Legal Commentary

Sunday Song Lyric

By Jonathan H. Adler

Michael Weintraub and Tyler Cohen wonder what are the best songs about technology.  Weintrabu focuses on songs ?whose lyrics deal explicitly with technological innovations and their cultural effects,? and suggests Paul Simon?s ?Boy in the Bubble.?  It?s a good choice.  Paul Simon is a great songwriter, and ?Boy in Bubble? was a popular song.  Here?s how it begins:

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio

These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That?s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don?t cry baby, don?t cry

Here are the full lyrics, the video, and a live performance.

?Boy in the Bubble? is one good song about technology, but is it the best?  What?s your favorite? And why?

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on April 18, 2010 (boomark / email).