Art Garfunkel Says He Cried During Recent Reunion with Paul Simon

Art Garfunkel says a recent reunion with Paul Simon brought him to tears ... 'cause Paul opened up about how bad Art's past words hurt him -- and Art realized he'd really messed up.

The singer-songwriter sat down for an interview with The Times newspaper ... saying the two estranged former pals grabbed lunch together for the first time in years.

Garfunkel says he asked his longtime songwriting partner why they hadn't met in awhile -- and, Paul told him comments he made in an interview back in the day really cut him to the core. It's unclear which comments he's referring to.

At that point, Art says, he started bawling like a baby ... realizing he wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel back in the day -- though he now realized he was "a fool" to try.

This wasn't a one-off meeting either ... Art says the two plan to hang out again -- adding, ya never know if Paul will bring his guitar or not.

If you don't know ... Simon & Garfunkel have worked together on and off since the 1960s -- and the more than 50 years of their relationship have been fraught. The 1970 record "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was their last album together, but they have performed with each other multiple times since.