"The Sound Of Silence"
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
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp
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
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
No one dare
Disturb 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 fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
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 subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence”
Verse by verse interpretation:
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
-----
~
Hello Enlightened people,
To me, this song also represents the improper communication with our mind.
Our mind is The sound of silence.
It is ON when you close your eyes.
It has to be listened, respected to believe and followed.
As the writer did, and we get this ultimate song.
-----
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
Beneath 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
-----
~
Now we open our eyes.
We look everywhere around us.
We switch on our TV.
We get majority of our thoughts from Screens(TV/Movies) i.e. Neon god.
We fill ourself with thoughts of People, Lifestyle, War, Fashion, Money, Cars,etc.
This makes our mind ponder to a thought.
-----
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 deared
Disturb the sound of silence
-----
~
When we watch TV, we find that we try to follow it in our life to completeness.
We follow it even though its fake and manipulated
to fulfill some person's financial needs.
In screens, Actors just speak lines.
In screens, Actors just hear lines.
In screens, Actors don't express their actual thoughts.
Everyone is afraid to touch what one's mind feels like speaking.
They are mere spectators, powerless and hollow from inside.
As they don't touch their own mind(sound of silence).
So we follow them too by being spectators and powerless in our life too.
We don't touch our what our mind(sound of silence) say.
------
"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 fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
-----
~
The writer here ask us to act(Hear my words,take my arms).
Because if we keep only following screens
and don't listen to our own mind(sound of silence)
Then we will run after things dictated by screens our whole life.
We have no idea why we are doing that way and complain till end.
Because we have no idea what we really want and where our happiness lies.
That's why everyday, we feel so hollow inside.
This hollowness(cancer) grows bigger and bigger.
But still nobody wants to touch that sound of silence(mind)
We look out for solution even though every solution is inside us.
We don't listen, we just hear it.
and its accumulated in the sound of silence(mind) which we never listen.
-----
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 signs said the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence
-----
~
But still we go on with our screens(Neon god).
Neon god laughs here and says to the writer
"Throughout ages, all the prophets of all the religions have been saying the same things. Earlier it was kings then society, now its screens.
Their have found their place in outside world only (on walls and books)
not inside (the mind).
If they weren't successful, where do you stand?
You will also find yourself at the same place i.e. outside the mind"
That's why millions may have listened to the songs.
Thousands have sung.
Hundreds have interpreted it.
But very few will follow it even then.
We will still follow our neon gods,
And not listen to our sound of silence.
Thus this song will hold significance till mankind remains,
and we will just laugh at this paradox.
| Sounds of Silence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Simon & Garfunkel | ||||
| Released | January 17, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | March 1964 April 1965 June 1965 December 1965 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 29:09 (U.S.) 31:39 (UK) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Bob Johnston, Tom Wilson | |||
| Simon & Garfunkel chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Sounds of Silence | ||||
| ||||
Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence". The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movieThe Graduate. Without the knowledge of Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed by Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965. This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.
"Homeward Bound" was released on the album in the UK, placed at the beginning of Side 2 before "Richard Cory". It was also released as part of the box set Simon & Garfunkel Collected Works, on both LP and CD. Many of the songs in the album had been written by Paul Simon while he lived in Londonduring 1965.
"I Am a Rock", "Leaves That Are Green", "April Come She Will", "A Most Peculiar Man", and "Kathy's Song" had appeared on The Paul Simon Songbook, released in August 1965 in England as had another version of the title track. "Richard Cory" was based on a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" was essentially a rewrite of the previous album's "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.", "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" had appeared on the b-side of "The Sound of Silence" a few months before and "Anji" was a cover of an instrumental piece by guitarist Davey Graham whom Simon had met in England. Hence the only brand new Paul Simon compositions on the album was "Blessed".
The album is also included in its entirety as part of the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works andThe Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970). On March 22, 2013, it was announced that the album will be preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, calling it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    link |
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Paul Simon, except where noted.
| Side one | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recorded | Length |
| 1. | "The Sound of Silence" | March 10, 1964 (basic track) June 15, 1965 (overdubs) | 3:08 | |
| 2. | "Leaves That Are Green" | December 13, 1965 | 2:23 | |
| 3. | "Blessed" | December 21, 1965 | 3:16 | |
| 4. | "Kathy's Song" | December 21, 1965 | 3:21 | |
| 5. | "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" | April 5, 1965 | 2:37 | |
| 6. | "Anji" | Davey Graham | December 13, 1965 | 2:17 |
| Side two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recorded | Length |
| 7. | "Richard Cory" | December 14, 1965 | 2:57 | |
| 8. | "A Most Peculiar Man" | December 22, 1965 | 2:34 | |
| 9. | "April Come She Will" | December 21, 1965 | 1:51 | |
| 10. | "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" | April 5, 1965 | 2:00 | |
| 11. | "I Am a Rock" | December 14, 1965 | 2:50 | |
Produced by Bob Johnston
Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue) |
|---|
Track 12 Produced by Bob Johnston Tracks 13-15 Produced by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel & Roy Halee
Track listing (UK version)
All songs written and composed by Paul Simon, except where noted.
| Side one | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recorded | Length |
| 1. | "The Sound of Silence" | March 10, 1964 (basic track) June 15, 1965 (overdubs) | 3:08 | |
| 2. | "Leaves That Are Green" | December 13, 1965 | 2:23 | |
| 3. | "Blessed" | December 21, 1965 | 3:16 | |
| 4. | "Kathy's Song" | December 21, 1965 | 3:21 | |
| 5. | "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" | April 5, 1965 | 2:37 | |
| 6. | "Anji" | Davey Graham | December 13, 1965 | 2:17 |
| Side two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recorded | Length |
| 7. | "Homeward Bound (UK Versions only)" | December 14, 1965 | 2:57 | |
| 8. | "Richard Cory" | December 14, 1965 | 2:57 | |
| 9. | "A Most Peculiar Man" | December 22, 1965 | 2:34 | |
| 10. | "April Come She Will" | December 21, 1965 | 1:51 | |
| 11. | "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" | April 5, 1965 | 2:00 | |
| 12. | "I Am a Rock" | December 14, 1965 | 2:50 | |
Notes[edit]
- English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg lifted the opening lines of "Leaves That Are Green" ("I was 21 years when I wrote this song/I'm 22 now, but I won't be for long") for his song "A New England", which appeared on Bragg's 1983 EP Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy. These same lyrics can be found in the Kirsty MacColl version of this song. Released as a cover in 1984, the song was MacColl's biggest solo hit—reaching #7 in the UK and #8 in Ireland.
- The Tremeloes' recording of "Blessed" became their 1966 "solo debut" single (without Brian Poole).
- "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" is essentially a reworking of the title track of the duo's first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. It was recorded along with "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" a few months before producer Tom Wilson dubbed electric instruments on "Sounds of Silence". The recurring descending bass line in the track as well as its introductory guitar riff were borrowed from Davey Graham's acoustic guitar piece "Anji", a cover of which follows on the album.
- Two songs on the album deal with suicide: "Richard Cory" and "A Most Peculiar Man".
- The song "Richard Cory" was based on a poem with the same title by Edwin Arlington Robinson. The chorus, however, is entirely of Simon's composition.
- Them (with Van Morrison) recorded "Richard Cory" as a single in 1966. Wings (band) covered "Richard Cory" on their 1976 live triple albumWings over America.
- The song "April Come She Will" bears structural resemblance to a traditional English rhyme, "Cuckoo, cuckoo, what do you do?", a phenology of the common cuckoo from April through September.
- Nancy Wilson (of Heart) performs a cover of "Kathy's Song" on her 1999 album Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop.
Cover
- The album cover photo was shot at Franklin Canyon Park in Los Angeles, California.
- There are three cover variations of the LP:
- Original issue: SIMON & GARFUNKEL on one line; SOUNDS OF SILENCE on another, all in capital letters, no song titles on the front.
- Second issue: Enlarged title letters, with only the first letter of the words "Sounds" and "Silence" in the album title capitalized. The first letters in "Simon" and "Garfunkel" are capitalized, but the rest are in lower-case. Song titles also included on the front.
- Third issue: Same front cover as the second, the back cover has the copy of Tiger Beat magazine in Garfunkel's hand airbrushed out.
- The original LP label mistakenly spells "Anji" as "Angie" and credits it to Bert Jansch, who had recorded the tune for his 1965 debut album. The back cover of the original LP sleeve properly credits Davey Graham as composer but retains the "Angie" misspelling. Both errors were corrected for subsequent reissues.
- On older LP and CD issues of the album, "The Sound of Silence" is titled as "The Sounds of Silence" on both the cover and label. Similarly, "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'" is titled as "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'".
Charts
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 13 |
| US Album Charts | 21 |
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 2 |
Personnel
- Paul Simon: lead vocals, guitar
- Art Garfunkel: lead vocals
- Fred Carter, Jr.: guitar
- Larry Knechtel: keyboards
- Glen Campbell: guitar
- Joe South: guitar
- Joe Osborn: bass guitar
- Hal Blaine: drums
- Bob Johnston: producer
Sounds of Silence was recorded in December 1965 at CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California. .
"The Sound of Silence" (electric overdubs) personnel:
- Al Gorgoni: guitar
- Vinnie Bell: guitar
- Joe Mack: bass guitar
- Bobby Gregg: drums
"The Sound of Silence" overdubs were recorded at Columbia's "Studio A" at 799 Seventh Avenue near 52nd Street by Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965
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