Download Instrumental    Okay, maybe I went a little overboard on the orchestra on this one, but a song like this just screams for super dynamics. And that means violins, tubas, and oboes galore – love ’em!

It’s a rare phenomenon when a song – even a huge hit like “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” – has such emotional power that it affects people worldwide for generations.  Within a month of its release in January of 1970 it sailed to the top of the Billboard charts and stayed there for six weeks.  It was a time of turmoil in this country over the Vietnam War with protests in the streets that usually turned violent.  Paul Simon’s lyrics and music seemed to cool the savage beast of unrest and Garfunkel’s tenor joining in on the third verse brought a general feeling of “coming together”.  That’s the highlight of the song in my opinion – that third verse – “Sail On Silver Girl”!

Trying to exactly duplicate Simon’s arrangement is well nigh impossible, so I just went with what I felt.  That’s usually a mistake and results in over dramatization, but this still might work well for a singer in the right venue.  It’s fairly easy to sing as Paul Simon rarely ventures more than 5 or 6 notes from the tonic and it’s certainly recognizable.  Bring it out at the top of your last set and your crowd will sigh just a little when they hear “When you’re weary – feelin’ small”.  Gives a body goose bumps, it does.