Wikipedia

The Boy in the Bubble

For the novel by Ian Strachan, seeThe Boy in the Bubble (novel).

"The Boy in the Bubble"is a song by the American singer-songwriterPaul Simon.It was the thirdsinglefrom his seventh studio album,Graceland(1986), released onWarner Bros. Records.Written by Simon and Forere Motloheloa (an accordionist fromLesotho), its lyrics explore starvation and terrorism, juxtaposed with wit and optimism.

"The Boy in the Bubble"
SinglebyPaul Simon
from the albumGraceland
ReleasedFebruary 17, 1987(1987-02-17)
RecordedOctober 1985
Genre
Length4:00
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
  • Forere Motloheloa
  • Paul Simon
Producer(s)Paul Simon
Paul Simonsingles chronology
"Graceland"
(1986) 		"The Boy in the Bubble"
(1987) 		"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
(1987)

The single—released in February 1987—performed well on charts worldwide. In the United States, it was mainly successful on theAlbum Rock Trackschart, where it peaked at No. 15. Outside the U.S., "The Boy in the Bubble" was a top 20 hit in theNetherlands,and top 30 in theUnited KingdomandBelgium.

Background

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The song retains the only lyric Simon managed to compose on his South African trip: "The way the camera follows us in slo-mo, the way we look to us all." The imagery in the video, directed byJim Blashfield,[1]was inspired by film clips of theJohn F. Kennedyassassination,as well asRonald Reagan'sattempted assassination.[2]Adrian Belewwas asked to playguitar synthesizeron the song and recalled that Simon only had a few lyrics complete by the time he first met with Belew.[3]

The song's title was inspired by the medical cases ofDavid VetterandTed DeVita.[4][5]Similar to "Graceland,""The Boy in the Bubble "took between three and four months to complete.[2]

Critical reception

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Cash Boxsaid it was "another brilliant cross-cultural gem. African rhythms,zydecospice and Simon's intelligent, penetrating lyrics are near perfection. "[6]In its review of the 25h anniversary edition ofGraceland,Pitchforkwrote that the song was "a thriller that ties together threads of technological progress, medicine, terrorism, surveillance, pop music, inequality, and superstition with little more than a series of sentence fragments, all tossed off in the same deadpan delivery."[7]

Personnel

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Chart performance

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"The Boy in the Bubble" performed on singles charts in several territories worldwide. In the U.S., the song reached a peak of No. 86 on theBillboardHot 100on March 21, 1987; it spent four weeks on the chart as a whole.[8]It performed better on the magazine'sAlbum Rock Trackschart, where it placed at No. 15 on March 28, 1987, where it spent nine weeks total.[9]

In theUnited Kingdom,the song premiered on theUK Singles Charton November 30, 1986 at number 81,[10]and rose over the following weeks to a peak of No. 26 on January 11, 1987.[11]On theDutchNationale Top 100,it reached a peak of No. 16.[12]OnBelgium'sUltratop 50,it hit No. 28,[13]and inNew Zealand,it peaked at No. 43.[14]

Charts

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Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[15] 46
Belgium (Ultratop 50Flanders)[13] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 33
UK Singles(OCC)[11] 26
USBillboardHot 100[8] 86
USAlbum Rock Tracks(Billboard)[9] 15

Notes

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References

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  1. ^"Music Videos Directed by Jim Blashfield".Blashfield Studio.
  2. ^abDavid Fricke(October 23, 1986)."African Odyssey".Rolling Stone(485).New York City:Wenner MediaLLC:77–80.ISSN0035-791X.
  3. ^Prasad, Anil."Adrian Belew - The Love Bubble".Innerviews: Music Without Borders.RetrievedMay 20,2024.
  4. ^American Experience."David Vetter's Legacy".PBS.
  5. ^Christa Sommerer; Lakhmi C. Jain; Laurent Mignonneau (2008).The Art and Science of Interface and Interaction Design (Vol. 1).Springer. p. vii.
  6. ^"Single Releases"(PDF).Cash Box.February 14, 1987. p. 9.Retrieved2022-08-08.
  7. ^Tangari, Joe (August 1, 2012)."Paul Simon: Graceland: 25th Anniversary Edition".Pitchfork.RetrievedMay 20,2024.
  8. ^ab"Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)".Billboard.Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  9. ^ab"Paul Simon - Chart history".Billboard.Prometheus Global Media.RetrievedAugust 13,2015.
  10. ^"Archive Chart: 1986-11-30"".Official Charts Company.RetrievedAugust 13,2015.
  11. ^ab"Official Singles Chart Top 100".Official Charts Company.Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  12. ^ab"Paul Simon – The Boy in the Bubble "(in Dutch).Single Top 100.Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  13. ^ab"Paul Simon – The Boy in the Bubble "(in Dutch).Ultratop 50.Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  14. ^ab"Paul Simon – The Boy in the Bubble ".Top 40 Singles.Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  15. ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992.St Ives, NSW:Australian Chart Book.ISBN0-646-11917-6.

Sources

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