December 27, 2024      —–     Chart #278

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. To end 2024 we have a great tune from the great duo Simon & Garfunkel. “Homeward Bound” is a song by the American music group Simon & Garfunkel, released as a single on January 19, 1966, by Columbia Records. It was written by Paul Simon and produced by Bob Johnston. Simon wrote the song during his time in England, possibly while waiting for a train at Widnes railway station in the northwest of England. Simon said later he actually composed it at a railway station in Warrington.

“Homeward Bound” appears on the duo’s third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), although it was recorded during the sessions for their second album, Sounds of Silence and included on that album in the UK. It was their second single, the follow-up to their breakthrough hit “The Sound of Silence”. “Homeward Bound” performed very well domestically, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for 12 weeks. It reached number two in Canada, and was a top-five hit in the Netherlands.

“Homeward Bound” was written by Simon after he returned to England in early 1964. He had previously spent time in Essex, and he became a nightly fixture at the Railway Hotel in Brentwood, beginning that April. He was reeling from his brief period in the folk scene in Greenwich Village, New York, and the recording of his first album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which he anticipated would be a failure.

During his time in England, Simon met Kathy Chitty, who was working as a ticket-taker at the club. The two quickly became close, but Simon wanted to perform in London. Following a performance in the town of Widnes, Cheshire, Simon was dropped off at Widnes railway station for a train to his next performance, in Humberside. He had been missing Chitty and he began to write “Homeward Bound” on a scrap of paper. A plaque commemorating the song is displayed on the Widnes station platform.

Live performance in 1966: 

Other locations for the writing of the song have been suggested. Simon’s friend Geoff Speed, with whom Simon stayed in Liverpool in September 1965, said he heard Simon writing the song when he was staying at his home. Speed then dropped him at Widnes railway station; he said it was likely that Simon wrote one verse in Liverpool and the chorus in Wigan, and finished the song at the station. In 2016, Simon said he wrote the song in a railway station near Liverpool, and said it might have been Warrington.

Chitty is mentioned in several other Simon & Garfunkel songs, most notably “Kathy’s Song” and “America”. In the 1969 song “The Boxer”, Simon alludes to a railway station, a possible reference to “Homeward Bound”.

We no matter where he wrote it, Homeward Bound is a great song, a beautiful tune to play. Enjoy this one and let’s get ready for 2025.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw