Cecilia (2:56)
852,914 plays (204,413 listeners)
By Paul Simon, from the Simon and Garfunkel 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water, when released as a single, it reached #4 in the US charts. The song begins “Cecilia, you’re breaking my heart / You’re shaking my confidence daily…” then ends with “Jubilation! / She loves me again…”
The single did not chart in the UK, despite being released as the follow-up to Simon and Garfunkel’s number one hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.
The “Cecilia” of the title is generally interpreted as being a capricious lover, causing both anguish and jubilation to the singer. However, another interpretation is that Cecilia might refer to St. Cecilia, patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition, and thus the song might refer to the frustration of fleeting inspiration in songwriting. St. Cecilia is mentioned in another Paul Simon song, “The Coast” (from his 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints): “A family of musicians took shelter for the night in the little harbor church of St. Cecilia.”
When the original album was released on vinyl, the song included sounds out of the human hearing range. This has led to rumors that Cecilia was actually written about Simon’s black lab, Cecilia. When being transferred to CD in 1996, producers removed the ultrasonic sounds in order to lower the file size, allowing them to fit a 14th song on the “best of” album. When interviewed, Simon refused to comment. Garfunkel was quoted as saying that Simon had never dated anyone named Cecilia and the song was probably about the dog.
The single did not chart in the UK, despite being released as the follow-up to Simon and Garfunkel’s number one hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.
The “Cecilia” of the title is generally interpreted as being a capricious lover, causing both anguish and jubilation to the singer. However, another interpretation is that Cecilia might refer to St. Cecilia, patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition, and thus the song might refer to the frustration of fleeting inspiration in songwriting. St. Cecilia is mentioned in another Paul Simon song, “The Coast” (from his 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints): “A family of musicians took shelter for the night in the little harbor church of St. Cecilia.”
When the original album was released on vinyl, the song included sounds out of the human hearing range. This has led to rumors that Cecilia was actually written about Simon’s black lab, Cecilia. When being transferred to CD in 1996, producers removed the ultrasonic sounds in order to lower the file size, allowing them to fit a 14th song on the “best of” album. When interviewed, Simon refused to comment. Garfunkel was quoted as saying that Simon had never dated anyone named Cecilia and the song was probably about the dog.
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Shouts
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justiceforsoup wrote:
ha! this reminds me of when i was about 6 and we had Romanian exchange students with us and one of them was called Cecilia and my mum sang this to her.. it was an odd moment.
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budak6 wrote:
Yes you are breaking my heart..
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larry1299 wrote:
TRAUBSTER, YOU GOT IT IF SHE YANKS THIS CHAIN LIKE THAT SHE HAS GOT TO BE A SLUT.
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randysandy wrote:
Love this
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sylwia333 wrote:
I love this song
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traubster wrote:
Cecilia's a slut, not a saint.
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Tom_Pullings wrote:
St Cecilia is the patron saint of Musicians. Creativity comes and goes.
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Flenkster wrote:
Gotta love it
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newfound-glory wrote:
as i was a very young child, my father has always listened to simon & garfunkel and i used to hate them. now a few years later they're one of my favourites. and this song is my favourite of them.
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sparklecrunch wrote:
so who was cecilia anyway? rumour has it was paul simon's dog...!
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ElliousKedward wrote:
This song reminds me of Animal Collective. One of the best of Simon and Garfunkel.
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Banba777 wrote:
i'm down on my knees ... ushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh <333
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r0wiee wrote:
<3
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davidbowiegirl wrote:
Great song! <3
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hilary5556 wrote:
memories!!!!!!!!!!!
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inta_burst wrote:
ju-bi-laaaaaation
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she_atomizes wrote:
I dare you not to dance. S&G gold!
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Antridian wrote:
Great upbeat sex song. Love the instrumentation, the arrangement and the melody. A great song from a fantastic album.
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snapmagic wrote:
love!
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heikesocke56 wrote:
toller song
Simon & Garfunkel
Cecilia
full track
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terp8810, whiskyminers, jnine9 and 6 other people loved Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia. 2 hours ago
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Anne-SophieM added Cecilia to Anne-SophieM’s library. yesterday evening
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ChainsawV, dlp71 and intoXicated0 loved Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia. yesterday evening
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SquidgeyShroom, skysman, -Eruanna- and 1 other person loved Simon & Garfunkel – Cecilia. Monday evening
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