Paul Simon Songs - The Obvious Child Lyrics

Paul Simon - The Obvious Child

Paul Simon - The Obvious Child Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Rhythm Of The Saints
Released: 1990

The Obvious Child Lyrics

Well I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny The Obvious Child?
Why deny the obvious child?

And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said these songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark

We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day

I've been waking up at sunrise
I've been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?

Sonny sits by the window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some roots are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down on the shelf
And he idle thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hands through his thinning brown hair
I'm accustomed to a smoother ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep the night
Some people say a lie is just a lie
But I say
The cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?

Writer/s: PAUL SIMON
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Obvious Child

In this song, an intriguing phrase is repeated: "The cross is in the ballpark." When asked of its meaning, Simon answered, "The cross, the burden that we carry, is in the ballpark, it's doable."

Following the success of 1986's Graceland, on which he worked principally with South African musicians, Simon turned to Latin America for much of The Rhythm of the Saints. The drums for this song were recorded live at Pelourinho Square in the Brazilian city of Salvador. They were played by the Afro-Brazilian group Grupo Cultural Olodum, who are masters of the heavily percussive sub-style of samba called Batuque. Simon recalled to Mojo magazine July 2011: "One day we were driving through the old part of Salvador in Bahia when we heard this incredible drumming coming from Pelouinho Square. It was the group Olodum practising outside and (Simon's percussionist) Mazzola asked if we could record them. We did it in their back yard, just rented a couple of 8-tracks, and that was our backing-track for 'The Obvious Child.'"