Mrs. Robinson

April 1968

Mrs. Robinson is a song by the American folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Published in April 1968 as a single, it was. According to The Sounds of Silence by 1965, the second number-one hit song by Simon & Garfunkel in their home country An early version of the song written by Paul Simon was listening to The Graduate in 1967 in the film and was published in January 1968 on the accompanying soundtrack. The final version was released in April 1968 on the album Bookends. The song was awarded two Grammy Awards.

Formation

Mrs. Robinson

The film The Graduate is about the affair of a freshly baked college graduates with an older, married woman, Mrs. Robinson. During filming, director Mike Nichols developed an affection for the songs of Simon & Garfunkel, but found no way to use the music of the duo for the film. Lawrence Turman, the producer of the film, could ultimately negotiate with Paul Simon that these three new songs to write for the film. As the work on film editing neared its end, the songs were not finished enough. Simon had imagined Nichols Although Punky 's Dilemma and overs, but they both said Nichols not for the film. At a meeting with Simon and Garfunkel asked the director if they could offer something different to him. They played him a few notes of a song on which they were working. This, however, was not intended for the film but was about past times, Joe DiMaggio, and Mrs. Roosevelt. The exact course of the conversation, there are differing accounts of Nichols and Garfunkel. Ultimately, it was agreed, however, adjust the text so that Mrs. Robinson was sung instead of Mrs. Roosevelt.

In the film can be heard in the chorus of only two lines. The song text is different from that of the single, which states: " Stand up tall, Mrs. Robinson, God in heaven smiles on Those Who pray. " (Such as: " Stand tall, Mrs. Robinson, God in heaven smiles over the who pray " ) In the single version of the chorus, however, begins with the words: ". .! And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you want to know " ( " here's to you, Mrs. Robinson Jesus loves you more than you realize. " )

Joe DiMaggio

In its latest iteration changes the text of the refrain, the first lines would be: " Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. " ( " Where are you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. "). Paul Simon saw in the baseball star DiMaggio an American hero and a cultural icon of the United States of his time. With the question of where DiMaggio had gone, he wanted to bring a blank expression, as it was considered such heroic figures had become rare.

DiMaggio felt by the question of his departure offended and should have taken into consideration to sue Simon. A few years after the publication of Mrs. Robinson, the two met by chance at an Italian restaurant together, and Simon turned to him as the author of the song before. They talked about the text, and DiMaggio explained to him his discomfort. He had just made an advertisement for coffee machines and was spokesperson for a bank, he was still there: " I have not gone anywhere. " ( German: ". I did not go anywhere "), Simon told him how he had meant the question. DiMaggio accepted the explanation and thanked him.

Success in the charts

The song was released by Columbia Records as a 7 "single in April 1968. As a B-side was Old Friends, another piece from the album Bookends. On June 1, 1968 Mrs. Robinson reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, where it was represented a total of thirteen weeks including three weeks at number one.

On the European music markets the single was recorded differently. In the British UK Top 40 she held twelve weeks, and in the meantime reached 4th place in the German Media Control Charts, however, it was only a week, on 39th place for nine weeks she was in the Swiss charts, best position here was the 9th place. In Austria it reached no chart position.

In the UK, Mrs. Robinson appeared in 1968 also as an EP. View more items on the plate were on the A side of April Come She Will, at the Scarborough Fair / Canticle, and The Sound of Silence B-side. The EP was represented for five weeks in the UK charts and reached the best position to ninth.

Awards

At the Grammy Awards in 1969, two of the prices for Mrs. Robinson were awarded. With the ceremony as Single of the Year ( Record of the Year ), the song won one of the main categories; The prize was awarded to the performer Simon & Garfunkel and Roy Halee on as producer of the song. In addition, Simon & Garfunkel Mrs. Robinson for best vocal performance by a duo or a group of contemporary pop ( Best Contemporary Pop Performance, Vocal Duo Or Group) were awarded. Furthermore, Paul Simon and Dave Grusin received for the film score for The Graduate the Grammy Award for best original music written for a film or a TV Special ( Best Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special).

Cover versions

The song was repeatedly was covered by other well known musicians. One of the earliest known cover versions is on Frank Sinatra's My Way album of 1969. Sinatra changed several lines of the lyrics, among other things, he replaced the word "Jesus" in the chorus by " Jilly ". Another cover comes from the indie band The Lemonheads, which transformed the 1992 song in a punk number and thus had one of their most commercially successful singles. A version of Eläkeläiset entitled Herra Kekkonen.