Paul Simon stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday (March 14th), where he gave a rare performance and sat down for an extended interview. Watch a clip of Simon playing “Your Forgiveness” from his latest album, Seven Psalms, below.
Even after retiring from touring in 2018 and losing almost all of his hearing in one ear, Simon is still an enthralling performer. Seated on Colbert’s guest couch, his acoustic guitar-picking and stirring vocal delivery remain equally impressive.
During Simon’s 30-minute sitdown with Colbert, the artist spoke about being drawn to rock and roll during his childhood, described his writing process for “Darling Lorraine,” and shared the inspiration behind Seven Psalms. Watch it below.
Simon’s appearance comes ahead of the premiere of the new documentary by Alex Gibney, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, which arrives on MGM+ on March 17th and March 24th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary includes footage of Simon working on Seven Psalms, as well as previously unseen material from his Simon & Garfunkel days.
On Wednesday (March 13th), Simon took the stage at the DGA New York Theater alongside Gibney and Colbert for a Q&A and screening of the documentary. According to Deadline, Simon talked to Colbert about finding a line in “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” cringey, disliking Frank Sinatra’s cover of “Mrs. Robinson,” and more.
Seven Psalms arrived in May 2023 and features seven songs produced by Simon and Kyle Crusham. Several years after retiring from touring, Simon made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022.