Directed by Mike Nichols, The Graduate, a romantic comedy starring Dustin Hoffman, is a classic of American and world cinema. The film, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Webb, has received numerous awards. Among them are the Oscar for Best Director, as well as the Golden Globe and BAFTA in several categories.
The soundtrack of “The Graduate” featured Mrs. Robinson duo Simon & Garfunkel. It topped the charts and won a Grammy for best recording of the year.
The story of creation and the meaning of the song Mrs. Robinson
Mike Nichols adored Simon & Garfunkel and asked the duo for some songs for the film. The musicians were allowed to use tracks from their repertoire, and Paul Simon promised to compose a couple of songs especially for The Graduate. Time passed, the picture was almost ready, and the eternally busy Paul could not please the director with fresh works.
Song Mrs. Robinson was originally called Mrs. Roosevelt and had nothing to do with the plot of the melodrama. Simon conceived it as a dedication to Anne Eleanor Roosevelt. The wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt defended the rights of black US citizens, participated in the founding of the UN and belonged to the feminist movement.
Art Garfunkel told how Mrs. Robinson appeared on the soundtrack of the film “The Graduate”:
Paul was then working on what is now Mrs. Robinson. Then she did not have a name, and we simply inserted any name of three syllables. Because of the character in the movie, we started using the name Mrs. Robinson… One day we sat down and discussed ideas with Mike about another song. And I said, “What about Mrs. Robinson? Mike jumped to his feet: “Do you have a song called “Mrs. Robinson” and you didn’t even show it to me?” We explained that it was a working title and sang a song to him. And then Mike staked it out for his film as Mrs. Robinson.
Paul Simon: A Life, Marc Eliot
Nichols later recalled:
They filled in the gaps by singing “dee dee dee dee dee dee dee” because they didn’t have a verse yet, but even that I liked.
Paul Simon: A Life, Marc Eliot
Release and achievements
The audience heard an incomplete version of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, which was released in late December 1967.
Three weeks later, Simon and Garfunkel recorded the final cut of the track for Bookends at New York’s Studio Columbia A. In April 1968, the song was released as a single. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100, and also reached the top ten on the charts in several other countries.
In 1969 Mrs. Robinson was named Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The song was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the NME 500 Greatest Songs list.
Cover versions
In 1969, Frank Sinatra recorded Mrs. Robinson for the album My Way. He changed a few lines in the lyrics of the song, referring to the plot of the film “The Graduate”. He also did not want to mention Jesus, which could interfere with the promotion of the composition on the radio.
American rock band The Lemonheads performed a punk version of Mrs. Robinson. Evan Dando (Evan Dando) recalled that he could not stand the song, and the music of Simon & Garfunkel in general. He agreed to record a cover only in connection with the 25th anniversary of the film The Graduate.
Watch the video of Mrs. Robinson – Lemonheads.
Interesting Facts
- Singing “coo-coo-ca-choo”, Simon refers listeners to the song I Am the Walrus by The Beatles.
- Although Simon referred to Mickey Mantle as his favorite baseball player, in the lyrics of Mrs. Robinson is mentioned by Joe DiMaggio. The author explained the choice by the fact that DiMaggio’s name fit into the size of the composition.
- Subsequently, Simon discussed the song with DiMaggio, and after the death of a baseball player wrote an article about him in The New York Times.
- They wanted to nominate the song for an Oscar, but Simon and Garfunkel did not bother to fill out the necessary paperwork.
- In January 2010, it was revealed that Iris Robinson, the wife of Northern Ireland Prime Minister Peter Robinson, had been unfaithful to her husband with a young lover from their family of friends. After that, a group was founded on Facebook, whose members tried to bring the song Mrs. Robinson to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Lyrics of Mrs. Robinson-Simon & Garfunkel
And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Wo wo wo
God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey
We’d like to know a little bit about you for our files
We’d like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home
And here’s to you, Mrs. robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Wo wo wo
God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hide it in the hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It’s a little secret just the Robinson’s affair
Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids
Koo-koo-ka-choo, Mrs. robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Wo wo wo
God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey hey, hey, hey
Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates’ debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you’ve got to choose
Every way you look at this you lose
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Wu wu wu
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Jolting Joe has left and gone away
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Lyrics of the song Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel Alternate
To your health, Mrs. Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you think
Whoa whoa whoa
God bless you, be kind, Mrs. Robinson,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey
We would like to know a little about you for our files,
We would like to help you learn how to help yourself
Look around and all you see is sympathetic eyes
Walk around until you feel at home
To your health, Mrs. Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you think
Whoa whoa whoa
God bless you, be kind, Mrs. Robinson,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey
Hide it in a secret place where no one goes
Close up in pantry with cupcakes
It’s a little secret that only concerns the Robinsons,
And above all, keep it from the kids.
Coo-coo-choo, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you think
Whoa whoa whoa
God bless you, be kind, Mrs. Robinson,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey
Sitting on the couch on a Sunday afternoon
Going to debate candidates
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you have to choose
No matter how you look at it, you’re the loser
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
The whole country looks at you with sad eyes
Woo-woo-woo
What are you saying, Mrs. Robinson?
Shock Joe is gone and disappeared somewhere
Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey
Song quote
A trifling song that we were about to throw out.
Art Garfunkel (on an early version of Mrs. Robinson)
