50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Album

Still Crazy After All These Years

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Folk-pop

Composer(s)

Paul Simon

Entered Chart

Dec 20, 1975

Peak Date

Feb 7, 1976

Released

December 1975

Recorded

Studio A&R Recording, NYC

Catalog #

Columbia 10270

B-Side

Some Folks Lives Roll Easy

In a 1975 interview published in Rock Lives: Profiles and Interviews, Simon told the story of this song: "I woke up one morning in my apartment on Central Park and the opening words just popped into my mind: 'The problem is all inside your head, she said to me...' That was the first thing I thought of. So I just started building on that line. It was the last song I wrote for the album, and I wrote it with a Rhythm Ace, one of those electronic drum machines so maybe that's how it got that sing-song 'make a new plan Stan, don't need to be coy Roy' quality. It's basically a nonsense song." According to Simon's younger brother Eddie (from the same interview), Paul made this song up while teaching his son how to rhyme. Even though he didn't take the lyrics too seriously, it's an interesting song, particularly for those who feel trapped in bad relationships. >> Paul Simon may have sung that there were 50 ways to leave your lover, but he listed only five, which are: 1) Slip out the back, Jack 2) Make a new plan, Stan 3) You don't need to be coy, Roy, just set yourself free 4) Hop on the bus, Gus 5) Drop off the key, Lee, and get yourself free We still await the other 45! He left plenty of room for a sequel, but never followed up. Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow sang backup on this track. The instrumentation is: Acoustic Guitar: Paul Simon Electric Guitar: John Tropea, Joe Beck Organ: Ken Asher Bass: Tony Levin Drums: Steve Gadd Carl Palmer cites Gadd's drumming on this track as some of the best he's heard. The German soul group Tok Tok Tok covered this on their first album in 1999, which they titled 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. Their version featured mouth-drums by the band's instrumentalist Morten Klein. It worked so well that the group used Klein's mouth-drums on many of their future recordings. When Paul Simon was a guest on The Muppet Show in 1980, he didn't play this song but Floyd and Janice of the Electric Mayhem (the Muppet house band) did.

"The problem is all inside your head", she said to me
"The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover"
She said, "It's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover"

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Ooh, slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
You just listen to me
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

She said, "It grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again"
I said, "I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways?"
She said, "Why don't we both just sleep on it tonight?
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light"
And then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Oh, you hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
You just listen to me
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free