Paul Simon quietly released a new song on Wednesday, October 31, a duet with his wife Edie Brickell titled “Bad Dream.” The blues-influenced tune is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.
“Bad Dream” is driven by Simon’s acoustic guitar, punctuated by horns and atmospheric percussion. Simon sings the first verse of the song, joined by Brickell on harmony vocals. Edie takes the lead on the second verse, and her husband adds harmonies of his own.
[RELATED: Watch Paul Simon Perform One of His Classic Solo Songs at White House Dinner Hosted by President Biden]
“Bad Dream” features ambiguous lyrics that seem to comment in part on the volatile political climate in the U.S. At the end of the song, Simon and Brickell sing, “It’s a dream / I wonder, where’s the country I promised my kids?”
Among the musicians who contributed to the track is drummer Steve Gadd, who has been working with Simon since the mid-1970s. The track also features Mike Elizondo on synthbass, Andy Snitzer on tenor saxophone, Aaron Heck on baritone sax, and Anthony Kadlec on trumpet.
Fans react to Simon and Preckel’s new duet
Hearing the new song inspired a number of Simon and Brickell fans to share their reactions in the comments section of Paul’s Facebook page.
“Perfect timing for this beautiful song!” one fan wrote.
Another commented: “I love all the colors I hear in this.”
A third wrote: “Really beautiful, I was so happy with this surprise today!!!”
Online speculation about Simon and Brickell’s project
Simon and Brickell have been married since 1992, although they have only occasionally collaborated. According to an online forum thread, the couple has been working on a duet album for more than a decade, but no official news about the project has been announced.
Simon & Garfunkel’s latest album
“Bad Dream” is the first new song Simon has released since his 2023 studio album Seven Psalms. The critically acclaimed record included a seven-part meditative piece inspired by a dream he had.
A documentary film titled In Disturbed Dreams: Music by Paul Simonwhich focused in part on making Seven Psalmswas premiered in September 2023. In the movie, Simon revealed details of his hearing loss in his left ear, which occurred while working on the album.
In a recent interview posted on the Stanford Medicine YouTube channel in October 2024, Simon reported that he had completely lost hearing in his left ear.
The 83-year-old singer-songwriter also expressed his hope that the medical and scientific communities can come up with new treatments for severe hearing loss.
Brickell’s latest release
The latest music released by Brickell is Here comesan album by her project Heavy MakeUp that arrived in June 2024. Heavy MakeUp is a band that also includes trumpeters CJ Camerieri and Trever Hagen.