Lyric discussion by Searchin4AnimalChin 

before paul & art really gained any recgnition in the US, they had been touring in europe for a while. while in london, they were both playing outside for kicks on the street during some evenings. a girl they were friendly with, named kathy would stand with them, and would frequently hold out a hat collecting money from passerbys.

This is how Garfunkel described the source of the song at a Simon and Garfunkel concert: youtube.com/watch

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