"Why am I soft in the middle, now?"
You Can Call Me Al is a song by American folk singer Paul Simon, released as the lead-off single from Graceland. Like the rest of the album, the single was recorded in South Africa and was written based on personal experiences Simon had, as he self-described it as "'Really the story of somebody like me, who goes to Africa with no idea and ends up having an extraordinary spiritual experience". The music video was directed by Gary Wesis and stars Simon and Chevy Chase.
The song's title is famously inspired by an incident at a 1979 party wherein a composer accidentally introduced Simon and his then wife Peggy Harper as "Al and Betty".
If you be my bodyguard, I can be your long-lost troper...
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The marked height difference between 6'4" Chevy Chase and 5'3" Paul Simon is played for laughs.
- Bottle Episode: More like Bottle Video, as it's just Paul Simon and Chevy Chase in one room.
- Minimalist Cast: Again, the video only consists of Simon and Chase.
- Lyrical Dissonance: It sounds rather cheery, yet details an existential crisis in the lyrics,
- One-Man Song: Sorta. Chevy Chase lip syncs to Paul's vocals, with Paul coming in for a bit in the chorus.
- Performance Video: Parodied, Chevy Chase lip syncs while Paul Simon plays the instruments.
- Special Guest: Then-guitarist of King Crimson Adrian Belew plays the guitar synthesizer on the track.
- That Syncing Feeling: Chevy Chase lip-syncs the entire song's music video.
- Weirdness Magnet: The men wonder why they feel bad or why certain things happen to them.
- World Music: It's from the Graceland album after all.
