Song for the Asking

Lasting just 1:39, this is the last song on Bridge Over Troubled Water. It's a solo piece by Paul Simon; the only one on the album with just his voice. There is a note of contrition in the song, Simon explained in the Making of Bridge Over Troubled Water documentary, "That's just to say I haven't forgotten what I did. I was not an angel, that's for sure."

Including this song at the end of the album helped balance out the voices of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Unlike their previous albums, they sang separately on many of the tracks, with Garfunkel singing the majority of the title track and all the verses of "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright." Separating their voices meant that each singer could have a distinct personality on the album, which is how the Beatles often recorded.