Simon & Garfunkel’s Paul Simon released a new album called ‘Seven Psalms’ in May and recently joined an interview with Broken Record Podcast’s Malcolm Gladwell to talk about it. During the chat, he reflected on some of the songs in the record. When Gladwell suggested that the track ‘The Sacred Harp’ could be turned into a hymn, he said:
“I’d get a lot of pleasure if it did find its way into that environment. I’d like that because I like when songs go to different places. I like it when different communities of people hear something that they identify within a song. It means that you can read different things into it.”
Then, the songwriter added:
“It’s something that, as a songwriter, you would hope to achieve. That something would appeal to many people on a personal level, and that personal interpretation would be quite different along the spectrum of the listeners.”
Meanwhile, the creation of this song and the album came with some issues for the singer. According to his words in a chat with The Times, Simon lost his hearing during the recording of ‘Seven Psalms.’ Although he tried to accept the situation, the former Simon & Garfunkel member told CBS News that he didn’t like it.
When asked about whether his 2022 performance at Newport could be his last big show due to his health condition, Simon went on:
“Well, I hope not. I really wanted to perform the ‘Seven Psalms.’ I haven’t given up hope, but I’m prepared to accept that I might not be able to.”
You can check out Paul Simon’s recent interview in the video below and listen to his new record here.