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The Paul Simon Dozen.
Our last Dozens subject, Mr. Springsteen, has had a plenty long career, but Paul Simon's most popular act had already broken up before Bruce made his Columbia debut. So I think it's fair game to devote a post to Simon's solo career, leaving his work with Garfunkel for a later list, or none at all.
I have to say, this list renewed -- or just heightened, really -- my appreciation of Simon as a songwriter, often sewing words and music with no seams showing. Not sure anyone has written such nuanced lyrics while displaying such interest in rhythm. I read in what is no longer a recent interview that he understood full well that pop music was once about melody, but now was about rhythm. Thankfully, at least a few folks still busk along the street that joins those neighborhoods.
Born At The Right Time - A song about babies, from one in the rushes to ones in airports. But the clincher is the song's lilt and the way the chorus lay within it. "Never been lonely, never been lied to / Never had to scuffle in fear, nothing denied to / Born at the instant the church bells chime / The whole world whispering, born at the right time ..." One of the better track seven's you'll find, from The Rhythm Of The Saints.
Can't Run But - I'm the first to admit that the lyric can be the last thing 
I notice about a song I like. Here, the the sway of the polyrhythm was the first allure. Eventually I got past the lithe bass riff and the vibes-like harmonies above it to appreciate the triple-brilliant opening ("I can't run, but I can walk much faster than this / Can't run but"). Why can't he run? Why are they moving so slow? And where are they going, anyway? See how many songs make you ask three questions in a line and change.
Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes - The intro alone would've made a memorable fragment; the title image is one thing, but "He's a poor boy / Empty as a pocket ..." is an even better line, imo. Gets a little extra zip on Concert In The Park.
Hearts And Bones - Speaking of that live disc, it's where I first heard this song, reportedly based on his brief marriage to Carrie Fisher. As songs about exes go, this one is outright erudite and gracious. The guy may be unsurpassed when it comes to writing pop-sized portraits, turns of phrase and details illuminating imperfect endings and timeless melancholy, but managing to work enough warmth in to avoid feeling like a downer. All starting, in this case, with one of those inviting little Simon guitar figures.
Kodachrome - You know the song, another singular opening couplet. Either S&G's The Concert In Central Park or the re-rhythm'd version from the solo concert will do, but the remake is cool. Originally from There Goes Rhymin' Simon.
Late In The Evening - Something about the energy around the horn break on the S&G Central Park disc, and maybe the age at which I first heard it, make it one of my all-time favorite live tracks. I wore out that cassette.
The Obvious Child - Another meditation on the present and the passing of time, it makes the list on the strength of those drums, that low horn/vocal part like a foghorn, and how "the cross is in the ballpark" simultaneously seems like a non sequitur and a moment of clarity.
Rene & Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War - Just your 
ordinary sweet tune about a surrealist painter and his wife dancing to '50s doo-wop. I learned while doing this Dozen that Magritte met his eventual missus when he was 15, just like I met Mrs. P. No word if he spotted Georgette in the hall as he departed geometry class or not. From Hearts And Bones.
She Moves On - Like "Can't Run But", it's enough to cite the groove and the brilliant economy of the opening verse, plus the equally understated way he lays it over the music. "I feel good, it's a fine day / The way the sun hits off the runway / A cloud shifts / The plane lifts / She moves on." Yet another from Rhythm Of The Saints that I first heard on the live set.
That's Where I Belong - Not many (Simon, James Taylor, and?) stick around long enough to write themselves a mission statement, less a forward-looking goal than a survey and realiziation, less a moment of ambition than of peace and self-acceptance. From You're The One.
That Was Your Mother - On the other hand, Zydeco-stained party tunes wherein a father tells a child how fun life was before parenthood aren't exactly a dime a dozen, either. This one swings pretty well, though, so maybe one's enough. From Graceland.
Thelma - The last song listed and the last added to the list. An unhurried but insistent song of (eventually successful) courtship, with more of that irresistible sway and just a touch of Romantic perspective. "And if life is a blessing that brushes the tops of the trees, / Well it's a short walk in a sweet breeze ..." A Rhythm outtake first released on the 1964-1993 box and later as a bonus track on Rhythm's reissue.