Paul Simon has set a release date of May 9 for ´Surprise,´ his first album in six years, and the collection figures to be closely watched because it contains one of the veteran singer-songwriter´s most socially slanted lyrics since 1973´s disillusioned ´American Tune.´
Simon hasn´t explained the inspiration for ´Wartime Prayers,´ according to his spokesman, but in the song he appears to be addressing the effect of the Iraq war. He opens by recalling the ´silent conversations´ of prayers in times of peace, then sings, ´All that is changed now / Gone like a memory from the day before the fires / People hungry for the voice of God / Hear lunatics and liars.´ He then adds, ´Wartime prayers in every language spoken / For every family scattered and broken.´
Simon, who produced the album with English musician-producer Brian Eno, will perform on May 7, the closing day of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. |