Jewelry Factory Blog

Jewelry Factory Blog
April 11th, 2014
Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we feature Paul Simon’s doo-wop-inspired “Bernadette” from his 1998 Broadway production of “The Capeman.”

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In a stunning line from the song, Simon and poet Derek Walcott describe the sky as a ”coat of diamonds.”

Although “Capeman” — a tale of teen gangs and mistaken identity — failed at the box office, “Bernadette” became one of Simon’s most beloved songs. Critics have called the song both “mysterious” and “beautiful.”

"Personally speaking, this is my favorite song since 'Graceland,'" Simon told an interviewer in 1998. "It's a love song that takes place right before Sal wanders into the neighborhood of another gang, a place he shouldn't be, and he sings this to his girlfriend. I was really trying to evoke that innocent part of his life, before he became a symbol of so much, for so many people."

Songs From The Capeman became Simon’s ninth studio album and “Bernadette” was released as a single. The album peaked at #42 on the Billboard 200 chart.

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Simon is one of the most accomplished singer/songwriters of all time. He’s won 12 Grammy Awards, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (once as a solo artist and the other time as half of Simon & Garfunkel) and was named by Time Magazine as one of the “100 People Who Shaped the World.”

We invite you to check out the video of Paul Simon and Marc Anthony performing “Bernadette” during a 1997 appearance on VH-1’s Storytellers. The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

"Bernadette"
Written by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott. Performed by Marc Anthony and Paul Simon.

Whoa--I got time on my hands tonight
You're the girl of my dreams
When I'm near you my future seems bright
OO--I want you to be my girl
I want you to be my movie
I am Sal Mineo and I need you so

Sweet Bernadette

Whoa--You got style from your head to your heels
Though my words may be jumbled
Still I'm telling you just how it feels
I love you

I love you
And the breeze that wraps around you

Satin summer nights
A girl I can't forget

Whoa--You're the smile of the moon
Bernadette

Dom Dom Dom Zoom
Well-a well I'm home
Dom Dom Dom Zoom
Well-a well I'm home

Wop, Wop. Wop, Wop
Come with me
There's a place I want you to see

When the leaves are dark
I've got a hiding place in Central Park
And the sky is a coat of diamonds

There's a wooden cross over my bed
The city is lit with candles
They're shining for you Bernadette

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa
You’re the smile of the moon

Dom Dom Dom Zoom
Well-awell I'm home
Dom Dom Dom Zoom
Weil-a well I'm home

Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop