American Pop Masters Simon and Garfunkel's second no. 1 song in the US following "The Sounds of Silence" is a marvelous one. It is Grammy Award winning and Gold Record status. It pays tribute to history and great Americans.
The secret of Mrs Robinson is that Mike Nichols (Director of the movie 'The Graduate') had become a huge Paul Simon affectionado and he made a deal with Paul Simon to make songs for the film. Unforunately, Simon was so busy he had only found time to write one song which had nothing to do with the film. He reportedly stated: "It's not for the movie... it's a song about times past — about Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio and stuff." Nichols advised Simon, "It's now about Mrs. Robinson, not Mrs. Roosevelt." The song was only partially finished for the movie and then changed before put to record.
Mrs. Roosevelt likely refers to Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (wife to President FDR). She was a heorin Civil Rights activist and endured a marriage wherein her husband committed adultry. She discovered the affair and insisted on a divorce unless he would immediately end the affair (which he did).
The song takes the balming belief in the effects of Jesus' love. This is just one more evidence that songs about God sell.
Joe DiMaggio was an America baseball player for the NY Yankees who became an American star. His 56 game hitting streak in 1941 was dubbed by the NY Times in 1999 "perhaps the most enduring record in sports". DiMaggio enlisted in the US Air Force during WWII amidst his winning streaks. He was also married to Marilyn Monroe.
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