3 Simon & Garfunkel Songs We Hear All the Time in Shopping Malls and Grocery Stores

Simon & Garfunkel songs have a near-perfect approval rating. Who doesn’t like the duo’s brand of vocal harmonies? Who doesn’t like the thought-provoking lyrics and the gentle music behind them?

And that’s just what we wanted to dive into here below. We wanted to highlight three Simon & Garfunkel songs we still hear often today. Indeed, these are three Simon & Garfunkel songs we hear all the time in shopping malls and grocery stores.

“Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel from ‘The Graduate’ (1968)

In the late 1960s, one of the most talked-about films of the day was The Graduate. The movie highlighted the strange then-modern balance of ambition and banality. Its main character (played by Dustin Hoffman) ends up having an affair with an older woman named Mrs. Robinson. Well, guess who provided the soundtrack to that iconic film? That’s right! Simon & Garfunkel. And in the wake of the popular movie, many of the duo’s songs have since stood the test of time. You’ll even hear them in grocery stores and shopping malls as you pick out your favorite breakfast cereal for the week.

“The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel from ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (1970)

Shopping malls and grocery stores are generally supposed to be calm, even serene places. You’re supposed to feel put at ease when you’re looking for your next discount sweater or jar of sugarless grape jelly. And there might not be any song better at putting people at ease than the 1970s number, “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel. The track displays the duo’s incredible chemistry and vocal harmonies. Listening to the song is like floating down a lazy river where every tree or flower is another beautiful melody.

“Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel from ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme’ (1966)

This is another song that can put your mind and body at ease. Hearing it, you think about being on a journey, heading for home at last. And really, that’s what shopping is. You leave home, you risk being in the outside world, and then you come home with the spoils of your journey. Shopkeepers and mall purveyors know this. That’s why they place this very settling song on their overhead speakers as often as they can. Listen for it next time you’re out looking for some flatware and pottery.

Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

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