"It offends me": The Paul McCartney song Paul Simon called "garbage"

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The original meaning of Paul's words was "small" or "humble." If not from their namesake apostle, Paul McCartney and Paul Simon have tried harder than anyone to transcend that origin. They created some of the most seismically significant works of revered majesty in human history. Actually, the only people who have ever dared to genuinely mock them are their respective songwriting partners.

Despite this, they have largely stood by each other during this brutal struggle. Simon listed McCartney among the top songwriters of all time along with George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Hank Williams. Furthermore, Simon has received acclaim from McCartney, who hailed his "impressive body of work" and the "classic line" "his bow tie is really a camera."

But one of Simon's greatest strengths as an artist has been his capacity to maintain objectivity and a dispassionate analytical mindset throughout his career. Since he has never worshipped any heroes, he has always had the vision to develop his own resume and a keen awareness of wrongdoing. He discovered one of these lessons when he dubbed McCartney's political position, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," "garbage."

Both McCartney and Simon had gained notoriety during the heady times of the counterculture's revolutionary ideology of peace and love manifest as protest. However, as the 1970s arrived and that prelapsarian vision began to dissipate, Simon began to lay a greater emphasis on honing his musical ability than on any ancillary objective of "making a point." He consequently never took part in the Rock Liberation Front movement, which sought to uphold the ideals of the 1960s.

He therefore thought that everyone, including musicians, has a duty to engage in political activism. Given the economic nature of pop culture, he even questioned the veracity of such activities. For example, when criticizing John Lennon's work, he said: "First response, he strikes me as being tremendously concerned in being seen or heard. Then I have to think, "What is he doing?" What exactly does it achieve? Is it his intention to draw attention to himself? Is he attempting to advance a specific political viewpoint? I fail to comprehend his motivations. He's done a lot of stupid things, in my opinion. Some of them have been hurtful. Other people have bravery. I think he generally seems to have decent intentions.

He called the 1971 song by McCartney and Wings, "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," "garbage" and criticized it.

However, I believe it is insulting to produce songs in bulk, sort of like let's replicate "Power to the People." It annoys me. Even yet, it doesn't appear to be speaking to me.

While McCartney's attempt went well on the charts in Spain and the Republic of Ireland, where Basque separatists also found a connection with it, Simon may not have been able to relate to those protest songs. Therefore, even though the message may have been oversimplified and economically focused, is it not an aim of art if it was successful in empowering a cause that McCartney believed in?