At The Zoo
Encyclopedia
"At the Zoo" was one of Simon's and Garfunkel's
single releases in 1967
.
The song is one of Paul Simon
's many tributes to his hometown of New York City
. The narrative tells the story of a trip to the Central Park Zoo
; when the singer reaches the zoo, he anthropomorphizes
the animals in various amusing ways, with a resulting cynical eye towards human life. Such statements as "elephants are kindly, but they're dumb," "antelopes are missionaries" and "pigeons plot in secrecy" reflect more about man than they do about the menagerie. The song was licensed in advertisements for the Bronx Zoo
and the San Francisco Zoo
in the late 1970s.
. After that, it was released on the following albums:
The song was also performed live by Simon and Garfunkel in the Old Friends: Live on Stage
album in 2004, as part of a medley with "Baby Driver".
An alternate version with almost completely different lyrics is available on the bootleg
The Alternate Bookends. These lyrics have nothing to do with a zoo, but rather speak of a musician's girlfriend having changed while he was on the road. The song begins, "Something tells me things have changed since I've been gone"; "Something tells me" is one of the few phrases that is still present in the released version.
") and giving the hamsters headlights (because they "turn on frequently
").
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
single releases in 1967
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
.
The song is one of Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's many tributes to his hometown of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The narrative tells the story of a trip to the Central Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a small zoo located in Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and the New York Aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society , and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums .The zoo began in the 1860s as a...
; when the singer reaches the zoo, he anthropomorphizes
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
the animals in various amusing ways, with a resulting cynical eye towards human life. Such statements as "elephants are kindly, but they're dumb," "antelopes are missionaries" and "pigeons plot in secrecy" reflect more about man than they do about the menagerie. The song was licensed in advertisements for the Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
and the San Francisco Zoo
San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo, housing more than 260 animal species, is a zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway...
in the late 1970s.
Releases
"At the Zoo" was first released as a single in 1967, reaching #16 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. After that, it was released on the following albums:
- BookendsBookends-Charts:-Personnel:*Paul Simon - Vocals, Guitar, Producer*Art Garfunkel - Vocals, Producer*Hal Blaine - Drums, Percussion*Joe Osborn - Bass*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Keyboards*John Simon - Production Assistant...
(1968) - The Best of Simon and GarfunkelThe Best of Simon and GarfunkelThe Best of Simon & Garfunkel is a 1999 greatest hits album by Simon & Garfunkel, released by Columbia Records, containing 20 tracks.- Track listing :# "The Sound of Silence" – 3:07# "Homeward Bound" – 2:29# "I Am a Rock" – 2:52...
(1999) - Tales from New York: The Very Best of Simon & Garfunkel (2000)
The song was also performed live by Simon and Garfunkel in the Old Friends: Live on Stage
Old Friends: Live on Stage
Simon & Garfunkel's Old Friends Live On Stage is a live documentary from their highly successful "Old Friends" reunion concert tour of 2003, with The Everly Brothers as special guests...
album in 2004, as part of a medley with "Baby Driver".
An alternate version with almost completely different lyrics is available on the bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
The Alternate Bookends. These lyrics have nothing to do with a zoo, but rather speak of a musician's girlfriend having changed while he was on the road. The song begins, "Something tells me things have changed since I've been gone"; "Something tells me" is one of the few phrases that is still present in the released version.
The Book
In 1991, Paul Simon released a children's book titled At the Zoo (ISBN 0-385-41771-3) which combines the lyrics of the song with the very detailed illustrations of Valerie Michaut. To make this book appropriate for children, Simon made changes and additions, including identifying Rum as a beaver (because the original lyric states that "the zookeeper is very fond of rumRum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
") and giving the hamsters headlights (because they "turn on frequently
Turn on, tune in, drop out
"Turn on, tune in, drop out" is a counterculture phrase popularized by Timothy Leary in 1967. Leary spoke at the Human Be-In, a gathering of 30,000 hippies in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and uttered the famous phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out". In a 1988 interview with Neil Strauss, Leary...
").
Chart performance
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 16 |