Song of the Day 11/11: Paul Simon, “Armistice Day”

We don’t call it that any more, of course. Armistice Day honors the end of the war that was going to end all wars. After the peace failed, so did the idea of honoring it. Instead we honor those who fought in all the wars we’ve engaged in since.

Though it was released on his first solo LP in 1972, Paul Simon wrote this in 1968, while one of those wars was raging, but it wasn’t about Vietnam. He once explained,

“That song mainly meant, let’s have a truce. I chose the title because it’s not even called Armistice Day anymore, it’s called Veteran’s Day. Armistice Day is like an old name, and I didn’t really mean it to be specifically about the war. I just meant that I’m worn out from all this fighting, from all the abuse that people are giving each other and creating for each other.”

Seems some things never change.