"Homeward Bound" was written by the American songwriter
Paul Simon after he returned to England in early 1964. He had previously spent time in
Essex, and he became a nightly fixture at the Railway Hotel in
Brentwood, beginning that April. He was reeling from his brief period in the folk scene in
Greenwich Village, New York, and the recording of his first album with
Art Garfunkel,
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which he anticipated would be a failure. In England, Simon met Kathy Chitty, who was working as a ticket-taker at the club. They quickly became close, but Simon wanted to perform in London. Following a performance in
Widnes, Simon was dropped off at
Widnes railway station for a train to
Manchester, en route to his next performance, in
Hull. He had been missing Chitty, and began to write '"Homeward Bound" on a scrap of paper. A plaque commemorating the song is displayed on Widnes station's main platform. Other locations for the writing of the song have been suggested. In 2016, Simon said that he composed "Homeward Bound" at Widnes or
Warrington railway station. Simon's friend Geoff Speed, with whom Simon stayed in September 1965, said he heard Simon writing the song when he was staying at his home. Speed then dropped him at Widnes railway station; he said it was likely that Simon wrote one verse in
Liverpool and the chorus in
Wigan, and finished the song at the station. Chitty is mentioned in several other Simon & Garfunkel songs, most notably "
Kathy's Song" and "
America". In the 1969 song "
The Boxer", Simon alludes to a railway station, a possible reference to "Homeward Bound". ==Reception==