Easy Simon And Garfunkel Songs
On The Acoustic
Learn these easy Simon and Garfunkel songs on the acoustic guitar with the help of my free acoustic guitar demos and chord sheets. Help yourself to the free pdf chord sheets.
I've assembled some of the best Simon and Garfunkel songs for you to easily learn on guitar. Check out my full acoustic lessons from start to finish for a small fee if you need the full lesson.
You'll notice some Simon and Garfunkel album covers next to each song to indicate the album where you can find the song.
Bulk purchases for full lesson tutorials if required are available from the right menu bring that will down the cost of a lesson to a little over a buck per lesson.
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Easy Simon And Garfunkel Songs
1. America Simon And Garfunkel
This song hails from the 1968 album "Bookends". It was also used as a B-side for the song "For Emily Wherever I May Find Her". The song eventually became an A-side single in 1972.
The band Yes re-arranged the song as did David Bowie and the lead singer Bert Sommer from The Left Banke who all covered the song.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: 2nd fret
- Rhythm: down down up down up down down up and repeat
- Picking: a little in the rhythm
- Chords: C, G6, Am, Am/G, Em, A7, D, G, Cmaj7, A#
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2. At The Zoo
Paul Simon wrote various tribute songs about NYC, his home turf, and this song was one of those released in 1967. Written for the zoo scene in the movie "The Graduate", it wasn't even used in the movie. But zoo's around the country began to license the song for ads. The song peaked at #16.
This one is also found on the "Bookends" album.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: use down down up down up up up down .. then root down root up down up and repeat or you can use some walking bass during the rhythm with a steady up and down
- Picking: No
- Chords: Amaj7, A7, D, G, Em, Dmaj7
Chords & Lyrics
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3. Bridge Over Troubled Water
The title for this song came from a Swan Silvertone's song called "Mary Don't You Weep" from the line "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in my name". The song was also the title track from Simon & Garfunkel's last album together back in 1970.
The album sold over 25 million copies and won two Grammy Awards. The other musicians on the album were also famous Wrecking crew members.
You can pick up the full Simon And Garfunkel guitar tutorial below for a small fee.
- Drop D Tuning: Yes
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: down down down down up down down up will work but you'll have to adapt to the quick chord changes in places
- Picking: No
- Chords: D, C, G, Am, Db, B, A, Adim, D7, Ddim, Bm, D7/C, Gb, E7, A7
Chords & Lyrics
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4. Cecilia Simon And Garfunkel
This song came from the last album of the duo was was their 2nd single, following bridge Over Troubled Water.
The song was a #4 in the US but did not chart in the UK after the 1st single hit #1.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: down down up down up down up and repeat
- Picking: Yes blended into the rhythm
- Chords: G, C, D
Chords & Lyrics
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5. Feeling Groovy
Also known as the 59th Street Bridge Song, which is the name of the Queensboro bridge in New York City. A children's TV puppet show called H.R. Pufnstuf used a song very similar in nature. After Paul Simon launched a lawsuit against the creators, they admitted to using the song and so added Paul Simon to the writing credits of "their theme" song.
This song can be found on the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme album from 1966.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: 4th fret
- Rhythm: root up down up root up down up in an arpeggio
- Picking: No
- Chords: C, G6, Am, G
Chords & Lyrics
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6. For Emily Wherever I May Find Her Simon And Garfunkel
This song reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 at #53.
This song is also from the 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: 5th fret
- Rhythm: root up down up root up down up and repeat
- Picking: Yes in the rhythm
- Chords: D, D/C, G, Em, Cmaj7, A7
Chords & Lyrics
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7. Homeward Bound
Written on a scape of paper at a Liverpool Railway station in 1964, this song peaked at #5 in the US and The Netherlands and at #2 in Canada in 1966. I consider this one of the easy Simon and Garfunkel songs to learn on the acoustic.
This song is also from the 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: 3rd fret
- Rhythm: down down up down down up and then to a root down up down up down up and it switches between verse and chorus
- Picking: No
- Chords: G, C, F, D/Gb, A7, Am, D7, E7
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8. Kathy's Song
Kathy Chitty was a ticket agent in Liverpool in 1964 and became good friends with Paul Simon. Many believe this song is about that relationship. Art Garfunkel dedicated this song to his wife Kathryn at a live performance, but since he didn't write the song, it clearly wasn't written about her. Nancy Wilson from Heart and Eva Cassidy have both covered this song.
You can find this song on the "Sounds Of Silence" album from 1966.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: root down root up down up and repeat
- Picking: Yes blended within the rhythm
- Chords: C/G, G, Am, Bm, G6, Gmaj7(13 no 3)/D
Chords & Lyrics
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9. Mr.s Robinson
The Graduate movie has several Simons & Garfunkel songs in it including this one. But the movie version is not exactly the same as the record version because the song had a different vibe and wasn't even finished.
This song was released as a single and reached #1 and was a top 10 in several countries which was 3 months after the movie version was heard in theatres.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: steady up and down and then root down up root up down up
- Picking: a few riffs throughout
- Chords: E, A, D, G, C, G6, Am, E, D7
Chords & Lyrics
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10. Richard Cory Simon And Garfunkel
This song hails from the "Sounds Of Silence" album of 1966. Paul Simon wrote the song in early 1965, but the duo never recorded it until Dec of that year in time for the album release in early 1966.
The song is based on an 1897 poem of the same name. Paul McCartney And Wings along with Van Morrison have covered this number.
- Drop D Tuning: Yes
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: root down root up down and down strokes
- Picking: No
- Chords: D, A, G, Dm, F
Chords & Lyrics
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11. Scarborough Fair
Some believe this song stems from a Scottish ballad going back to 1670 .. yes that date is correct. Ohters believe it is a traditional English ballad. Either way, it wasn't written by Simon & Garfunkel. Other artists recorded versions before the Oct 1966 version by Simon & Garfunkel. Simon learned the song from English musician Martin Carthy in 1965.
This song is also from the 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: you'll use mainly arpeggio of the strings throughout most of this one
- Picking: No
- Chords: Am, G, F, C
Chords & Lyrics
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12. Sounds Of Silence
The original title of this song was "The Sounds Of Silence" when it was written by Paul Simon between 1963 and 1964 and was their first major hit. The album tile was shortened to "Sounds Of Silence" and eventually the song followed suit. Homeward Bound and I Am A Rock were the 3 singles from the album.
Todd Hoffman from the show Gold Rush has a great version of this song and is one of those easy Simon and Garfunkel songs to learn.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: No
- Rhythm: root down up root up down up
- Picking: Yes
- Chords: Am, G, F, C
Chords & Lyrics
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13. The Boxer Simon And Garfunkel
The Boxer was released in 1969 and was included on the 1970 album "Bridge Over Troubled Water". The single peaked at #7 in the US and was a top 10 in several other countries.
Over 100 hrs of work went into this tune before they got the end product we enjoy today.
- Drop D Tuning: No
- Capo: 4th fret
- Rhythm: root down root up down up
- Picking: Yes within the rhythm
- Chords: G, D/Gb, Em, C, D7, Bm, D
Chords & Lyrics
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Thanks for stopping by this easy Simon and Garfunkel songs page. I hope you found what you were looking for. Until next time.
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