Paul Simon --- Kodachrome

This song has not been one of my favorites.  Not that I have anything against it, mind you.  But, it just never struck my fancy.  For some reason, it just popped into my head.  So, I brought up the song on Youtube and decided to have a look at it.



I couldn't make much out of the lyrics, so maybe that's why I never did get to like the song.   To get some help in understanding the song, I went here.   At first, I was confused. Still am, because they had the Sound of Silence lyrics there for some reason.   But the discussion was about Kodachrome.

After awhile, one starts to suspect this is about drugs.  You got "mama" who can take things away that make you feel good.  One may suspect that mind-altering drugs can supposedly improve imagination and creativity, which are better than what is in the real world "crap" that you learn in "high school".

It may be a mistake to get too literal with this song.  But I'm still suspicious.  Too many artists sold out to make their careers.  Somebody once said something to the effect that rock and roll was invented in order to make parents crazy.  So, they sold out in order to make stuff that corrupted the morals of the younger generation.

Just now, a thought just flashed into my mind.  Maybe he's just a kid that doesn't want to grow up.  The high school part is his rebellion.  So is the Kodachrome, whatever Kodachrome actually means.  It could be anything that keeps this guy in a juvenile state of being.  "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away" is the same as saying "Mama let me be a kid forever".  The writer wants to be a kid forever.