They say that Richard Cory owns
one half of this whole town,
With political connections
to spread his wealth around.
Born into society, a banker's only child,
He had everything a man could want:
power, grace, and style.
But I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be
Richard Cory.
The papers print his picture
almost everywhere he goes:
Richard Cory at the opera,
Richard Cory at a show.
And the rumor of his parties
and the orgies on his yacht!
Oh, he surely must be happy
with everything he's got.
But I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be
Richard Cory.
He freely gave to charity,
he had the common touch,
And they were grateful for his patronage
and thanked him very much,
So my mind was filled with wonder
when the evening headlines read:
"Richard Cory went home last night
and put a bullet through his head."
But I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be
Richard Cory.
-
Guitarra: Paul Simon y Joe South
Batería: Hal Blaine
Bajo: Joe Osborn
© 1966 Paul Simon (BMI)
Disco: Sounds Of Silence
Comentarios: Canción basada en el poema narritivo del mismo nombre escrito por Edwin Arlington Robinson publicado por primera vez en 1897, como parte de The Children of the Night. Paul Simon toma la historia y la traslada a un contexto contemporáneo, usando el formato de balada folk para contar una tragedia con una moraleja brutal.
La canción cuenta la historia desde el punto de vista de un obrero que trabaja en la fábrica de Richard Cory, un millonario con todo lo que aparentemente representa el éxito: riqueza, prestigio, vida social activa... El narrador lo envidia profundamente, al punto de obsesionarse con querer ser como él. Sin embargo, en el último verso del tercer acto, el giro es devastador: Richard Cory se suicida. Este verso rompe toda la lógica que sostenía la envidia del narrador. Y, sin embargo, la canción no termina ahí, sino que repite por última vez el estribillo: "And I wish that I could be / Richard Cory." Ese último estribillo es el golpe final: incluso sabiendo que Cory se suicidó, el narrador sigue queriendo ser él, porque no puede concebir una vida peor que la suya.