Meaning of “Graceland” by Paul Simon

“Graceland” is a song recorded and performed by the iconic American singer and songwriter Paul Simon. The lyrics of “Graceland” center on Simons’ real road trip to the Graceland mansion – which is the famous home owned by the legendary American musician Elvis Presley. The Graceland mansion is located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Simon made that “pilgrimage” from Louisiana to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee via Route 61 after the collapse of his marriage. The lyrics of the song are widely believed to be about Simon trying to use the famous road trip to give himself some solace, peace and comfort from the pain he felt after the end of his marriage to American actress Carrie Fisher. Simon and Fisher were married from 1983 to 1984.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Fisher herself said the song has part of their relationship in it.

The nine-year-old traveling companion Simon mentions in the song is his son Harper Simon who was born to Simon and his first wife Peggy Harper in 1972. FYI: “Graceland” isn’t the only Paul Simon song to make reference to Harper. Two other popular Paul Simon songs that refer to Harper are “Slip Slidin’ Away” and “St. Judy’s Comet”.

Who is the New York City girl who refers to herself as a “human trampoline”?

In one of the most famous lines from the song, Simon talks about a girl from New York City who “calls herself the human trampoline”. In an interview with the National Academy of Songwriters’ defunct magazine SongTalk, Simon said the New York City girl isn’t referring to anybody and that he just came up with that line during a visit to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York City.

Facts about “Graceland”

• “Graceland” was penned and produced solely by Paul Simon.
• The song was released in November 1986 as the second single from Simon’s seventh solo studio album titled Graceland. The album not only won the Grammy Award for the Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1987 but also sold over 15 million copies all over the world to become the most successful album of Simon’s entire career.
• Upon writing the song, Simon titled it “Graceland” with the sole aim of changing it later. However, Simon somehow fell in love with and decided not to replace it.
• In an interview Simon had with Larry King in 1993, he referred to this track as his favorite song.
• In 2003, “Graceland” was included in the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” by Rolling Stone. In the list, the song was placed at the 485th position.
• The song’s background vocals were sung by Paul Simon and the iconic American musical duo The Everly Brothers (Phil and Don Everly).
• On the UK Singles Chart, “Graceland” peaked at number 98. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it managed to peak at number 81.

Did “Graceland” win a Grammy Award?

Yes, it did. The song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year at the 1988 Grammy Awards. Since the song performed poorly on charts across the globe (for example, it peaked at only the 98th and 81st positions on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 respectively), it made history by becoming the lowest-charting song to ever receive the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

What musical genre is “Graceland”?

It falls into the genres of folk rock and worldbeat.

Which artists have covered “Graceland”?

Since the song was released in 1986, it has been covered by a host of artists, including Willie Nelson, Hot Chip and El Vez.