a young man's military alternatives: resisting or playing along with the draft."^[6]

Notes

References

^ ^a ^b Eliot 2010, p. 90.
^ ^a ^b Fornatale 2007, p. 66.
^ Fornatale 2007, p. 62.
^ Simon & Garfunkel interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
^ Bennighof 2007, p. 39.
^ Christgau, Robert (1973). Any Old Way You Choose It. Cooper Square Press. p. 169. ISBN 0815410417.

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.
Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.

[FOOTNOTEEliot201090-1] Eliot 2010, p. 90.

[FOOTNOTEFornatale200766-2] Fornatale 2007, p. 66.

[FOOTNOTEFornatale200762-3] Fornatale 2007, p. 62.

[4] Simon & Garfunkel interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)

[FOOTNOTEBennighof200739-5] Bennighof 2007, p. 39.

[6] Christgau, Robert (1973). Any Old Way You Choose It. Cooper Square Press. p. 169. ISBN 0815410417.

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v t e Simon & Garfunkel
Paul Simon Art Garfunkel
Studio albums	Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Sounds of Silence Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Bookends Bridge over Troubled Water
Live albums	The Concert in Central Park Live from New York City, 1967 Old Friends: Live on Stage Live 1969
Compilation albums	Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits The Simon and Garfunkel Collection 20 Greatest Hits The Definitive Simon and Garfunkel The Best of Simon and Garfunkel Two Can Dream Alone Tales from New York: The Very Best of Simon & Garfunkel Tom & Jerry The Essential Simon & Garfunkel
Box sets	Collected Works Old Friends The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970) The Collection: Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel: The Complete Albums Collection
Soundtrack albums	The Graduate
Videos	The Concert in Central Park Old Friends: Live on Stage
Discographies	Simon & Garfunkel Art Garfunkel Paul Simon
Other	Songs recorded Paul Simon solo albums Paul Simon songs Art Garfunkel solo albums Bridge over Troubled Water (Paul Desmond album)
Category

v t e Simon & Garfunkel singles
Discography List of songs recorded
Sounds of Silence	"The Sound of Silence" / "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'" "I Am a Rock" / "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall"
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme	"Homeward Bound" / "Leaves That Are Green" "The Dangling Conversation" / "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" / "April Come She Will"
Bookends	"A Hazy Shade of Winter" / "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" "At the Zoo" / "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" "Fakin' It" / "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies" "Mrs. Robinson" / "Old Friends" / "Bookends"
Bridge over Troubled Water	"The Boxer" / "Baby Driver" "Bridge over Troubled Water" / "Keep the Customer Satisfied" "Cecilia" / "The Only Living Boy in New York" "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" / "Why Don't You Write Me"
Other singles	"America" "My Little Town" "Wake Up Little Susie"
Other songs	"Richard Cory" "Patterns" "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" "Save the Life of My Child" "Overs" "Punky's Dilemma" "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" "Voices of Old People"
Category