The Sound of Silence is one of Paul Simon’s most powerful songs, both the words and the music. It started as a ballad, but I love the powerful version recorded by Disturbed, where the song becomes more than a simple ballad, almost an anthem.
Paul Simon is clearly one of our greatest contemporary poets. His other songs like The Boxer, Homeward Bound, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters are also incredibly powerful poems and tunes.
The Sound of Silence
Hello, darkness, my old friendI've come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence.In restless dreams I walked aloneNarrow streets of cobblestone'Neath the halo of a streetlampI turned my collar to the cold and dampWhen my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon lightThat split the nightAnd touched the sound of silence.And in the naked light I sawTen thousand people, maybe morePeople talking without speakingPeople hearing without listeningPeople writing songs that voices never shareNo one daredDisturb the sound of silence."Fools," said I, "You do not know.Silence like a cancer grows.Hear my words that I might teach you.Take my arms that I might reach you."But my words like silent raindrops fellAnd echoed in the wells of silence.And the people bowed and prayedTo the neon god they madeAnd the sign flashed out its warningIn the words that it was formingAnd the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway wallsAnd tenement hallsAnd whispered in the sounds of silence.”
I liked the original version of this song by Simon and Garfunkel, but I think the most powerful version of The Sound of Silence was performed by Disturbed on the Conan TV show. Check it out here:
And here’s another great version by Ruhan Du Toit:
And here’s my playlist of 19 versions of The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon:
