“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”
The words quoted up above and below were written by Paul
Simon when he was 21 years old and, oh-my-gosh, don’t we all wish we could
write like him? Maybe not all of us but I have long admired how song writers
can use so few words and find the commonalities among us. Dreams wake me up
often and I’ll lay there in the dark trying to hold onto the visions that crept
in while I was sleeping. If only I could turn those visions into songs I’d die
a happy camper.
“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”
The song was written over several months in 1963 and was
first released in 1964 but it didn’t hit the top of the Billboard chart until
1966. Over the years it has been rumored that Simon wrote the song about John
F. Kennedy’s assassination but Paul emphatically denies that, says he started
writing it months before that tragic day happened.
“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 dared
Disturb the sound of silence”
Classified as folk rock, Simon wrote the song in his bathroom because it was the only place where he could
find total darkest which helped his creativity. Garfunkel (Simon’s partner for many years) says the song
sums up how so many people are unable to communicate with each other on an
emotional level.
"’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 whispered in the sounds of silence”
Oh yes, we've all been there, done that---felt like we talk and no one listens. Surrounded by people, they seem too busy chasing the latest media sensation, the latest fashion trend, the next dollar to be earned or spreading the word of a smiting God and a vengeful politician. And when we need a hug of comfort, a word of wisdom, a hopeful ray of sunshine we feel only the coldness of being alone in a crowd, we only hear the sound of silence in our ears and we see only darkness coming. What do we do, what do we shout to make the human race heed the warning in Simon’s song before it's too late to save the our world from self-destruction?
Thank you Simon. I want to be a song writer just like you when I grow up. ©
Oh yes, we've all been there, done that---felt like we talk and no one listens. Surrounded by people, they seem too busy chasing the latest media sensation, the latest fashion trend, the next dollar to be earned or spreading the word of a smiting God and a vengeful politician. And when we need a hug of comfort, a word of wisdom, a hopeful ray of sunshine we feel only the coldness of being alone in a crowd, we only hear the sound of silence in our ears and we see only darkness coming. What do we do, what do we shout to make the human race heed the warning in Simon’s song before it's too late to save the our world from self-destruction?
Thank you Simon. I want to be a song writer just like you when I grow up. ©
I'm afraid the word silence has the wrong association for me. I have tinnitus and it's been years since I haven't heard it. The noises don't bother me, I just tune them out, but I do remember times when I've been up on the land and there was no noise at all. That was a long time ago, and things have changed there too.
ReplyDeleteI have it too. Sometimes when I first go to bed it's bothers me but usually I've also learned to tune it out.
DeleteBeautiful, Jean. Thank you. Ann
ReplyDeleteI love song lyrics that stand the test of time.
Delete"And the people bowed and prayed
ReplyDeleteTo the neon god they made"
A perfectly timely lyric for the world today. I always liked S & G. I need to listen to their music again.
I've had that song in my file of ideas to write about for about five years now and lyrics sure to relate to what the world is going through now.
DeleteI wrote about this song a while ago over at my site, too. The opening chords and first line transport me. Simon and Garfunkel informed a great deal of my life growing up, thanks to my older sister, whose musical tastes influenced my own. Many of their lyrics are profound and insightful. I'm always grateful to my sister for her taste in music!
ReplyDeleteThat must have been before I started reading you. I wish you had a search function on your blog so I could find your post.
DeleteI think a lot of folk music is insightful.
I love that song and always found it so deep!
ReplyDeletePoetry with music.
DeleteI LOVED that song and still do. Beautifully written. Like you and Cheerful Monk I long for the actual sound of silence. Can usually ignore the tinnitus but sometimes it dominates.
ReplyDeleteI can ignore it during the day time but at bedtime not so much. I don't take anything for mine because some times drug just cause other issues.
DeleteBeautiful song and we were singing along to the lyrics☺
ReplyDeleteOhmygosh I miss sign-alongs with our other dog. I'll bet you do a great job, Molly!
Deletewonderful melody - thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI so liked this
ReplyDeleteCatherine and Jo-Ann: I'm glad you both enjoyed it. Paul is/was an amazing song writer.
DeleteThis isn't my favorite of their songs, but it's a good one, and perhaps too apropos for our current times. I enjoyed some of the background details you provided, too, like the fact that Simon created best in darkness. That certainly gives deeper meaning to that line, "Hello darkness, my old friend..."
ReplyDeleteAfter I read that Simon wrote that song in the dark and why, I was struck by that same line taking on a different meaning than I original thought. I love reading about the process of writing that various musical artists and authors use to creating what they do.
DeleteI do love that song, always have. Very powerful words -- and they were so young when they wrote them.
ReplyDeleteHis age when he wrote that song struck me, too, and the fact that it wasn't a hit right out of the gate.
DeleteHUGE fan of Simon & Garfunkel here. They were the soundtrack of my youth. I always said Paul Simon was a poet as much or more than a songwriter. So many of his songs resonate. This one is very timely, and sadly, probably always will be.
ReplyDeleteThis verse that is left out of the most popular recordings of The Boxer that has really resonated with me lately:
Now the years are rolling by me—
They are rockin' evenly.
I am older than I once was,
And younger than I'll be.
That's not unusual;
No, it isn't strange:
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same;
After changes we are more or less the same.
Great post!
I love that! I was surprised to learn that the first and later versions the the 'Sounds of Silence' were different lengths and they played around with using 'the sounds' and 'the sound' in different versions. Makes me feel better that I see poems I wrote decades ago and STILL want to tweak them every time I read them.
DeleteSimon and Garfunkel provided the sound track for much of my college days. So many good songs, still timely and profound. Bridge Over Troubled Waters was so meaningful, played constantly in my room and my friends’, and still brings back the memory of the night Old Main went up in flames and we all stood around in our nightgowns, tearful as we watched the flames consume the lovely old edifice.
ReplyDeleteThat song resonates with so many of us for different reasons.Your is truly sad.
DeleteThe memories that songs involve is the reason I don't listen to music very much. It can have me crying and/or lost in the past so darn easy!
I always wanted to be a songwriter too. I think it would be so amazing to have that ability. But I think having musical ability helps to not just write but create a flow like this one does. Love it still.
ReplyDeleteI have seen Paul Simon twice in concert within the last ten years or so. The years have taken a bit of a toll on his voice, but his words are eternal. Just to experience him live was a memorable experience.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful opportunity! All of the singers lose some of their voice quality as they age but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable because so many memories come with hearing them sing the songs of our youth.
DeleteCount me as another Simon and Garfunkel fan. I wasn't a big rock music fan as a teenager, but I got hip to at least some pop music when Simon and Garfunkel came along. (And, of course, there were also their Laugh-In counterparts, the Farkle Family of Pottstown, PA, including the twins, Simon and Gar Farkle. ;-) )
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, you're bringing back memories for me. I'd forgotten about Laugh-ins Farkle Family.
DeleteOne of my favorite songs ever.
ReplyDeleteIt always astounds me that the songwriters can blend the words to the music so seamlessly. Simon and Garfunkel were much more cerebral than most.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I wish I knew their secret.
Delete