Paul Simon Refreshes "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor" for In the Blue Light

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In February, Paul Simon announced his retirement from touring, but before he says farewell, he’ll be releasing an album featuring new versions of ten songs from his discography. Reimagining personal favorites on his 14th studio album, In the Blue Light, out Sept. 7, Simon’s first release from this record is “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor,” which originally appeared on his 1973 album There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. In the Blue Light follows the 2016 release of Stranger To Stranger.

Simon described the song reworks as refreshed versions of the old ones, “like a new coat of paint on the walls of an old family home.” For the new version of “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor,” Simon slowed down the bouncy rhythm to reach a more soulful, crooning sound as he sings about apartment life. The piano is moved further towards center stage and adds a jazzy flair to the song.

Simon said In the Blue Light was also an opportunity to adjust songs that did not originally fully meet his intent:

This album consists of songs that I thought were almost right, or were odd enough to be overlooked the first time around. Re-doing arrangements, harmonic structures, and lyrics that didn’t make their meaning clear, gave me time to clarify in my own head what I wanted to say, or realize what I was thinking and make it more easily understood.

You can preorder In the Blue Light here.

Paul Simon Refreshes “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor” for In the Blue Light