"The Only Living Boy in New York" is a song written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel. It is the eighth track from the duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water. The song was also issued as the B-side to the duo's "Cecilia" single.
Background
Paul Simon wrote the song as a thinly veiled message to Art Garfunkel, referencing in the first stanza a specific incident where Garfunkel went to Mexico to act in the film Catch-22. Simon was left alone in New York writing songs for Bridge over Troubled Water, hence the very lonely feelings of "The Only Living Boy in New York." Simon refers to Garfunkel in the song as "Tom", alluding to their early days when they were called Tom and Jerry, and encourages him to "let your honesty shine . . . like it shines on me".[1]
The background vocals feature both Garfunkel and Simon recorded together in an echo chamber, multi-tracked around eight times.[2]
Personnel
Paul Simon — lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic guitar
Passenger, the Once and Stu Larsen covered the song as part of their American Tour series.
Kishi Bashi covered the song as one of two singles released July 12, 2017, exclusively on Spotify, both songs having been recorded in the company's NYC studios in early April of the same year
Buffalo Tom released a cover version on their 2018 album Quiet and Peace, after guitarist Bill Janovitz performed a live cover of the song with his daughter, Lucy.
David Mead covered the song on the soundtrack album for the television series Everwood in 2004.
Racoon Racoon, a chamber folk duo from France, featuring The Duke of Norfolk, released a version as a single in February 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) that begins with a haunting a cappella of part of the chorus.
Matt Nathanson released a cover of the song on his album Lexington EP in 2023.
