Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson was almost called Mrs. Roosevelt. Here’s why it was changed

Before Mrs. Robinson became one of Simon & Garfunkel’s most recognisable songs, its most famous name was apparently not the one Paul Simon had in mind. The song’s connection to The Graduate is now almost inseparable from its identity. But the story behind its title goes back to an earlier idea, and, according to Paul Simon himself, a very different woman.

Before Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson, there was Mrs. Roosevelt: The untold story

Simon had already been working on the song when director Mike Nichols approached him about contributing music to The Graduate, the 1967 film starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. Nichols wanted to use Simon & Garfunkel songs throughout the film, and the unfinished track eventually found its place in one of cinema’s most iconic soundtracks.

There was just one problem: the song didn’t originally have Mrs. Robinson in its lyrics. Simon has recalled that an earlier version referred to Mrs. Roosevelt, a reference generally understood to be to former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. But when Nichols needed a song specifically connected to Bancroft’s character, Mrs Robinson, the name was changed.

And that simple alteration transformed the song. Rather than being a song associated with a real political and social figure, Mrs. Robinson became intertwined with one of Hollywood’s most famous fictional characters, an older woman whose affair with the young Benjamin Braddock drives much of The Graduate’s story.

Interestingly, the finished song is not really a straightforward portrait of Mrs Robinson either. Its lyrics are fragmented, surreal and filled with references ranging from politics to baseball. Yet the title gave the song a cultural identity that has lasted for decades.

The Roosevelt connection has therefore become one of those fascinating pieces of music history that sits just beneath the surface of a classic. One last-minute change helped create a song, and a character pairing, that became permanently etched into pop culture.

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