A Poem On The Underground Wall Guitar Tab

Live From New York City, 1967 Tabs:

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From: "Kean,John" 

A Poem on the Underground Wall  - Simon & Garfunkel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>From "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme".
Transcribed and tabbed by John Kean (keanj@agresearch.cri.nz).

Capo 7th fret.
2/4 time (mostly).

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||-tap-------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||-guitar----------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
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||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|


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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|---0-------0-----|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-------0-------0-|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----2-------2---|
|-3-------2-------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3---------------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|


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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|---1-------------|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----||
|-------0---0---0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-||
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---||
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------||
  Mmm     mmm       mmm               Mmm     mmm       mmm         The

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||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||---1-------------|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|
||-------0---0---0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|
||-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
||-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
   last    train is  nearly due  The   underground is    closing soon  And

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|---1-------------|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----|
|-------0---0---0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
  in  the dark  deserted station      Restless in   anticipation    A

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|---1-------------|---0-------0-----|---1-------1-----|---0-------0-----|
|-------0---0---0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
|-----2-----------|-----0-----------|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----2---|
|-3-------2---0---|-------------2---|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|
  man waits in the  shadows

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|-----------------|-----0-----0-----||---0-------0-----|-----3-----3-----|
|---0-------0-----|-----0---------0-||-------1-------1-|-----0---------0-|
|-------0-------0-|-----------------||-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---||-----2-----------|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------||-3-------2---0---|-----------------|
|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------||-----------------|-3-------3-------|
                                His    restless eyes   leap and scratch At

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|---3-------2-----|-----0-----0-----|---0-------0-----|-----3-----3-----|
|-------0-------0-|-----0---------0-|-------1-------1-|-----0---------0-|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-----------|-----0-------0---|
|-----------------|-----------------|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|
|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|
  all that they can touch or catch And hidden deep within his pocket

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|---3-------2-----|-----0-----0-----|-----------------|-----------------|
|-------0-------0-|-----0---------0-|---1-------1-----|---0-------0-----|
|-----------------|-----------------|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|
|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|-----2-----------|-----0-----------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-3-------2---0---|-------------2---|
|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|
  Safe  within its  silent socket  He holds a colored   crayon

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----0-----0-----||
|---1-------1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0---------0-||
|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|-----------------||
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---||
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------||
                                                                    Now

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||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----0-----------|
||---1-------1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----|
||-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
||-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
||-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
   from the tunnel's stony womb   The  carriage rides to meet the groom And

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|---1-------1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----|
|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
  opens wide its welcome doors But he hesitates         then withdraws

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|---1-------1-----|---0-------0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----||
|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-||
|-----2-----------|-----0-------0---|-----0-----------|-----2-------2---||
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------3---2---|-0-------0-------||
  Deeper  in  the   shadows

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||-----------------|-----0-----------|-0---------------|
||---0-------0-----|-----0-----------|-0---------------|
||-------0-------0-|-----0-strum-----|-0-strum---------|
||-----2-------2---|-----2-----------|-2---------------|
||-----------------|-----2-----------|-2---------------|
||-0-------0-------|-0---0-----------|-0---------------|
                                                And the

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|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-0-strum---------|-0-strum---------|-0-strum---------|-0-strum---------|
|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|
|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
  train  is  gone   suddenly                                        On

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|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|
|-3---------------|-3---------------|-3---------------|-3---------------|
|-2-strum---------|-2-strum---------|-2-strum---------|-2-strum---------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  wheels  spinning  silently                                      Like a

3/4 . . . , . . . , . . .2/4, . . . , . . .   , . . . , . . .
|-0-----------------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-1-----------------------|-1---------------|-1---------------|
|-0-strum-----------------|-2-strum---------|-2-strum---------|
|-2-----------------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|
|-3-----------------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  gently  tapping litany                                And he

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|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|
|-0---------------|-1---------------|-1---------------|-1---------------|
|-0-strum---------|-2-strum---------|-2-strum---------|-0-strum---------|
|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|-2---------------|
|-2---------------|-0---------------|-0---------------|-3---------------|
|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
  holds his crayon  rosary                              Tighter in his

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|-3---------------|-3-------3-------|-0---------------|-0---------------||
|-0---------------|-0-------0-------|-0---------------|-0---------------||
|-0-strum---------|-0-strum-0-strum-|-0-strum---------|-0-strum---------||
|-0---------------|-0-------0-------|-2---------------|-2---------------||
|-2---------------|-2-------2-------|-2---------------|-2---------------||
|-3---------------|-3-------2-------|-0---------------|-0---------------||
  hand                                                               Now

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||-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||---1-------1-----|-----0-----0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----|
||-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
||-----2-----------|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
||-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
   from his pocket   quick he flashes  The crayon on the wall he slashes

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----1-----1-----|-----0-----0-----|-----0-----0-----|-----0-----0-----|
|---------------0-|---------------0-|---------------0-|---------------0-|
|-----2-----------|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
  Deep upon the advertising,       A  single  worded    poem comprising

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|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----0-----0-----||
|-----1-----1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0---------0-||
|---------------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|-----------------||
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---||
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------||
  Four    letters                                                And his

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||---0-------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----0-----0-----|
||-----------1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0---------0-|
||-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|-----------------|
||-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
||-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
||-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
  heart is laughing screaming pounding The poem across the tracks rebounding

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|---0-------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------1-----|-----0h1---0-----|---0-------0-----|-----0-----0-----|
|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|-------0-------0-|---------------0-|
|-----2-----------|-----0h2-----0---|-----0-------0---|-----2-------2---|
|-3-------2---0---|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-3-------2-------|-0-------0-------|
  Shadowed by the exit light      His legs take their ascending flight To

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|---0-------0-----|---3-------2-----|---0-------2-----|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-----------------|
|-----2-------2---|-----0-------0---|-----0-------0---|-----------------|
|-3-------2-------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-3-------2-------|-0-------2-------|-----------------|
  seek the breast of darkness  and be suckled by the night

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|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-0-------tap-----|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-2-------guitar--|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||
|-2-------x-------|-x-------x-------|-x-------x-------|-x-------x-------||
|-0---------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------||

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Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Freddy Badass	#1 by Freddy Timmons at Oct 17, 1970 at 3:30 AM EST
	such a nice song, describes life as it was then and has become even more since then... Anyone know what the single worded poem is? Love? Hate?

No Picture Juandiego Rhythm Player	#2 by Juandiego Schubnell at Jun 6, 1971 at 5:23 AM EST
	I adore the way Simon turns what most people would see as an act of mindless graffiti into a triumph of artistic expression. The vandal is a hero, and vice versa!

No Picture Braxton Lead Player	#3 by Braxton Overby at Sep 26, 1971 at 3:46 AM EST
	s and g have changed my life forever

No Picture dalton Average	#4 by dalton hoffman at Jun 15, 1972 at 9:40 PM EST
	Only Paul Simon could make such a beautiful song about some guy writing the word "fuck" on a subway wall. Lovely song.

No Picture Kyle Wanna Be	#5 by Kyle Kom at Aug 16, 1974 at 2:47 PM EST
	I think that this song is about a person who commits suicide. "Shadowed by the exit light His legs take their ascending flight To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night." I think that those last few lines are suggesting that the man jumps in front of the train. And that his suicide note simply reads, one of those beautiful 4-letter words. "Sht" or "Fck" Does anyone have a different interpretation of the ending of this song? I suppose that the person could make the ascending flight up the stairs and out of the underground...

No Picture alex Rhythm Player	#6 by alex Smith at Oct 23, 1974 at 9:08 AM EST
	easily one of my top 5 fav Simon and Garfunkel songs...and for the record, i say the word is love...his response to writing it is just too powerful for it to be so crass...

No Picture Kevin Average	#7 by Kevin Fournier at May 26, 1976 at 11:06 AM EST
	i like the thought that the poem meant so much to the man, but if you happened to see the poem the next morning, it would mean nothing to you. i think that that is the essence of most artistic expression: mostly meaningless to strangers.

No Picture josh Average	#8 by josh meador at Dec 10, 1977 at 6:23 AM EST
	Fixable already touched on this, but here is the direct quote (from Live From New York): “The first album we recorded for Columbia called ‘Wednesday Morning, 3 am’ has a picture on the cover of Paul and myself in the uh subway system in New York here standing at the uh 5th avenue station next to an iron post. If you know the album then you’re familiar with the picture. What you’re not familiar with is the trouble that we went through in order to get that final picture because the original shots that were taken for the ah cover were taken off the uh picture that you see standing against the subway wall at the platform underneath the subway sign and we took about 500 pictures until we were satisfied with the perfect James Dean shot and packed up the cameras and guitars and as we left the station…I took a glance at the subway wall in front of which we had taken all the pictures for the first time that day and noticed that written there-rather legibly-in the baroque style common to New York subway wall writers was the uh the old familiar suggestion. And rather beautifully illustrated as well. Well we had a conference with Columbia records to decide what to do about this problem and of course we immediately told Columbia that this was exactly what we wanted on the cover of the LP. Forget it. I’m um mentioning this because we have taken a song, it’s now two years later...Paul has written a song fairly recently in London dealing with the uh theme of people who write on subway walls but treating the theme in a rather strange and serious way. The song is called ‘A Poem on the Underground Wall’.”

No Picture I BAKE YOU MUFF Average	#9 by I BAKE YOU MUFFIN at Mar 19, 1984 at 6:23 AM EST
	This is one of my favorite Paul Simon songs. I think it is a beuatifully poetic impression of the myriad of paths towards a personal salvation.

No Picture inaki Wanna Be	#10 by inaki laris at Aug 22, 1986 at 6:42 AM EST
	I was under the impression that it was a swear word, since they are often referred to (at least over here) as four-letter words. Love/hate is a more romantic, poetic option though! Love the band, love the song, but it's certainly not my favorite!

No Picture Chad Wanna Be	#11 by Chad Barri at Dec 1, 1993 at 11:17 PM EST
	Yes the four-letter word is certainly that lovely "f-word." The idea for this song came from the Wednesday Morning, 3AM album cover. They had taken at least a hundred shots of themselves in front of a wall and finally got the shot they wanted.. They looked a little closer and happened to notice some lucky poet's work had been prominently featured in bold letters. The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls...

No Picture Aaron Wanna Be	#12 by Aaron Howe at Oct 12, 2004 at 6:57 PM EST
	I adore the way Simon turns what most people would see as an act of mindless graffiti into a triumph of artistic expression. The vandal is a hero, and vice versa!

No Picture Dustin Wanna Be	#13 by Dustin Cogburn at Aug 20, 2007 at 8:58 PM EST
	I would definately say the four letter poem was a swear word. Look at the description of the man, hiding in shadows, his eyes "leap and scratch, At all that they can touch or catch". He holds the crayon as his rosary. Clearly this is about someone who is at least semi-crazy. However, it's probably the most poetic song ever about graffiti.