"At the Zoo" is from Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, a sort of concept album. The first side of Bookends contained age-progression type songs while the back side had songs that didn't make the cut for the cult classic film The Graduate. "At the Zoo" closes this second side.
Who else but S&G could write and perform such a whimsical piece? All of the animals are described with a playful frame of mind, with lines like "Zebras are reactionaries; Antelopes are missionaries; Pigeons plot in secrecy; And hamsters turn on frequently," painting a poetic montage. Anybody who can't smile at this song has a heart made of charcoal.
This song was licensed for TV commercials for the Bronx Zoo and the San Francisco Zoo in the late 1970s. Not only that, but in 1991 a children's book was published by Paul Simon, titled "Simon and Garfunkel at the Zoo," with rich, chocolatey illustrations by Valerie Michaut. However, the lyrics and concepts had to be altered slightly; for instance, the hamsters were given little headlights on their head to explain why they'd "turn on."
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