Save the Life of My Child

"Save the Life of My Child"
Song by Simon & Garfunkel
from the album Bookends
Recorded	December 14, 1967 Columbia Studio A
Studio	Columbia 7th Ave, New York City
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Length	2:49
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Paul Simon
Producer(s)	Paul Simon Art Garfunkel John Simon

"Save the Life of My Child" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968).

Background

"Save the Life of My Child" was one of many songs on Bookends recorded with production assistant John Simon.

Composition

An audio sample of the band's first hit, "The Sound of Silence", softly plays during a cacophony of sounds near the end of "Save the Life of My Child." John Simon, who was credited with production assistance on the song, created the bassline by playing a Moog synthesizer with help from Robert Moog himself. James Bennighof, author of The Words and Music of Paul Simon, considers the churning, distorted groove and electronic instrumentation an accompanying textural element to the subject matter: suicidal suburban youth. "Save the Life of My Child" is a dramatic story involving drugs, violence and a mother and child relationship. According to Bennighof, the song "deals with individual crises in crowded urban settings, along with references to larger societal forces and at least a hint of some transcendent perspective."

Bibliography

• Bennighof, James (2007). The Words and Music of Paul Simon. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99163-0.
• Eliot, Marc (2010). Paul Simon: A Life. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8.
• Fornatale, Pete (2007). Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-427-8.