"April Come She Will" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their second studio album, Sounds of Silence (1966). It originally appeared on the solo album The Paul Simon Songbook. It is the B-side to the hit single "Scarborough Fair/Canticle".[1] It is included on The Graduate soundtrack album and was additionally released on the "Mrs. Robinson" EP in 1968, together with three other songs from The Graduate film: "Mrs. Robinson", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", and "The Sound of Silence".
| "April Come She Will" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Simon & Garfunkel | |
| from the album Sounds of Silence | |
| Recorded | December 21, 1965 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 1:51 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter | |
| Producers |
|
Background and composition
editThe song was written in 1964 while Paul Simon was in England, while living in a basement flat in Belsize Park[2]. Its lyrics use the changing nature of the seasons as a metaphor for a girl's changing moods. The inspiration for the song was a girl that Simon met and the nursery rhyme she used to recite, "Cuckoo".[3] James Hardy lists regional variations to this folk rhyme about the Cuckoo - and the one closest to the lyrics is from Hampshire:
In April, come I will
In May, I prepare to stay
In June, I change my tune [the call changes in June]
In July, I prepare to fly
In August, go I must [Cuckoos migrate to Africa][4]
It is the shortest song on the album.[5] The song is composed in the key of G major, sounding as A major with the capo on the 2nd fret, with Art Garfunkel's vocal range spanning from D3 to D4.[6]
Release and reception
editIn the February 1968 release of the soundtrack for the movie The Graduate, the song appeared (in a different version) as the seventh track.[7] It is featured in a pool scene in the movie and was used as a rhythmic guide for the editing of the film.[8]
Reviews for the song were generally positive. Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote: "The sense of yearning in this song would later be beautifully echoed in one of the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme masterpieces, "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her". [sic] Like that song, it is very brief, yet the shortness of the song adds to the effectiveness and economy of both the lyric and melody."[3]
In popular culture
editExcerpts feature throughout the Korean drama Angel Eyes. It is the favorite song of the female lead Yoon Soo-wan (Koo Hye-sun) and is the ringtone for the phone[9] of the male lead Park Dong-joo (Lee Sang-yoon) on his return to South Korea.[10] Part of the song was featured in Season 23, Episode 18 of The Simpsons, "Beware My Cheating Bart". Conversely, the musical segment featured a visual gag referencing the poster of the 1967 film, The Graduate, for which Simon & Garfunkel provided the soundtrack. In the 2000s, the song was also featured in an episode of Parks and Recreation and one of The Mindy Project.
References
edit- ↑ Eliot 2010, p. 289.
- ↑ Paul Simon - Royal Albert Hall May 14, 2026
- 1 2 Greenwald, Matthew. "April Come She Will Song I was the person who told Paul this rhyme. We were sitting on top of a haystack early one morning and we heard a cuckoo. I told him the rhyme (not a nursery rhyme) about the cuckoo; April come she will, 'May she will stay, June she'll change her tune, In July she will fly, in August go she must. (Lesley Bennett, then Lesley Vine) Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ↑ Folklore Society (Great Britain) (1878–82). Folk-Lore Record. Robarts - University of Toronto. London.
- ↑ "April Come She Will by Simon and Garfunkel". Songfacts. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Digital Sheet Music – Simon & Garfunkel – April Come She Will". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 28 September 2009. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "The Graduate > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
- ↑ Eliot 2010, p. 91.
- ↑ "엔젤아이즈에서 박동주 핸드폰 벨소리 제목은?".
- ↑ "'엔젤아이즈 Ost', 드라마를 뒷받침하는 '음악의 힘'". 리뷰스타.
Bibliography
edit- Eliot, Marc (2010). Paul Simon: A Life. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8.