Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

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Wikipedia

"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
Single by Paul Simon
from the album Paul Simon
B-side"Congratulations"
ReleasedMay 1972
Recorded1971
Genre
Length2:44
LabelColumbia
SongwriterPaul Simon
Producers
Paul Simon singles chronology
"Mother and Child Reunion"
(1972)		 "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
(1972)		 "Duncan"
(1972)
Music video
"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" on YouTube

"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his second, self-titled studio album (1972), released on Columbia Records.

Background

"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" begins with "mama pajama" visiting the police station after seeing something that was "against the law".[1] In a July 20, 1972, interview for Rolling Stone, Jon Landau asked Paul Simon: "What is it that the mama saw? The whole world wants to know." Simon replied "I have no idea what it is... Something sexual is what I imagine, but when I say 'something', I never bothered to figure out what it was. Didn't make any difference to me."[2]

Airto Moreira played a cuica on the recording after Simon asked him to find an instrument that resembled a human voice.[3]

In an October 2010 interview, Simon described the song as "a bit of inscrutable doggerel".[4] The song's mention of a "radical priest" has been interpreted as a reference to Daniel Berrigan;[5][6][7] Berrigan had been featured on the cover of Time on January 25, 1971,[8] near when the song was written. The song mentions "Rosie, the queen of Corona"; Corona is a neighborhood in Queens near where Simon grew up.[9]

Critical reception

Record World said that the "effervescent tune tells of growing up absurd in Queens" and called the song "a sheer delight".[10] Cashbox selected "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" as one of their "Picks of the Week" in the April 1, 1972 edition of the publication.[11]

Music video

In 1988, Simon released a music video for the song to promote his greatest hits compilation Negotiations and Love Songs. The video was filmed at Mathews-Palmer Park in Hell's Kitchen, which was standing in for Halsey Junior High School in Forest Hills, Queens, the neighborhood in which Simon grew up and met Art Garfunkel in high school. Many of the children featured in the video were from that same school; Kia Jeffries, who sang on Simon's The Rhythm of the Saints album and cast the video, had attended as well.

It features an introduction by hip-hop MC's (and then-fellow Warner Bros. Records label mates) Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie. Main Source member Large Professor also makes a cameo towards the end.[12] The video depicts adults interacting with the youth of an inner-city schoolyard. It shows Simon playing basketball and stickball with the children, and it also features basketball player Spud Webb, baseball player Mickey Mantle, and football coach-commentator John Madden giving tips to young athletes.

Personnel

Cover versions

German singer Peter Rainford covered the song in 1973, releasing the single entitled as "Lady Pyjama" in Germany and The Netherlands.[13] It was translated into German and arranged by Uli Roever.[14] American ska punk band Streetlight Manifesto covered it on their album 99 Songs of Revolution: Vol. 1.

The song appears in a montage in the 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums directed by filmmaker Wes Anderson and on the 2002 re-release edition of the soundtrack. It also appears in the 2004 film A Home at the End of the World, over the opening credits of the 2002 film Maid in Manhattan, in 2011's The Simpsons episode "Holidays of Future Passed", in the 2011 film The Muppets, and in the trailer for the 2019 film Missing Link.[15]

Simon performed the song with Stephen Colbert on the September 11, 2015, episode of The Late Show.[16]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Platinum 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Patton, Alli (April 17, 2023). "The Meaning Behind Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"". American Songwriter.
    2. ↑ Landau, Jon (July 20, 1972). "Paul Simon: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
    3. ↑ McGowan, Chris; Pessanha, Ricardo (1998). The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil. Temple University Press. pp. 170. ISBN 9781566395458. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
    4. ↑ Paul Simon, "Isn't It Rich", The New York Times Book Review, October 31, 2010, p. 10.
    5. ↑ Gibson, David (April 1, 2016). "Daniel Berrigan, anti-war priest, dies at 94". Religion News Service. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
    6. ↑ Lewis, Daniel (April 30, 2016). "Daniel J. Berrigan, Defiant Priest Who Preached Pacifism, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
    7. ↑ "Daniel Berrigan, leading Catholic pacifist, dead at 94". Crux. April 1, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
    8. ↑ "Rebel Priests: The Curious Case of the Berrigans". Time. January 25, 1971. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
    9. ↑ Tellerman, Robert (September 22, 2020). "The King Of Corona: Paul Simon Says Goodbye At Flushing Meadows". NYS MUSIC. Retrieved December 24, 2020. During the Goodbye Rosie part in "Me and Julio," the crowd went crazy when he said "Queen of Corona" Paul's wife Edie Brickell joined him on stage for the whistling solo. After the song, he said to the crowd "How much fun is it to sing a song about Corona, in Corona?!"
    10. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 1, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved April 1, 2023 – via World Radio History.
    11. ↑ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Cashbox. April 1, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved December 5, 2025 – via World Radio History.
    12. ↑ "SEE, HEAR: Paul Simon ft. Biz Markie & Big Daddy Kane — "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard" Music Video (1988)". article. egotripland.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
    13. ↑ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl".
    14. ↑ "Pete Rainford – Lady Pyjama (1973, Vinyl)". Discogs. November 26, 1973.
    15. ↑ Multiple sources:
    16. ↑ Rosenbaum, Marty (September 14, 2015). "Stephen Colbert Brings Paul Simon "Tribute" Band Troubled Waters To Late Show [Watch] « WXRT". Wxrt.cbslocal.com. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
    17. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
    18. ↑ "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 17 (15). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. May 27, 1972. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
    19. ↑ "The Programmers' MOR Playlist" (PDF). RPM. 17 (16). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. June 3, 1972. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
    20. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
    21. ↑ "Paul Simon – Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
    22. ↑ [Flavour of New Zealand, July 24, 1972]
    23. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 499. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
    24. ↑ "Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
    25. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 20, 1972". Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
    26. ↑
      • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
    27. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
    28. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Paul Simon – Me and Julio Down by the School Yard". Radioscope. Retrieved January 4, 2025. Type Me and Julio Down by the School Yard in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
    29. ↑ "British single certifications – Paul Simon – Me and Julio Down by the School Yard". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

    Sources