Even with a copy of Paul Simon's lyrics, Oprah and Gayle couldn't agree on the meaning of his song, "Graceland." Who did they find to settle their dispute? The songwriter himself!
"Let me see if I can clarify the issue a little bit," Paul says. "Oprah, you're right. The song is about a real trip that I took to Graceland. It's not really autobiographical, although there are elements that are. It is about a trip there with a father and his 9-year-old son trying to find some kind of solace from a loss of love."
Before Oprah can gloat, Paul says that Gayle's interpretation is also right! "The song is also about Africa," he says. "The song was made in South Africa, and the musicians were South African. ... The South Africans were going through a time when they went through the reconciliation with their past, and in that way, that's what the father was looking for in his trip to Graceland and hoping to find there. So in a sense, you're both right!"
Now that the spat is settled, Gayle says she's never discussing "Graceland" ever again!
Published 01/01/2006
