The first song I will discuss on this blog is "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon. In my opinion, it is an excellent song. The lyrics, guitar, and vocals blend together beautifully and the result almost puts the listener in a trance. The addition of drums towards the middle of the song picks up the tempo and makes the song even more catchy to the listener.
The song has a deep history. Simon wrote it in February 1964 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Kids nowadays all know who Simon & Garfunkel are, but they don't know that this is the song that catapulted the duo to stardom. It entered American charts in early 1955 and reached number 1 before the close of the year. To this day it is still a popular song.
The lyrics of "The Sound of Silence" are full of intertwining images and catching thoughts. They read as follows:
Hello darkness, my old friend.
I've come to talk to 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,
And 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 the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence."
The lyrics to this song are beautiful. Simon's imagery in lines like "a vision softly creeping" and "stabbed by a neon light" leave such vivid impressions in the mind of the listener. He uses all kinds of literary devices most school-age children write off as useless or stupid to get his point across in a lovely song that these same children appreciate. Simon's juxtaposition of "sound" and "silence," two complete opposites, lends an ironic aspect to the lyrics that draws the listener in. Another irony in his lyrics is when he quotes the sign, saying, "the words of the prophets are / written on the subway walls / and tenement halls." These lines take prophecy, which is normally regarded as holy, and put it in the lowliest places humans could possibly inhabit. He also brings up the negative and disgusting in the line "silence like a cancer grows." Just recently, there was a discussion in AP English 12 comparing cancer to evil. Some of the similarities that appeared were that both cancer and evil spread silently and discreetly, both take over their territory, and both often go undetected until it is too late to root out the problem and fix it.
The way I interpret the lyrics to "The Sound of Silence" is complex. Simon's first two lines are "Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk to you again" and he continues to describe an odd dream he had. This interested me from the first time I heard it because personally, I'm terrified of the dark and I thought it was quite different for someone to refer to it as "my old friend." I take it that Simon finds comfort in the familiar close feeling of darkness. As the song continues and the imagery of the dream begins, I always find myself closing my eyes so as to see the image in my head better. The words are all dark and unpleasant until all the sudden a FLASH of light appears out of nowhere, giving a small surge of hope to the man in the dream and to the listener, by extension. The third stanza is my favorite because of how the speaker of the song describes such common human activities with such amazing detachment in the lines "people talking without speaking / people hearing without listening / people writing songs that voices never share." These lines imply that there is more to life and to living than just drifting on through in a numb fashion. Simon effectively freezes the people illustrated in the song, setting up for the fourth stanza. In the fourth stanza, the speaker reaches out to the frozen people and tries to help them see the world in a different way, but fails. The fifth stanza is very open to interpretation. Paul Simon has explained that the song is about the lack of communication in society, yet so many inferences can be made as to what the "neon god" truly is. Overall, in my opinion, it is a phenomenal set of lyrics.
Common interpretations of "The Sound of Silence" range from lack of societal communication and nuclear war to television and religious motivation. I think that anyone listening to a song can and should interpret the lyrics any way he or she wants to, because that is what makes the most sense, and because that is what makes listening to music so worthwhile and enjoyable. The moving lyrics combined with solemn guitar is perfect, and the later addition of bass and drums only enhances the power of the tune. Well done, Simon & Garfunkel.
Here is a link to the song file:
