The Sound of Silence Lyrics
 |
| http://bit.do/Enjoy-the-Sound-of-Silence |
[Verse 1]
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
[Verse 2]
In restless dreams, I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by
The flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
[Verse 3]
And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
[Verse 4]
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
[Verse 5]
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said:
"The words of the prophets are
Written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence."
About the "Sound of Silence"
This track about the inability of people to communicate emotionally was thought by many to be a response to the Kennedy assassination as it was written during the same time and then released three months later in 1964.
Paul Simon originally wrote the song as an acoustic ballad for their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, but Simon & Garfunkel’s first single version died and the album was considered a commercial failure.
Later in ‘65, while Simon was in England, Tom Wilson, producer of Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” asked members of Dylan’s studio band to add electric guitar and drums. Columbia released the amplified Silence, which became a hit before Simon and Garfunkel had even heard it. This second version peaked at #1 in the U.S., and charted in 7 others counties, becoming one of the most successful remixes of all-time.
A third version of the song was released in 1982 on their internationally successful live album, The Concert in Central Park.
…we have people unable to touch other people, unable to love other people. This is a song about the inability to communicate.
–Paul Simon
