Paul Simon sings of ‘Wartime’

Paul Simon has set a release date of May 9 for “Surprise,” his first album in six years, and the collection figures to be closely watched because it contains one of the veteran singer-songwriter’s most socially slanted lyrics since 1973’s disillusioned “American Tune.”

Simon hasn’t explained the inspiration for “Wartime Prayers,” according to his spokesman, but in the song he appears to be addressing the effect of the Iraq war. He opens by recalling the “silent conversations” of prayers in times of peace, then sings, “All that is changed now / Gone like a memory from the day before the fires / People hungry for the voice of God / Hear lunatics and liars.” He then adds, “Wartime prayers in every language spoken / For every family scattered and broken.”

Simon, who produced the album with English musician-producer Brian Eno, will perform on May 7, the closing day of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.