Paul Simon / There Goes Rhymin' Simon (Bonus Tracks Edition) / 1973
St. Judy's Comet
tender, drowsy, quietly amused
A gentle lullaby in which a father tries, with dwindling patience and self-deprecating humor, to coax his son to sleep. Beneath its soft surface is a small domestic comedy about the gap between a parent's grand wishes for his child and the mundane struggle of bedtime.
parental love domesticity sleep and childhood performance vs. private life gentle humor
Who's speaking
A father speaks directly to his young son, coaxing rather than commanding; the voice is affectionate and self-aware, occasionally poking fun at his own status as a public figure trying to do an ordinary parental task.
What happens
The song opens with the father noticing his son fighting sleep, then moves into a wished-for image of a comet lighting the sky as a stand-in for the wonder he wants the boy to carry into dreams. The middle section shows the father persisting through repeated verses, admitting mock defeat if the boy won't cooperate, before returning to the same comet imagery and closing where it began, with the boy still fading but not yet asleep.
How it's built
The song cycles through two alternating units -- a soft-spoken verse of direct address and a soaring chorus built around the celestial image -- with only a brief middle verse breaking the pattern to inject humor. The near-identical final verse mirrors the opening, giving the piece a circular, lulling shape rather than dramatic resolution.
Section by section
Opening verse
The father speaks in a hushed, observational register, noting the boy's tiredness with affectionate specificity rather than issuing a command. This sets the tone of persuasion rather than authority.you fading fast.you're fading fast.the song favors watching and waiting over discipline.you're fading fast..you're fading fast..you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast..you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.
First chorus
The comet image elevates the scene from a mundane bedtime into something mythic, using celestial wonder as a bribe or lure to shepherd the child toward sleep.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.you're fading fast.
Bridge verse
“makes your famous daddy look so dumb”
Here the song briefly steps outside the fairy-tale frame to admit the practical stakes of failing at this small task, using the phrase about looking foolish to puncture the lullaby's dreaminess with real-world self-awareness and light comic timing.
Final verse
The return to the opening lines closes the loop without resolution -- the boy is still only fading, not asleep -- which suggests the song is less about an ending than about the repeated, patient ritual of trying.
Craft
- extended metaphor
- The comet stands for wonder, imagination, and the fleeting brilliance of childhood perception, contrasted with the flat reality of a tired child resisting bedtime.
- repetition
- Phrases like the invitation to watch the sky and the closing instructions to lie down recur almost verbatim, mimicking the soothing, hypnotic repetition of an actual lullaby.
- self-deprecating humor
- The father's aside about looking foolish if he fails introduces a wry, human crack in the otherwise dreamy tone, grounding the song in real parental exasperation.
- imagery
- Diamond sprays and fireflies replace the comet's absence, letting small natural details do the work of maintaining the song's magical atmosphere even in the mundane bedroom setting.
Reading it
The most persuasive reading treats the song as a tender domestic vignette: a parent using imaginative language to make an ordinary chore feel enchanted, with the joke about his own fame adding warmth and humility. A secondary reading might hear the comet as a metaphor for fleeting childhood wonder itself, something the father hopes his son will glimpse even in dreams before it, like childhood, moves on and disappears from view. Both readings are compatible; the song does not force a choice.
Context
Recorded for the 1973 album, this track is a rare lullaby amid Simon's often more socially or romantically pointed songwriting, and the reference to a famous daddy plausibly nods to his own public profile as a musician, though this is inference rather than confirmed biography.
Listen for
- The gentle, almost spoken-word delivery in the verses versus the more melodic lift of the chorus
- The shift from the celestial comet metaphor to the humbler firefly image
- The comic aside about looking foolish, which breaks the lullaby's spell briefly
- The circular structure, with the final verse nearly repeating the first
About Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel.
b. 1941 / United States
Full biography and catalogue