Paul Simon - Kodachrome Lyrics






When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's
a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together
for one night
I know they'd never match
my sweet imagination
Everything looks worse
in black and white





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  1. J.... H....

    The remake of this song would definitely include some damn lines like “Momma don’t take my smaaart phone away.”

    J.... H....

    How bad would I be to replace "all the girls I knew" with "all the waifus" ?

  2. M.... D....

    1. Palmas 🇧🇷 💚💛

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    13. Aliança pelo Brasil DF 🇧🇷

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    20.  MDI - NACIONAL 🇧🇷 3⃣8⃣ ✨✨

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    Requerimento de desfiliação modelo Guaraí:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o5W43uyyfChk2QJqZI6buoRgKU36vgTy/view?usp=drivesdk

    Entrevista com Farlei:

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p5NbO1ZvE230-H1hQ6P3PFJYcBr7qN9A/view?usp=drivesdk


    Cadastre-se no Movimento Direita Independente - MDI

    ✅https://forms.gle/BjKto3K5eixZZzUf6

    Grupo: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Lpr1GjVTnV582AHnGHaHE9

    O Movimento Direita Independente (MDI), entidade da sociedade civil, comprometido com o apoio ao combate à corrupção, em especial na sua forma sistêmica de aparelhamento partidário da máquina pública, vem pelo presente apoiar o Partido Aliança pelo Brasil.

    Ao longo da história, inúmeras vezes tentaram vilipendiar nossa Pátria (...Os Anões do Orçamento, Castelo de Aréia, Mensalão, Petrolão) e tormá-la de assalto (1964), heróis a defenderam, derramando sangue por nossa bandeira verde e amarela. Hoje é dia de orar pelo nosso País e fortalecer nossa Aliança pela integridade moral no trato da coisa pública, moral do cidadão e das famílias. Liberdade Econômica e Império da Lei.

  3. J.... D....

    This re-listen prompted us to unpack our stored-away 800+ slides and old projector...... after 30+ years the colours are still VERY brilliant! Everything worked perfectly ..... and so did the memories.

  4. e.... b....

    I'm 46 the whole time I thought they were saying dont take my phone away! Damn I need to get my hearing checked. I have a 1940s collapsible Kodak camera and it's in good shape and still works. I was helping remodel a building that was built in 1889 and found it in the basement with some 1950s national geographic's. Great find.

  5. m.... m....

    AWESOME!

  6. j.... ....

    Shout out to the Muscle Shoals boys on this track. RIP Jimmy Johnson.

    j.... ....

    Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, they've been known to sing a song or two.......

  7. c.... b....

    I love this song a lot. I really miss the days when I used to shoot Kodak 64. When I wanted a lot of detail I would shoot 25. It wasn't till 2011 before I bought my first non-film camera. I still shoot a lot of black and white with my Cannon EOS 1. Something about film makes the image come alive!

  8. D.... M....

    Now we do realize that Kodachrome was taken away on account of the pics taken with it right? Naughty naughty!!

  9. B.... S....

    Marrying for the first time my classmate from high school. THIS is on our playlist ! WE'RE ALIVE THE CLASS OF '85 !

  10. M.... W....

    Love Kodachrome!

  11. d.... ....

    Pretty sad that a company that once was so omnipresent that famous artists would write songs about it, and that in fact was a pioneer in digital photography - inventing a digital camera in 1975! - eventually committed suicide by totally ignoring the rise of digital photography.

  12. a.... g....

    who here remembers the old Nikon cameras

    a.... g....

    I was a photographer for my college newspaper in 1969 and 1970, and we had two Nikon F cameras that the newspaper owned and we used.

  13. G.... F....

    I miss Kodachrome 25

  14. S.... P....

    Reminds me of The Conehead’s family videos throughout the years. Who’s still listening in 2020?!!

    S.... P....

    do yo dig graceland?

    S.... P....

    Possessive = apostrophe. The fam videos belong to them.

    S.... P....

    Stephen Poliszuk The family is called Conehead, and together they are the Coneheads, so it's either the "Coneheads' * family videos" or "the Conehead family's* videos". Hope, that clarifies it. All the best.

  15. h.... ....

    1.29 is that the guy from "High School Musical" in the Romeo photo?

  16. G.... ....

    Guy on cell phone at 0:25. Time Machine!!

  17. T.... H....

    The Cone Heads

  18. G.... R....

    who would have thought that this song is about Koda chrome film

    G.... R....

    lol, i understood kodachrome but i thought it was 'nack on camera'; never knew nikon

  19. J.... H....

    This song really puts the bounce back in ur step💚☘😎

  20. D.... T....

    This song came out when I had just graduated from college. I heard it a thousand times on my car radio.

  21. J.... S....

    Anyone else remember Fotomat booths?

  22. b.... ....

    I feel so outdated... I don't know if I should take a walk or wind my watch....

  23. D.... M....

    Dang it. I'm tapping my feet in bed again.

  24. F.... B....

    Back when this song was released, I remember a D J said this song was banned from The U. K. radio stations because it was considered a commercial and not a pop song. Anyone know if that was true ?

    F.... B....

    Ford Burkett possibly BBC run stations. They still have strict rules

  25. S.... ....

    I Miss Chris Farley =(

  26. V.... D....

    Hold on...I've gotta put in a new memory card!

  27. G.... ....

    Yeah, but who are those 4 cute girls who look like they are on their way to the senior prom?

  28. H.... ....

    This song makes me smile and sing the words out loud every time I hear it..

    H.... ....

    No matter where I am at I sing it out loud!

  29. R.... S....

    So in 57 years of life I was thinking they were trying to take his coat of chrome away

    R.... S....

    I was once a boy trapped in a woman's body, then my mom gave birth. Although this has nothing to do with this song.

    R.... S....

    That is too funny!!!! Coat of Chrome but hey it does sound like that! haha

    R.... S....

    😂😂😂

    R.... S....

    I'm 46. I thought they were saying dont take my phone away.

    R.... S....

    I thought the same until my brother corrected me

  30. G.... V....

    Forget this 2019 and 2020 stuff. We are listening to this forever.

  31. J.... B....

    I was listening to this in the car wiyh my nephew (12) and he asked "What does kodachrome mean?" I told him it was a kind of color film. He said "What's film?" I really felt my age then.

    J.... B....

    Heehee!

  32. M.... M....

    Well Mamma did taketh
    thy kodukchrom awhey

  33. H.... K....

    Nicely done!

  34. E.... C....

    Kodachrome the song may not be (exactly) about photography per se, but when it comes to colorful tunes not too many artists have better "focus" or a more impressive "palette" of vivid hues and dreamy shades of neo realism than Paul Simon. Every song from Paul is a Kodak moment in and of itself. Just see the "picture" as you see it.

  35. M.... G....

    I remember shooting some 400 Kodachrome and finding it required a lot of light for a good exposure. My first SLR camera was a Miranda that I still own.

    M.... G....

    Mesh Grow Bags I use to push my 400 Kodachrome 2 1/2 times to 1000. It caused some interesting effects.

  36. M.... G....

    2:36 my first camera was a Brownie given to me by my grandmother who had a newer 35mm cartridge camera. But I always remember it called a "Brown Eye" camera for some reason.

  37. t.... ....

    And in 2009... Kodak killed Kodachrome! RIP

  38. C.... b....

    Good times

  39. C.... b....

    Good times

  40. r.... ....

    It makes the nice bright colors, and it doesn't fade!

  41. M.... C....

    I used to make Kodachrome film at Kodak Park in Rochester, NY Bldg 29 14 room largest fastest most versatile film making machine in the world path of the film was over a mile long, came out in 5' wide 12, 800' long rolls each roll was 55,000 camera rolls and we put out 110 rolls in a 24 hr period, the machine ran 24/7/365

    M.... C....

    5 ft wide by 800 ft long? Damn how much would one of those rolls weigh? Was it done all in the dark?

  42. B.... B....

    And not one redhead!

  43. x.... ....

    This is actually a song about interracial dating. When Simon Says "mama don't take my Kodachrome away", he's really asking her not to forbid him dating a black girl. "Such nice bright colors".

  44. T.... A....

    Why is google so evil?

  45. S.... D....

    I just preferred Ektachrome!

    S.... D....

    I like them both. I used them both. My dad had given me his Canon SLR. It was the first one with the light meter on the side. No through the lens metering. He also gave me his Kodak Retina IIIc . That being a rangefinder had the best depth of field you could imagine with a stock 50 millimeter lens

  46. S.... B....

    I cry whenever I hear this. I have a huge collection of Kodachrome. And memories.

  47. M.... F....

    I love ❤️ this song. Great lyrics, tune and Harmony.

  48. G.... H....

    Film has gone the way of common sense.

  49. R.... W....

    wish i was back in highschool instead of driving this big truck

  50. T.... L....

    Bought this 45 when I was 10... also Loves Me Like s Rock. Big influence on my life.

  51. m.... ....

    Actually, Kodachrome was used to enhance blues, Fujichrome was used for greens.

  52. C.... T....

    In high school, the photography club stole a mannikin from the business marketing classroom and set her up in the back of the club's darkroom with back drops and lighting in order to practice photoshoots all the whole hoping someday they would have a real live model. It was a sad but well kept secret.

  53. R.... O....

    I remember the first few digital cameras, and the last few film developer booths.

  54. D.... M....

    Kodachrome RIP.

  55. B.... G....

    Kodachrome and Nikon got a ton of free advertising from this one song. Amazing!

    B.... G....

    I remember the Album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" had a trademark symbol beside the name of the song, stipulated by Kodak.

  56. m.... ....

    One of the greatest lines of any songs...
    If you took all the girls I knew
    When I was single
    And brought 'em all together for one night
    I know they'd never match
    My sweet imagination
    Everything looks worse in black and white

    m.... ....

    Such a great verse! That's one party I don't think I want to go to! Just sayin'....

  57. J.... S....

    If I look back at my college education, I can't imagine all the crap I learned in higher Ed.

  58. F.... T....

    Nikon made the best lenses back in the day. Other than Leica.

  59. F.... T....

    I miss having my film developed.

  60. R.... ....

    I came across a box of old slides today: My Ektachrome ones from the 60's and my father's Kodachrome ones from the 50's. I always like Ektachrome better because it was a faster film than Kodachrome and I could shoot in lower light. But 50+ years later, the Ektachrome slides have noticeably faded - but the Kodachrome ones are still spectacularly bright and colorful!

    R.... ....

    That was the unique quality of Kodachrome!

    R.... ....

    Kodachrome has always had a very stable image. Ektachrome in the 50's was process E2. In 1966 they introduced E4 which was better and made the image last longer. I have found the same thing with my Dads slides from that era. The Ektachromes have faded and the colours shifted but the Kodachrome slides are still very good to this day. If you still have a roll of Kodachrome and want it processed in colour, you are out of luck. The last roll processed was at Dwayne's Photo around Dec 30, 2010. There is no one else running process K14.

  61. K.... R....

    Paul Simon is a real Dem lib tard! But I really enjoyed this song!

  62. s.... ....

    I just noticed at 2:44 that's Ronald Reagan

  63. r.... c....

    KODAK SUED PAUL SIMON...JUDGE TOSSED IT IMEDIATLY,ASKING THEM IN OPEN COURT, HOW COULD THIS SONG DAMAGE YOU!?

    r.... c....

    Yes indeed! It was free advertising for both Kodak and Nikon, so why would they get their corporate panties in a bunch?!

  64. B.... B....

    pentax K1000 loved it!But B&W is the best!

  65. m.... ....

    In college my roommate changed the lyrics a little bit singing "mama going to take my chromosomes away"

  66. N.... B....

    They took my Kodachrome away. God, i miss those reds.
    And the stability! My slides from those days are still perfect.

    N.... B....

    They took my Kodachrome away. Sad.

  67. J.... K....

    You people that think you have 6os early 70s figured out, you don't: Vietnam war, 55.000 of our generation gone, many more dehumanized for life, John Kennedy 1963, Robert Kennedy 1968, Martin Luther King 1968, the civil rights riots, the Civil Rights Act, and massive antiwar protests, etc. Woodstock happened, The Beatles arrived. The glorious Richard Nixon was elected. You don't know! History is being rewritten, and you people are all for it.

  68. B.... S....

    Thank you for sharing Eileen.

  69. r.... ....

    I can read the writing on the wall, literaly

  70. I.... S....

    Celebrating photography and life.

  71. D.... D....

    I love Kodachrome ! My favorite Paul Simon song !

  72. A.... R....

    "Give us those nice,bright colors,give us those dreams of Summer,makes you think all the World's a sunny day,oh yeah," says it all!! Thanks,Paul Simon,for this hella good tune!! I request it whenever I have the opportunity!!..Love it SO,SO,SO,much!!😍😍😍👍👍👍👏👏👏❤❤❤

    A.... R....

    I preferred agfa dia film because the colours were more realistic. Yes, kodachrome made the world look nicer than it really was.

  73. A.... R....

    😍😍😍❤❤❤👍👍👍👏👏👏

  74. T.... M....

    I used that film all the time thru the years. Today my cameras are stored away and I just use my iPhone.

  75. S.... N....

    Thank You Paul’s Mum for not taking his Kodachrome away. Can’t thank Kodak because they Did!

  76. B.... P....

    What kind of a duck is that, anybody?

    B.... P....

    Bogey Patel Chinese mandarin duck

  77. E.... C....

    I once bought about 300 rolls of Kodachrome 64 film at one time. I got it on sale at a store that had a whole bunch of it they wanted to get rid of. I kept it in the freezer and it took me about 5 years to use it all up. I think if I ever win one of these multi-hundred-million dollar lotteries, or come into a huge amount of money by some other means, I am going to seriously look into resurrecting Kodachrome. It was the greatest.

  78. D.... K....

    Do this song to a tee!
    Was told by the guy who has claimed the best Elvis impersonator 4 years.

  79. B.... K....

    Nothing more than a musical advertisement slipped in to the 70s music stream. I didn't learn crap in high school.

  80. k.... ....

    My digital cameras are all Nikons.

  81. 1.... D....

    Were some of those images in video actually shot on slide film?

  82. D.... C....

    the lively upbeat is unstoppable! voice incredible! when people had to play actual instruments and showcase their artisan talent

  83. O.... O....

    My cat died while this song was playing

    O.... O....

    This is the saddest comment I've ever read.

  84. c.... ....

    I loved this song as a kid, though my first SLR was a Pentax K-1000. Later I moved to Canon and now Fujifilm mirrorless. Initially, I was shooting Tri-X/ Ilford (Colour film was too bloody expensive for a kid). Kodacolour negative a few years later, followed by Kodachrome for about 10 years when I switched to Fuji in the early 90s.

  85. c.... ....

    A little trivia.....Why was this song banned by the BBC in the 70s? Also, why did some US stations pull the song from their playlist? And no it was not for the same reason that the BBC gave.

  86. W.... N....

    https://youtu.be/MzQ42J2VM24

  87. C.... K....

    all the girls i knew in high school

  88. B.... R....

    I love this song too, I remember film, I still develop b & w pics from my Pentax K1000, still own a Empire 110, and I remember when spam was canned meat.

    B.... R....

    Started selling cameras in my late teens. Oh my goodness the K1000 was the least expensive SLR, it had no automatic settings & a lot of folks bought this camera if they were taking a photography class. That one SAME model sold for years & years & years. No "new and improved" version every 9 months.
    Ah, yes, the good, old days. Remember when print film went from 20 to 24 shots per roll?

    B.... R....

    @113 DmG I had a Pentax K1000 also - bought it for a photography class. Very good camera.

    B.... R....

    Bless you Bernard, that brought a smile to my face

    B.... R....

    @Phillip Woods Thank you sir, glad to bring joy at Christmas!

  89. D.... C....

    I was in Spanish class tonight and for our oral evaluation my partner and I did a skit about someone buying a Nikon camera. I couldn’t get this song out of my head and had to listen to it the minute class was done

  90. T.... F....

    315 dislikes from fujichrome fans

  91. b.... ....

    Well that was fun... and I saw Ronald Regan having a cigarette.

  92. R.... H....

    who is the blonde godess at 1:01

    R.... H....

    lol, another guy in an earlier comment wanted to know who the goddess is in the green dress at 1:20.

  93. T.... ....

    I remember my mom dropping off the film from her little Instamatic camera in those little parking lot drop off booths. A lot of the booths still exist.

    T.... ....

    Fotomat? Yeah, right I'm 50, and haven't seen one of those since 1988...God I'm old! 😞

  94. P.... E....

    302 Henri-Cartier Bresson's were triggered by 'everything looks worse in black and white.'

  95. M.... ....

    Take picture or two great song

  96. K.... M....

    1:01 - stunning.

  97. W.... S....

    супер!!!

  98. B.... C....

    If only this song were about Kodak's fine film. The Kodachrome is your imagination fueled by what you see. My ex-wife wouldn't leave her voice and thoughts at home, either. Maybe that's why she's "ex," eh?