Song by Song: "At the Zoo" Trivia Quiz

Answer: yes

It peaked at number sixteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was first released as a single on February 27, 1967 with "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" on the B-Side.

Answer: No

The song was originally intended for use in a scene that takes place at the San Francisco Zoo, but that did not come to fruition. According to an "In the Studio" interview transcript on Art Garfunkel's official website, the director, Mike Nichols, originally planned to use a few new Simon & Garfunkel songs in "The Graduate," but, in the end, the only new track was "Mrs. Robinson." However, the soundtrack also used some older songs from the duo, including "April Come She Will" and "The Sound of Silence."

Answer: The Bronx Zoo

The song was licensed for use in advertisements by both the Bronx Zoo and the San Francisco Zoo in the late 1970s, according to songfacts.com.

In addition to being a jingle in commercials, the lyrics of this song also serve as the text for a children's book Paul Simon published in 1991, with detailed illustrations by Valerie Michaut.

Answer: Graceland

"Graceland" is Paul Simon's seventh solo studio album, and it does not include "At the Zoo." The song was recorded on Simon and Garfunkel's fourth studio album, "Bookends," which was released in 1968 and peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. It was later included in the two "best of" collections released in 1999 ("The Best of Simon and Garfunkel") and 2000.

Answer: false

Rather, the book depicts the hamsters as wearing headlamps on their hats. They turn these lights on to better see the polar bears. This lends an innocent meaning to the line. The line "The zookeeper is very fond of rum" is also adapted via illustration. The zookeeper is shown petting a beaver named Rum.

Answer: light and tumble

The song opens:

"Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo
I do believe it
I do believe it's true
It's a light and tumble journey
From the East Side to the park."

In the children's book based on this song, the illustrator shows two children preparing to go to the zoo. They rush outside and take a yellow school bus with signs saying "Zoo." The bus driver is a cheetah.

Answer: alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds in a line, in this case, "fine" and "fancy." A simile is a comparison using like or as, and onomatopoeia is when a word reads like it sounds (as in "buzz," "splat," "moo," or "bark"). Personification is giving human characteristics to non-human things. Paul Simon does use personification elsewhere in the song by personifying the animals.

Answer: insincere

"The monkeys stand for honesty
Giraffes are insincere
And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb."

In the children's book, two of the monkeys have escaped their habitat and are returning a coin purse and some money a girl dropped. Meanwhile, the giraffes are wearing sunglasses and one elephant is trying to feed the kids peanuts while two more have managed to tangle their trunks together.

Answer: orangutans

"Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum."

The children's book features an Orangutan using the "help" phone to make a call as beavers have been added to their cage. The zookeeper, meanwhile, is a rhinoceros.

Answer: pigeons

"Zebras are reactionaries
Antelopes are missionaries
Pigeons plot in secrecy
And hamsters turn on frequently
What a gas, you gotta come and see
At the zoo."

Once again, Paul Simon makes use of alliteration, repeating the "p" sound here in "pigeons" and "plot." In the children's book, the pigeons are shown to be whispering to one another on the park bench.