Simon & Garfunkel never presented themselves as a Jewish act. No Hebrew lyrics. No synagogue scenes. No overt religious signaling. And yet, as many Jewish writers have pointed out over the years, the Jewishness of their music runs deep, living not in doctrine but in the questions the songs keep asking.
That’s worth knowing before you go see “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” in St. Louis on Feb. 10 at Powell Hall.
The Jewish chords beneath the folk
Paul Simon’s lyrics were never overtly religious, but they were shaped by Jewish texts, ethics and a distinctly diasporic sensibility. Much of that framing has been explored by Paul Wieder, a music writer for the Jewish United Fund, who has written about how Simon’s songwriting draws on biblical language and moral questioning without ever announcing itself.
“Songs like ‘Bleeker Street’ read almost like modern Psalms, full of wandering, doubt and quiet faith,” writes Weider. “’Leaves That Are Green’ echoes Ecclesiastes in its unsentimental meditation on time, aging and what slips away. Even ‘He Was My Brother,’ written early in Simon’s career, carries a prophetic tone about justice and loss that feels rooted in Jewish moral tradition.”
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Simon grew up in a Jewish family in Queens, N.Y. His grandfather was a tailor, part of the immigrant generation that worked with its hands and worried about survival, memory and belonging. Those themes show up again and again in his writing. Identity is rarely declared, but it is always being wrestled with.
And what about Garfunkel?
Art Garfunkel’s Jewishness is quieter, but no less present. Raised in a Jewish household in Forest Hills, N.Y., he brought a different sensibility to the partnership. Garfunkel was drawn to poetry, harmony and introspection. “His voice often carried the ache, vulnerability and longing that gave Simon’s words their emotional lift,” writes Weider.
Together, Simon and Garfunkel created music that felt gentle on the surface and heavy underneath. That tension is part of why the songs endure. They sound simple. They are not.
Why this still matters
What makes this worth your time now is not just the catalog, but the context. These songs emerged from a postwar Jewish American experience shaped by memory, displacement and ethical questioning. You do not need to know that to enjoy the music. But knowing it helps explain why the songs linger the way they do.
That’s worth knowing before you go see “The Simon & Garfunkel Story,”
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
When: Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, 718 N Grand Blvd.
For information about tickets, visit them online.
