Paul Simon’s 1970 song ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ was influenced by the traditional gospel spiritual ‘Mary Don’t You Weep’, a song with roots in the experience of enslaved African Americans. The connection highlights how a spiritual shaped by hardship and faith travelled through gospel music into a major soul-influenced pop classic.

The article traces the song’s lineage through gospel recordings, particularly the Swan Silvertones’ version, whose vocal phrasing helped inspire Simon’s central image of offering support in difficult times. ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ became the title track of Simon & Garfunkel’s final studio album and one of their most celebrated recordings, with Art Garfunkel providing its prominent lead vocal.