Doug
February 7th, 2007, 06:49 AM
"Me and Julio Down By the School Yard" is a song by Paul Simon written in 1972 from the album Paul Simon. The song reached number 22 on the US charts.
It is about a boy who has broken a law, although the exact law that has been broken is not stated in the song and has become a matter of some debate. When his mother finds out that he has broken the law, she goes to the police station to report the crime. He is later arrested, but released when a radical preacher intervenes. The protagonist of the song had to say good bye to "Rosie, the queen of Corona", so the events of the song are most likely to have taken place in Corona, Queens. Julio is presumed to be the boy's partner in crime.
In a July 20, 1972 interview for Rolling Stone, Jon Landau asked "What is it that the mama saw? The whole world wants to know." Simon replied "I have no idea what it is...Something sexual is what I imagine, but when I say 'something,' I never bothered to figure out what it was. Didn't make any difference to me." This has not stopped speculation: Truman Capote said that he believed the protagonist and Julio were involved in a homosexual relationship; other commentators have detected references to recreational drug use and believe that the mama saw the boy buying drugs.
The song was the first solo release by Paul Simon following his break up with Art Garfunkel. Simon has played this song many times in concert over the years. Simon and Garfunkel also performed this song at their Central Park reunion concert in September 1981.
It is about a boy who has broken a law, although the exact law that has been broken is not stated in the song and has become a matter of some debate. When his mother finds out that he has broken the law, she goes to the police station to report the crime. He is later arrested, but released when a radical preacher intervenes. The protagonist of the song had to say good bye to "Rosie, the queen of Corona", so the events of the song are most likely to have taken place in Corona, Queens. Julio is presumed to be the boy's partner in crime.
In a July 20, 1972 interview for Rolling Stone, Jon Landau asked "What is it that the mama saw? The whole world wants to know." Simon replied "I have no idea what it is...Something sexual is what I imagine, but when I say 'something,' I never bothered to figure out what it was. Didn't make any difference to me." This has not stopped speculation: Truman Capote said that he believed the protagonist and Julio were involved in a homosexual relationship; other commentators have detected references to recreational drug use and believe that the mama saw the boy buying drugs.
The song was the first solo release by Paul Simon following his break up with Art Garfunkel. Simon has played this song many times in concert over the years. Simon and Garfunkel also performed this song at their Central Park reunion concert in September 1981.