I don`t think that Simon and Garfunkel as a live act compares to Simon and Garfunkel as a studio act.

Being an artist doesn`t mean that you`re a good artist. That was the bargain I first made with myself: I`d say, I`m an artist, but I`m not really very good.

We`ve survived by believing our life is going to get better.

If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you`ve created a special little thing, and that`s what I`m looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything.

Improvisation is too good to leave to chance.

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence.

It`s a big error to think that because you like somebody`s work, you`re going to like him.

Anybody can do bad work, but not everybody does good work.

I lived in an attached house. My father used to drive into the wrong driveway all the time. He`d say, Damn it, how do you tell one of these houses from another?

I always get very calm with baseball.

All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

I don`t very often think I`ve done a good job. I don`t like the majority of what I do. I shouldn`t say I don`t like it, but I`m not satisfied with almost everything that I do.

I question what emotion Manilow touches. People are entertained by him. But are they emotionally moved? I don`t believe anything that Barry Manilow sings.

Without Arthur`s voice, I never would have enjoyed that success.

Artie is a singer, and I`m a writer and player and a singer. We didn`t work together on a creative level and prepare the songs. I did that.

I don`t like fashion. It`s very heartless.

My whole artistic life has always been about change, change, change, move on, move on. It`s the only thing I find interesting.

I think I have a superior brain and an inferior stature, if you really want to get brutal about it.

Why am I so soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard?

We just did what we`d done when we were an act in the `60s. But I found it impossible to hold a dialogue with 500,000 people. In a certain sense, it was numbing.

We had many more points of agreement than we had points of difference, but we did differ, and the bigger we got, the more insistent we got that each one of us should have his way.

Mrs. Robinson is a little dated now, but it has nothing to do with Joe DiMaggio.

You want to be a writer, don`t know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble pen.

One of the things that upset me was some of the criticism leveled at Simon and Garfunkel. I always took exception to it, but actually I agree with a lot of it.

When I began making my own albums, the songs became funkier. They were more about the streets.

Not every song I write is ecstasy. And it can happen only one time. After that, when you sing the same melody and words, it`s pleasure, but you don`t get wiped out.

We got on American Bandstand, where kids would dance to a record and then rate it. We called ourselves Tom and Jerry. I was Jerry.

How much can you do with two voices? You can sing thirds or you can sing fifths or you can do a background harmony.

I suppose an artist takes the elements of his life and rearranges them and then has them perceived by others as though they were the elements of their lives.

I don`t consider myself to be a major talent, so the only solace I can take is to hope I`m growing.

I think Bridge Over Troubled Water was a very good song. Artie sang it beautifully. The Boxer was a really nice record. But I don`t think I`ve written any great songs.

There must be 50 ways to leave your lover.

People often called us perfectionists, but we were not looking for perfection. We were looking for some kind of magic in the music.

The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains.

We were always able to sing and blend well together; that`s our gift. But aside from that, we`re really two different guys.

Between the ages of 15 and 22, I had made only one very minor hit, so I expected everything to be a flop. I was utterly amazed that The Sound of Silence was a big hit.

It`s pointless to be critical of your stuff once it`s done. I don`t spend a lot of time agonising over it. It`s of no importance once it`s finished.

I don`t believe what the papers are saying They`re just out to capture my dime, Exaggerating this, exaggerating that.

There`s something about the sound of a train that`s very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful.

Listen to the sound of silence.

I rate each album as better than the last one. That`s how I see it.

Faith is an island in the setting sun, But proof is the bottom line for everyone.

Having a track record to live up to and the history of successes had become a hindrance. It becomes harder to break out of what people expect you to do.

Artie travels all the time. The rehearsals were just miserable. Artie and I fought all the time. He didn`t want to do the show with my band; he just wanted me on acoustic guitar.

I`m not in it for the money. I like music. I love to write music. I can`t imagine myself not playing or singing or writing. It would just drive me crazy if I didn`t.

I try to open up my heart as much as I can and keep a real keen eye out that I don`t get sentimental. I think we`re all afraid to reveal our hearts. It`s not at all in fashion.

Someone told me it`s all happening at the zoo.

Who am I to blow against the wind?

I don`t feel any pressure from fans. But I`m always in some kind of state of emotional turmoil. I would not describe myself as happy-go-lucky. That`s not to say that I`m not happy.

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.

When I was 15, I made a solo record. It made Artie very unhappy. He looked upon it as something of a betrayal.

I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called Mother and Child Reunion. It`s chicken and eggs. And I said, I gotta use that one.

When we came into the studio I became more and more me, making the tracks and choosing the musicians, partly because a great deal of the time during Bridge, Artie wasn`t there.

As long as you have capital punishment there is no guarantee that innocent people won`t be put to death.

I would be willing to do almost anything to make Art happy. I care about our friendship. The only thing I won`t do is change the essence of my work.

I`m more interested in what I discover than what I invent.

My life so common it disappears and sometimes even music cannot substitute for tears.

Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough.

By the time I was 12 or 13, I felt that I was special, because I could play the guitar and write songs.

The record company stay out of my way. Whenever the record is finished, they take it.

My voice is my improvisational instrument, the melody instrument. The guitar is harmonic structure. I`m not a good enough guitarist to improvise on it.

A man sees what he wants to see, And disregards the rest.

"I don`t see much truth in laurels, period. The forces of habit make you go on. There`s an internal engine that`s been running since I was 14; I keep an ear out to see if it`s still purring and it is. It chronically purrs. Music making is who you are and it doesn`t go away. If you love to play music, you`re lucky."

"The public hungers to see talented young people kill themselves."