Paul Simon and Bob Dylan are not only among the best known and most prolific songwriters in America, but they’ve also written so many songs that their fans have not heard some of them.

            Each man, early in his career, wrote a song giving a series of excuses explaining why no one is to blame for a death.

            For Paul Simon, it was a tender ballad titled “Sparrow,” which appeared on the first Simon and Garfunkel album, Wednesday Morning 3:00 a.m. The song plaintively asks, “Who will love a little sparrow ...” who is looking for shelter, a kind word and food?

            The oak tree, the swan and the golden wheat all answer, “Not I!” Each makes their excuse with a logical, if heartless, explanation: I can’t share space on the branches; it would be absurd to take the part of another species; I don’t have enough to share. Only the earth itself, claiming it receives everything in time, welcomes the now dead bird. “From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be,” says the earth, as it provides a harbor for the deceased sparrow.

            Dylan also wrote a memorable song full of excuses, which he never included on any of his studio albums, although live performances were first captured on bootleg albums, and then included on later releases of live performances. “Who Killed Davey Moore?” is the true story of a boxer who collapsed and died after a bout in 1963. Dylan turned a newspaper clipping about the fight into an unforgettable song in which the referee, the crowd, his manager, a gambler, a boxing writer and finally Moore’s opponent each answer, “Not I.”

            The referee explains that if he’d stopped the fight early, the crowd would have booed. And it’s not the fans’ fault; they just wanted to see a good fight. The manager thought Moore was okay. The gambler didn’t throw a punch, and besides, he had money on Moore. The writer insists boxing’s not to blame: “It’s just the old American way.” The opponent himself, a refugee from Cuba, was just doing “wha

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