Paul Simon Ponders Mortality, Says He ‘Wouldn’t Change Anything’

Paul Simon looks back on his long career in music and says in a new interview that he “wouldn’t change anything, even the mistakes.”

Conversing with Jeffrey Brown and PBS NewsHour, Simon talked about ‘Rewrite,’ a song from his latest album that deals with a character who decides to go back and rewrite his own life story for the better.

Apparently Simon feels his own personal life story has played out quite nicely: “I wouldn't rewrite. I wouldn't change anything, even the mistakes, because you never know what you are changing. And change it for what? You know, things turned out pretty well. I mean, I really can't complain about much.”

He notes that several of the songs on the new album took shape with “just a guitar," the same way that all of the Simon & Garfunkel material was originally written.

Addressing the theme of mortality that runs throughout the album, he says that there’s a connection of sorts to his own advancing age as he approaches 70, but that connection was “unintentional.”

Simon will perform today at the iTunes Festival in London. Fans can watch the performance live in HD via iTunes and other devices.