Paul Simon, 81, Says ‘My Generation’s Time Is Up’ As He Reveals Hearing Loss

The legendary singer Paul Simon has made the heartbreaking announcement that he’s suffered severe hearing loss, losing much of the hearing in his left ear.

Simon Loses His Hearing

Simon, 81, explained that he found that most of his hearing was gone when he was working on his latest album “Seven Psalms.”

“Quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it. So everything became more difficult,” he lamented, according to Fox News. “My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.”

Sadly, his hearing has yet to repair itself. This comes as he is still recovering from a major bout with COVID-19.

“Boy, have I been beaten up in these last couple of years,” he said.

Simon went on to say that the one positive thing about his hearing loss is that he no longer has to perform songs that he’s not interested in.

“The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them,” he said. “Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the f— are you doing, Paul?’ Quite often that would come during You Can Call Me Al. I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.’”

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‘Seven Psalms’

Simon then talked about the dream he had that inspired “Seven Psalms.”

“The dream was specific,” he said. “‘You are writing, or are meant to write, a piece called Seven Psalms.’ It was a very insistent statement, so much so that I wrote it down. And the next day I looked at the Bible and thought, ‘Well, the piece isn’t going to be like this.’”

“And then it was a case of, ‘Well, what is it going to be like? I have no idea, but then it wasn’t my idea anyway. I’ll just wait here until I have more information,'” he continued.

One of the most powerful songs on the album is “Wait,” which is about mortality and death. Lyrics of this song include, “I’m not ready, I’m just packing my gear/ Wait/ My hand’s steady/ My mind is still clear.”

Edie Brickell, who’s been married to Simon for thirty years, joins him for the final part of the song, which features the lyrics, “Heaven is beautiful/ It’s almost like home/ Children, get ready/ It’s time to come home.”

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Simon Becomes Emotional

Simon could not help but become emotional as he talked about this song in his latest interview.

“It’s a spooky thing to be writing something and just be thinking, ‘Oh, this is what the song needs,’” he said. “And then it’s, ‘By the way, this is about you. You’re actually the subject of this.’”

“It’s just the age we’re at. Gordon Lightfoot just passed away; Jeff Beck too. My generation’s time is up,” Simon concluded.

Many will certainly be able to relate to where Simon is at in his life right now. “Seven Psalms” is currently on all major music streaming services if you want to hear more about what Simon is going through.