America (Simon & Garfunkel song)
original song written and composed by Paul Simon; first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel
"America" is a song performed by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, which they included on their fourth studio album, Bookends, in 1968. It was produced by the duo and Roy Halee. The song was later issued as the B-side of the single "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (live version)" in 1972 to promote the release of the compilation album Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. After peaking in the charts in July 1972, the song was switched to the A-side of the single and re-entered the charts in November 1972.
The song was written and composed by Paul Simon, and concerns young lovers hitchhiking their way across the United States, in search of "America", in both a literal and figurative sense. It was inspired by a 1964 road trip that Simon took with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The song has been regarded as one of Simon's strongest songwriting efforts and one of the duo's best songs. A 2014 Rolling Stone reader's poll ranked it the group's fourth-best song.
Background
"America" was inspired by a five-day road excursion Simon undertook in September 1964 with Chitty. Producer Tom Wilson had called Simon, living in London at the time, back to the United States to finalize mixes and artwork for their debut studio album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Simon, reluctant to leave Chitty, invited her to come with him; they spent five days driving the country together.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “America (Simon & Garfunkel song)” is original song written and composed by Paul Simon; first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through America, Simon and Garfunkel, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “original song written and composed by Paul Simon; first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2420785. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1968, 1972, 1964 and 2014.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “America (Simon & Garfunkel song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.