By Brad Gallagher:
Today is Thanksgiving and we are celebrating in Mazatlán Mexico this year. We have been here for a few days and yesterday we had the privilege of meeting a little boy while we were swimming in the pool. He kept swimming up to us and then swimming away quickly when we looked at him, and then swimming up again. It appeared that he wanted to befriend us, but was too shy to be the first to speak. After all, he did not know any English, and we know very little Spanish. We do, however, know just enough to have said “Como Se Llama?” He responded with just one word, “Julio”, and he quickly swam away again. At that point his parents called to him and he left. We never saw him again.
Immediately, however, I started to sing “Me And Julio Down By The School Yard” by Paul Simon quietly in my mind. I even sang it out loud a couple times. And I was reminded of a story I heard a few years back about the song.
As The Story Goes:
Paul Simon grew up in New York City in the borough of Queens. It is said that he had a childhood friend named Julio who he spent a lot of time with while playing in the playgrounds and school yards around his home. There is no documentation to prove that this was a real friend of Simon’s, but I am inclined to believe that it is true.
On one particular day while in a school yard in Corona, a sub neighborhood of Queens, something illegal took place. Simon has been asked about this incident in several interviews, but insists that he does not know what the incident was, only that he believes that it was something sexual. His Mom, known as “The Mama Pajama” in the song, apparently witnessed this crime, and reported it to the police. Later the police arrived and arrested Simon and Julio and took them to jail.
Fortunately for them, “The Radical Priest” was able to negotiate their release and they were set free. It is said that this priest is one and the same as the famous early 1970’s anti-war activist priest, featured in Newsweek magazine, named Daniel Berrigan, but again there is no documentation to prove that either.
So, no mater which parts of the song are fact and which parts are pure fiction, the real truth of the song is that it was one of Paul Simon’s most famous and most beloved songs. It is a song about childhood friendships and a sense of community. It is a reminder to each of us of our days a kids spending time with our closest friends. Sometimes getting into trouble, but for most of us, always getting through somehow. So, watch the official video at the link below and enjoy reminiscing about your own childhood friends.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. And come back and see me real soon right here on As The Story Goes.
Official “Me And Julio” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VrKro8djw
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AS THE STORY GOES 