Copyright 1975 April-Blackwood Music Inc. & Casa David Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted with writer Albert Hammond's personal permission. For personal use only.

US #91 for Albert Hammond in 1975

The same melody was used for Longe demais de voc? (99 miles from L.A. is the original).

Albert Hammond (writer, recording artist): It was the first song I wrote with Hal David. I think I spent eight hours singing the melody at home the night before, and I went to Hal and I said "Hal, I tried. I don't know, I have this melody...", and I played it, and he said "keep playing!" I mean, after eight hours, I didn't want to play it anymore! Twenty minutes later, he gives me this lyric, and I look at the lyric and think "oh, my God, how can I tell Hal David that I hate the tune and the lyric?" I mean, this is the man that's had all these number one records. So I said "this is gorgeous, I love it!" And three weeks later, I really grew to love that song. It's become one of my big songs. (1984 interview on BBC Radio programs. Thank you to Peter)

Art Garfunkel (recording artist): I see it as... the sweep of it, and the long extending lines, and the crescendo and the decrescendo that sounds like inhale and exhale. That sweep and movement to me reminds me of Panavision. You always see cars driving, I see lots of gray colors, gray tones, low cloudy skies. That one I warmed up to slowly. I kept looking, what's the angle on this? What's the hook that I'm going to get off on as a singer? And I began to get into that hypnotic quality of crescendos and decrescendos. (Art Garfunkel's official website)