"Homeward Bound" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel written by Paul Simon and produced by Bob Johnston. The song was released as a single on January 19, 1966 by Columbia Records. The song appears on the duo's third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, although it was recorded during the sessions for their second albumSounds of Silence and included on that album in the UK. It was their second single, the follow-up to their enormously successful breakthrough hit "The Sound of Silence". It performed very well domestically, peaking at number five on the BillboardHot 100, remaining on the charts for 12 weeks. Internationally, the song performed best in Canada, where it hit number two; it was also a top five hit in the Netherlands. A live version of the song is included on the compilation Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, and it was also performed during the duo's legendary 1981 reunion, The Concert in Central Park.
Background
"Homeward Bound" was written by Paul Simon after returning to England in the spring of 1964. He had previously spent time in Essex, and he became a nightly fixture at the Railway Hotel in Brentwood, beginning that April. He was reeling from his brief period in the Greenwich Village folk scene, as well as the recording of his first album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which he anticipated would be a failure. During this time, he met Kathy Chitty, who was working as a ticket-taker at the club. The two hit it off instantly, but it became clear that Simon desired to perform in London, resulting in an emotional farewell. Following a performance in Liverpool, Simon was waiting for the early morning milk train to London at a railway station. He had been missing Chitty's company and he began to write "Homeward Bound" on a scrap of paper. The station in question is generally reported as Widnes railway station, which has a plaque commemorating the event, though some consider it more likely to have been Ditton; on other occasions Simon has suggested that the Station in question might have been Warrington, which is most likely to have been Warrington Bank Quay railway station. Chitty is mentioned in several other Simon & Garfunkel songs, most notably "Kathy's Song" and "America". In their 1969 hit "The Boxer", Simon alludes to a railway station, a possible reference to "Homeward Bound". A plaque commemorating this claim to fame is displayed on the Liverpool bound platform of Widnes railway station. Simon is quoted as saying "f you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible." Paul Simon performed "Homeward Bound" with George Harrison on the November 20, 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live. Both sang some of their solo hits, and also performed "Here Comes the Sun" together.
