Simon & Garfunkel: The Sound of Silence Meaning
Song Released: 1965
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The Sound of Silence Lyrics
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...
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1TOP RATED
anonymous Mar 16th 2011, 02:33 report
This may be coming from a generation to far into the distant future to understand the feelings of the time, but here it goes:
The first stanza Simon refers to darkness as being his "old friend" that he came to talk with because he was awoken in the middle of the night, of a nightmare that still lingers in his head, that gives his a considerable amount of distress. So bad that the awful visions were still flashing before his eyes as he is awake.
Second stanza begins setting the scene in which the dream took place: at night, him walking along the cobblestone road where he stops below the light of a streetlight. The cold chill runs up his back, so he lifts his collar to the "cold and damp." Just then, a blight neon sign lit up, showing that he, in fact, was not alone. But there were "ten thousand maybe more" all gathered in the cold night. The people who are talking, not speaking, are politicians, who are using false words to sway the population to vote for them, never revealing true intentions. The people therefore are hearing are not listening.
They are taking these words that are spoken to them in plain value, not examining or putting into depth anything that is said. Because of this, as referred to later, these politicians have formed a government that the people in fact voted for and supported until it began to act as a dictatorship. This seems that Simon is making an inditement to a large government that has taken away the freedoms of its people. A future for America it seemed with the rise of government in world affairs as in entered Vietnam. This "future America" has given Americans everything, and has the power the take it all away, hence the people "bow and pray to the neon god they made."
The Silence that is referred to is the silence of the people, afraid to say anything against the government for fear of death or worse. Simon, or whoever has had this dream, tries to bring people to speak out. Saying "Fools, you do not know, Silence like a cancer grows" that as more are afraid to speak, the more control the government takes and the less anyone will stand up to the new government.
As all hope is about to be given up, someone steps up and says to the crowd that the future they will hold has been written on the walls of subways and tenement halls. This is because this form of protest can be done anonymously, therefore no one can get in trouble for it. This begins the whispering in the silence of the people, and starts the beginning of a revolt.
-I hope you enjoyed a younger perspective on this classic song. USMCRIFLEMAN2006 -
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linksysman2000 Apr 3rd 2007, 23:53 report
The first verse is about a man who sees the wrongs in the world, but can do nothing about it, and seeks refuge, but finds none, thus there is “darkness” for him, and it isn’t the first time, because he calls darkness his “old friend”. This man wants change the world, and has a vision “planted in his brain” that still remains.
In his dreams, he is along in his vision, and he walks alone in all lonely places that he refers to, such as cobblestones and at night underneath a street lamp. Left to himself and his vision, he has his revelation, which I think is this “neon light” he is talking about. In this vision, he sees that there are thousands of people, maybe more, talking without speaking. They talk, but they really mean nothing, because they are empty. The same goes for their communications, because they hear, but take no heed, and though they try to share what they go through by means of music, no one is speaking or listening, so their voices are never shared. And yet no one dares to change this situation, and no one disturbs the silence of that lack of communication.
The man tries to tell people of what he sees, and understands enough to at least explain this vision of his, but like before, no one listens. Soon, people creates their own image and gods, whether it be money or fame or power, and bow to their idols and do whatever it took to worship their gods. The last part is that the truth is revealed to this man, that the future is really under the city, buried from all the coldness of a lack of communication, and the same goes for tenements, where people live so close but yet so far away. That is the future, because people are cold and will remain that way because they refuse to change or even reconsider. -
3TOP RATED
mensoelrey Oct 2nd 2008, 10:48 report
You are kind of right but missing one big thing. The society Simon envisions is a dictatorship. Not Hitler's dictatorship exactly; more just any dictatorship. And a dictatorship silences the people but really it is the people who have silenced themselves by communicating less and less. There are still prophets, but no one will listen to them so they write their words on subway walls and tenement halls, where, perhaps, future generations will read them and act. But until then, the people will bow and pray to their pointless gods and not listen because it is pointless.
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ericjfrench May 7th, 08:12 report
I haven't seen any interviews with Paul Simon but I am a good reader of character. He strikes me as a very deep thinker and I'll bet he is well versed in what is in the Old Testament. Therefore, he would surely know many of the stories and their meaning. We have so very many saying today from the Bible and Simon uses them in this song and his other songs as well. "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls" is not a line pulled from nowhere...it's straight from the Bible, book of Daniel, chapter 5, where a mysterious hand writes out warnings of doom.
The song is about people turing away from God and worshiping false idols...in the Bible it was the golden calf or baal, sexual depravity, these days it's money, drugs, greed, work, sexual depravity...hmmm pretty much the same thing, anything that takes us further from God.
Silence is one of the stages when any society turns away from God. Read the book of Judges in the Bible. The people stop teaching their children about God and become "silent". Once silence becomes embedded in society, political correctness ensues, and it becomes almost impossible for the "prophets" to tell the truth to the people. Many won't listen at all, some will listen but not "hear". So the prophets send their messages anyway they can. Subway walls, tenement halls are simply metaphors for blogs, tweets, any place where the truth can be told.
This song was written in the early 60's (I know, released in '65, but surely Simon wrote it prior to '65) and his message was about Viet Nam, the establishment, and heavy handed tyrannical government. The genius of Simon is that this song is just as powerful today, if not more so. Indeed, this song is less about events of a particular era and more about human nature itself, and so becomes timeless. -
anonymous Mar 22nd, 18:09 report
Unknowingly he talks about what is happening right now under this administration and we better all start doing something to stop it read the top rated interpretation it could very well be today!
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stephen_melinger Mar 11th, 16:46 report
Simon is referring to his dependence on his own voice and intuition. The clamor of others is like the graffiti that lives on walls for a while and then disappears.
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anonymous Feb 19th, 14:23 report
I recently sat with a young woman with Dementia. I played this song and listened to it while looking at her and realized that she is trapped in the sounds of silence. The vision planted in her brain is her past world. The darkness is her world now, dark and confusing.
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anonymous Jan 6th, 16:41 report
The speaker of the Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” is addressing “darkness, my old friend” about a vision he had while he was sleeping. His vision was of a setting unfamiliar to him, most likely in the future, where silence has swept over the world and people have ceased communication among each other. As the speaker describes the situation, he wanders alone on a cold, dark road until he is interrupted by a bright, blinding, neon light. “In restless dreams I walked alone/ Narrow streets of cobblestone”. When the speaker wakes up in the middle of the night from his terrible, confusing dream, he begins to talk to himself in the darkness to try and understand the signification of his prophecy. His vision was so vivid that he cannot stop thinking about it, “Because a vision softly creeping/ Left its seeds while I was sleeping/ And the vision that was planted in my brain/ Still remains”. He can not imagine how the world could come to be how it appeared in his dream, so curiosity and anguish overwhelm him.
Darkness, although portrayed as a character in the song, is actually just the speaker contemplating his vision to himself, because it was so real that he believes it must be much more than just a dream. The main conflict dramatized within his dream is silence, and it is repeated every stanza to emphasize its significance. In the second stanza the speaker illustrates how empty the outside world has become, and that the only sign of life is a bright neon light, which symbolizes technology such as television and computers. Around this light are thousands people who have gathered but refrain from making any noise, but instead just blindly follow the mysterious light that has encapsulated them all. All of the people are talking without emitting any sound, and also hearing without any others talking, because none dare break the reign of silence. Quickly, the speaker attempts to warn all of the people of the dangers of utter silence, but his words fall short before reaching the ears of the silently enchanted people. So instead the people continue to worship this glowing sign that tells them that, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls/And tenement halls”, and all understood what was meant by the silent voice, except the clueless speaker. The message very possibly means that their final option of communication is through vandalism and graffiti, which can either foretell a future of pandemonium and chaos, or the rebirth of writing and art.
Common vocab in the song are gloomy, dismal, lugubrious words such as silence and darkness that help display the dreary, hopeless theme. Also, the speaker uses several contradictions like “People talking without speaking/ People hearing without listening/ People writing songs that voices never share” to show that people have halted actual speech but continue to pay attention and listen to the bright signs. Additionally, the biggest contradiction is the oxymoron “the sound of silence”, because the entire song revolves around the fact that although silence has no sound, no sound at all can be more terrifying and depressing than any other sound. The rhyming pattern of the song is AABBCCD, and repeats itself throughout all five stanzas. For each D line, the speaker states something about the sound of silence, which assists the advancing of the main point and conflict that silence is a swift, deadly force that goes unnoticed because of it being inanimate. Overall the highly poetic song “Sounds of Silence” asserts that although unexpected, silence is a power much more deadly than war and natural disasters, and failure of proper communication could end up being the decimation of the entire population of the world. -
anonymous Nov 4th 2012, 17:29 report
Hello darkness my old friend ive come to talk to you again is tallking about how everyone has a dark side to them an he has accepted this an knows it well. because a vision is softly creeping refers to things he has seen before but dose not know when its gunna happen. now im schizophrenic an this song speaks to me on a personal levle, left its seeds when i was sleeping the once small idea or dream or thought turned into reality a vison in other words, an the vision that was planted in his brain refers to hows his dream came true an it will always b with him, touch the sounds of silence means realisticlly you can not touch a sound nore can u hear silence but in ur mind u can do anything nobody hears ur thoughts but it is a sound an u have grasped the idea in ur head. in darken dreams i walk alone on the streets of cobblestone an stops under the streetlight an lifts his coller to the cold an damp, a dream of rome far away from home an is alone an hes under a spot light though as if he is being watched but brushs it off , when my eyes were stabed by the flash of a neon light split the night in my experience i have illusion of a delusion were its a breif moment were im blinded by my thought in a flash in neon colours an spliting the dark thoughts in his head, an in the naked light i saw tentousand ppl maybe more a thought that is unknow if its good or bad if being watched is a good idea or bad idea ppl talking without speaking ppl hearing without lisning means that there are people that talk in others heads an ppl have to lisin cuz they have no choice in the matter an people wrighting songs that voices never share people in this world wrighting song in there head though mental connection as if u were one mind wisper the sound of silence refers to the secrets of silences of mental connection fools said i do not know means that this mental connection is real an nobody will ever understand cuz its one of the biggest secrets in the world its to much for the world for it to b public, silence like a cancer grows means that one day u will b alone, hear my words an i mite teach u grab my arms an i mite reach u but my words like silent rain drops fell mean u undetstand this meaning of the song an he will show u this mental connection an like silent rain drops fell when i first found out i was a scizo I heard voices in the rain drop an other sounds an the ppl bowed an prayed to the neon god they made this is a delusion in are minds a false god we have made, an the signs of the profits are writn on the subway wall is how the ppl that have this technology of mental connection wright illusions on the walls to undstand the other world of the mind
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anonymous Sep 10th 2012, 22:36 report
Let's let Simon and garfunkle speak for themselves on what this means. Check the you tube video, and the actual artists who wrote and sang it tell us exactly what it means. Lack of communication intellectually as well as emotionally. Or should we not believe what the artists themselves say what their own song means?
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anonymous May 31st 2012, 03:09 report
i think the speaker has woken from a dream and is telling the darkness, of the night around him, of the vision that deeply troubled or perplexed him. He walked alone where he was haloed by a street lamp. He was suddenly woken by the noen light. That's as far as i got so far. Also somthing to remember the progreesion of the sound of silence; it's touched, it's disturbed, his words echoed in the wells of silence, and finally the whispering in the sound of silence. What is the sound of silence?
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anonymous Apr 20th 2012, 21:45 report
It seems to me that during the song there is an incredibly large lack of communication and no matter what he said, ("Fools said I, you do not know
silence like a cancer grows.")
the large amount of people will not listen and continue to listen to their "Neon God." I do believe, like others as well, that this "Neon God" is a refrence to how people become obsessed with the very shallow outside surroundings around them and not on the important things. The silence of real communication and real thought has stopped them from looking at the world and seeing if the things around them are right or wrong. -
anonymous Apr 20th 2012, 21:45 report
It seems to me that during the song there is an incredibly large lack of communication and no matter what he said, ("Fools said I, you do not know
silence like a cancer grows.")
the large amount of people will not listen and continue to listen to their "Neon God." I do believe, like others as well, that this "Neon God" is a refrence to how people become obsessed with the very shallow outside surroundings around them and not on the important things. The silence of real communication and real thought has stopped them from looking at the world and seeing if the things around them are right or wrong. -
anonymous Mar 23rd 2012, 05:26 report
When you sit to meditate with your eyes closed you see darkness before your eyes. You say 'hello'to the darkness because that's is the what we do when we meet someone and mean to start a polite conversation with them. In this case the polite conversation would be sitting there and observing our minds and learing the crap it contains. We literally sit there and argu, discuss, question, laugh,fight, struggle and get intrigued with what our silly minds throw at us..it is a bit like making passionate love with someone and reaching your climax!! In this case the climax would be total silence.
Now let me interpret the 'vision' part of this great song. It simply points to the fact that when I was sleeping ever so comfortably and peacefully in my mother's womb you (ref. to God) took care of me and nourished me both spiritually and physically. You took care of me so that when I was born into this awful world of ours I was fully supplied with knowledge
how to survive in it. The seed of that knowledge was planted there in my mother's womb while I was sleeping waiting to see this horrid, horrid world of ours.
While I was sleeping in my mother's womb, I was totally, totally aware of your Presence oh God! In fact my soul saw you through the whole stay. I was at one with you there. As soon as I came into this world I sort of forgot you and that is why I have to sit in meditation and reach that silence again in order to feel your wonderful and comforting Presence for that's where you are.....in the sound of Great Silence. -
anonymous Mar 19th 2012, 15:43 report
For another take on a possible understanding of the lyrics, read the story of Elijah's vision of God "passing by" when Elijah was fleeing for his life. God was "not in the wind", "not in the earthquake", and "not in the fire". Then came "a sound of sheer silence". - 1 Kings 19:4-12.
New Revised Standard Version. The King James Version of the Bible translates it as "a still small voice".
bpisak -
anonymous Mar 6th 2012, 19:20 report
I beleive that this is deeper than just "lack of communication." I can't entirly describe it. I think that It's more like, not being heard. There are all of these people in the world being opressed, even today. People who's voices are not allowed to be heard, perhaps partly because we refuse to hear them. We refuse to see any point of veiw but our own. People refuse to listen to anyone who has not conformed to the rest of sociey. As a perosn with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, I am all to aware of this opression. How other people shove aside those who are different, and refuse to hear them, even when thier ideas are amazing. The teachers who refused to recognize that though I have many gifts, I'm still disabled. Right now the groups of people who being opressed are gays, Muslims and people with disabilitys, especially the kind of disability like mine where on the surface you appear to be like any other kid, but you really aren't. In the past, many other groups have been opresed; blacks, women, Jews, Native Americans, ect. Throughout history, if you look at it, you see storys of oppression. Storys of all of these voices crying out to be heard, but never passing through this "neon god" of conformity that people have made. Look at history, how everyone just sat back and watched the Halocaust happen, and even when there was evidence of it the world refused to see it. Look at slavery. That was an issue for thousands of years. Since humans first began forming civilizations. When the American Constitution was written, the founders purposly avoided the issue of slavery. All this time, throughout history, there are these voices being shoved aside. Have you ever noticed how in history books the issue of slavery is not mentioned unless it's about the Civil war? Or how the oppression African Americans is not mentioned unless the book is about the Civil Rights movement? How the opression of Gay people is only just begining to come out from behind the neon signt? How Disney shows always have one 'weird' kid who gets picked on, and the 'audience' laughs at it? How people still insist that things Asperger's Syndrome, and ADHD don't exist and people like me are simply 'wierd.'? How when schools lecture kids on bullying, they mention the obvious things, but not the little things that happen much more often, and that really do hurt, like rolling your eyes, shareing a "god this kid is weird" look with your friend, or turning down other people's attempts to be social, or never to passing the ball to the awkward kid in gym class? All the time things like this happen, and no one sees it. And these people you're oppressing are screaming out for you to hear them, but their voices are blocked off by this Neon light that is mentioned in the song. Their screeming and calling out to you, but there is no sound reaching your ears. Then, when a voice finally dose break through the Neon light, you get things like The Civil Rights movement. Afterwards such movements, we look back at history and question why the people at that time could be so cruel, and don't realize how we're acting now. It's like there are all these people who's voices are burried beneath the ground, and everyone else is just walking on a street above and not hearing anything. The people everyone has shoved behind the neon sign of conformity that we built up in society, who are screeming but there is no voice coming out, and the screems fall flat on your muffed ears, that's the sound of silence.
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anonymous Sep 29th 2011, 20:47 report
Many good observations and interpretations I hadn't thought of. My interpretation is not complete yet, but I get a definite feeling that there's a religious dimension to this song. I believe Simon & Garfunkel are Jewish? In case, a couple things drive my opionion that the message is more universal and more religious, and not primarily political or cultural. The most striking line is out how, out of near total darkness, a neon light "split the night." This struck me as violent and dramatic - very sudden and unexpected. Maybe a reference to the Mesiah. This, along with the references to the words of the prophets, gives me the feeling that this is an apocalyptic setting. ...Like I said, this is not a complete interpretation, just a few impressions. This is my favorite song ever.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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anonymous Jul 5th 2011, 06:56 report
know what? it is about humans abusing and depending too much on technology. The "neon god" is the electronic gadgets. People talking without speaking and people hearing without listening means the people today have not feelings or not expressing emotions when they talk, the listening part is somewhat like people today hears words which passes from the left ear and travels to the right ear.
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anonymous Jun 15th 2011, 07:27 report
****YOU GOTTA READ THIS****
STANZA 1
"Darkness my old friend" refers to peace quiet in contrast to the loud, radical and glaring television, music and media that blossomed the 60's.
The speaker meditates in: "Ive come to talk with you again". He thinks deeply and reflects
STANZA 2
"In restless dreams I walk alone". Illustrates that the speaker a believer in inner peace and tranquility felt lonesome as there few who shared his beliefs. "When my eyes where stabbed by a flash of a neon light that split the night" describes a bright and loud disturbance
STANZA3:
The speaker saw a lot of people probably watching television. (because of the neon god in stanza 5) "People talking without listening, People hearing without listening". The people do not truly mean what they say, and people do not take time to understand the real meanings of life.
STANZA4:
The man tries to reach out to the young generation trying to tell them to slow down and listen to what nature or God in their inner-selves are telling them. Unfortunately, he was ignored.
STANZA 5:
Neon god: maybe television, rock music and hippie culture were as the man percieved negative influences on the society the culture and media of the 60's (up to the 70's) were widely believed by conservatives to be catalysts of dangerous and immoral lifestyles of the youth.
Prophets: the prophets are pertaining to our conscience and how we ignore them as we spend a lot of time with technology
MORAL: because of technology (too much technology) we loose our communication to others. that's why it's entitled THE SOUND OF SILENCE. -
anonymous Jun 13th 2011, 12:06 report
Hello darkness, my old friend---Seeking Hello from the evil one. He has known before and is close to him from time to time whenever he calls upon him.
I've come to talk with you again --- He has sought wisdom from the evils before. Is still seeking more wisdom
Because a vision softly creeping --- He has had a specific vision-that came in un-announced and unwarranted under the cover of darkness slipping through the lowly places and as if it were righteous
Left its seeds while I was sleeping --- Left an impression in his dreams that will grow over time.
And the vision that was planted in my brain --- The impression will not go away and was planted there to grow.
Still remains --- Still There. The original vision still repeats itself.
Within the sound of silence --- In the dream, no sound, it is silent. communication is felt not heard. Spirit world of communication
In restless dreams I walked alone --- He is there by himself. This is his soul's future. He only has himself to answer for.
Narrow streets of cobblestone --- This is the narrow pathway to heaven . He started out on the right path.
'Neath the halo of a street lamp --- On the way he came across light that appeared righteous.
I turned my collar to the cold and damp --- He turned away from the righteous path and walked toward the spiritually cold places of darkness. This was the false Halo, false light.
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light --- He found on his walks a bright false light that that turned out not to be pleasant.
That split the night --- An un-righteous light a false light coming through the darkness
And touched the sound of silence --- The light was without sound but had spiritual feeling in his vision
And in the naked light I saw --- The light was stripped of righteousness
Ten thousand people, maybe more --- He saw many souls on this path. The number is uncountable.
People talking without speaking --- no voice but messages come through spiritually
People hearing without listening --- Complete communication through spiritual darkness
People writing songs that voices never share --- The music comes through darkness of spiritual feeling and not through direct earthly vibrations. These are dirges in the dark.
And no one dared --- Spiritual dirges that people do not hear in words.
Disturb the sound of silence --- Hearing is through the spirit world and placed through thought.
"Fools", said I, "You do not know --- " I " Is not talking about the writer, but rather the evil one making this statement
Silence like a cancer grows --- The silence of the evil one is spiritual through the inside just like cancer grows outwardly. Speaking spiritually and as a cancer grows. So does his message
Hear my words that I might teach you --- The evil one of darkness is speaking spiritually to teach the evil ways.
Take my arms that I might reach you" --- The evil one wants people to reach out there arm so that he may guide down the path of un-righteous
But my words, like silent raindrops fell - As from up above or in another plain of existence. The words fall amongst those
And echoed "repeated"
In the wells of silence --- The wells are the abyss. The silence of course is the spirit world of communication.
And the people bowed and prayed --- The souls of people there bow and pray to the false God of light.
To the neon god they made --- The neon God is a false light.
And the sign flashed out its warning --- Out of the sign the false God and a reminder to those who followed into the darkness. You now have the truth, but too late.
In the words that it was forming --- The words in the sign will always be seen.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls - Even as you were walking down the path of darkness. The prophets tried to warn you and you did not listen. The truth is revealed, too late.
And tenement halls" --- The pathway to Heaven. The place that awaits all his people to those who listen, though many did not. The truth revealed, too late.
And whispered in the sounds of silence --- The place of unspeakable torment. -
anonymous Jun 4th 2011, 02:33 report
I think the interpretation of looking at it from a society standpoint is correct but how I interpreted it is also from a songwriting standpoint. People talking without speaking people hearing without listning people writing songs that voices never shared. To that means people write lyrics but they don't mean anything and voices never shared because they are just writing them for the sake of writing songs, they don't truely mean anything. The speaker tries to enlighten these 'fools', but they simply ignore him turning their attention to this fake neon god with no substance. The neon god agrees and points where to look, but none of them pay any attention, and without substance, there might as well be the sound of silence.
I inerpret it this way and it could very well be Paul Simon forshadowing the lack of meaning in music today, which we all know certainly applies. Anyways that is what I think let me know what you do! -
anonymous Feb 22nd 2011, 09:36 report
This song criticizes the increasing materialistic tendency and modern people's blind faith in 'neon god'. Here, neon god stands for the commercial advertisements flashed with neon lights. Pramod subedi, nepal
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