Peak
22
Weeks
11
Score
1,545
Chart Year
1972
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.[10] 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.
When asked what "Mama Pajama" saw that made her so distraught in this song, Paul Simon has said that he's not exactly sure, but he assumed it was something sexual. Simon made up a crazy little story for the song, and named the main character Julio because it sounded like a typical New York neighborhood kid (Simon grew up in Queens). What Paul didn't realize until years later was the impact the song had on Spanish-speaking listeners who were thrilled to hear a song coming out of America with a Latin name in the title. The title is not proper grammar. "Julio and I down by the schoolyard" would be correct, but wouldn't capture the youthful innocence that made the song so popular. Paul Simon was Simon's first solo album after he broke up with Art Garfunkel. Simon made a video for this song in 1988 that showed him playing basketball with some school kids on a playground. The video has a rap intro by Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane, and a cameo by baseball legend Mickey Mantle, who lip-synchs the chorus. At the end of the video, NFL Hall-of-Famer John Madden is shown giving tips to the young players. >> The BBC refused to play this song because of the reference to Newsweek, which is an American magazine. The BBC had a strict policy against product mentions in the songs they played. Report this ad Simon played this song on a Season 8 Sesame Street appearance where he sings it on a stoop as a small group of children watch. One of the kids interjects her own lyrics from time to time, clearly having fun with it. Simon was one of the first big-name musical acts to appear on the show, which was filmed in his New York City stomping grounds. Once a generation of musicians who grew up watching Sesame Street came of age, the show had no trouble getting famous acts to appear. The song makes full use of the stereo spectrum, with an acoustic guitar dominating the left channel, and lighter sounding guitar on the right. According to producer Phil Ramone, this right-channel guitar was an electric that was unplugged, with its strings dampened. Simon and David Spinozza played the guitars. The odd squiggly sound throughout the song was created with a cuica, which is a kind of percussion instrument. It was played by the Brazilian musician Airto Moreira. Simon did the whistling solo on this song himself. In concert, the whistling was sometimes replaced with a saxophone solo. His wife, Edie Brickell, would sometimes handle the whistling during live shows. The line, "Rosie, the queen of Corona," references the Corona neighborhood in Queens, New York. On September 22, 2018, Simon played the last show on his farewell tour in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. "How much fun is it to sing a song about Corona in Corona?" he asked the crowd. Jack Antonoff covered this for the 2019 movie The Secrect Life of Pets 2. At the 2017 Outside Lands festival in San Francisco, he performed the song with Lorde.
The mama pajama rolled out of bed And she ran to the police station When the papa found out he began to shout And he started the investigation It's against the law It was against the law What the mama saw It was against the law The mama looked down and spit on the ground Every time my name gets mentioned The papa said, "Oy, if I get that boy I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention" Well I'm on my way I don't know where I'm going I'm on my way I'm taking my time But I don't know where Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona Seein' me and Julio Down by the schoolyard Seein' me and Julio Down by the schoolyard Whoa, in a couple of days they come and take me away But the press let the story leak And when the radical priest Come to get me released We was all on the cover of Newsweek And I'm on my way I don't know where I'm going I'm on my way I'm taking my time But I don't know where Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona Seein' me and Julio Down by the schoolyard Seein' me and Julio Down by the schoolyard Seein' me and Julio Down by the schoolyard
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 8, 1972 | 90 | 36 |
| 2 | Apr 15, 1972 | 49 | 77 |
| 3 | Apr 22, 1972 | 36 | 90 |
| 4 | Apr 29, 1972 | 30 | 96 |
| 5 | May 6, 1972 | 25 | 101 |
| 6 | May 13, 1972 | 24 | 102 |
| 7 | May 20, 1972 | 24 | 102 |
| 8 | May 27, 1972 | 22 | 104 |
| 9 | Jun 3, 1972 | 22 | 104 |
| 10 | Jun 10, 1972 | 30 | 96 |
| 11 | Jun 17, 1972 | 48 | 78 |