The Sounds of Silence
by subacati
Poetry comes in many forms. Most poetry has no meaning, or rather no definitive meaning. It means what the reader interprets it to mean. …
The Original title of this song was later altered to "The Sound of Silence" perhaps as a grammatical correction?
Anyway, this song is deep and sober and both loved and hated.
I'll follow this up with my interpretation at a later date, but please do leave your interpretation in the comments bellow! :up:
Lyrics:
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 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
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 shared
No one dared
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 whispered in the sound of silence"
This is the original version from 1964 from the album "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM." Just Simon's guitar and the vocals. The famous version was released in 1966. After "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM" flopped, they split up. Without either their knowledge, electric guitars and drums were added and that version of The Sound of Silence became very popular, reaching #1 on the charts in America on New Years Day, 1966. Because of this, Simon and Garfunkel teamed up again and created three more studio albums, one of which one a Grammy award for album of the year and song of the year (Bridge Over Troubled Water).
*sniffle* always evokes such a sombre mood. It's so peaceful as well, though. Some of my favourite songs make me feel exactly sad and peaceful at once. Haunted. Another is "Out of this world" by Bush.
"The Boxer" always does that to me, Kim. For some reason, in my mind, the 60's are truncated. This song and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo-Springfield were the precursors to "Ohio", "The Eve Of Destruction", and "War(what is it good for)". A chronological study will probably show how mistaken I am. :left:
heh…it plays in my head when i read the lyrics… :p
I don't particularly like Simon and Garfunkel, I mean songs from time when they made most of their hits. I prefer Paul Simon from his solo career, album Graceland :yes:Also this one :yes:
The Zimbabwe Concert.
A classic there. I've lived the first verse so many times, woken before civilisation is up and sitting with a coffee beside an open window, watching the darkness. It can be magical.To me, the rest of the song is about dissatisfaction with the world, specifically the way the people of the world are so content to live in mediocrity and never notice just how much they degrade their own potential by doing so. The narrator, and to me this is more a narration than a song, sees the world for what it is becoming and is raging against that. He tells people not to buy iPhones and they never listen. He is one of the rare ones who can see how humanity is distracting itself with things it regards as important (reality television for example, and going clubbing) while ignoring the problems of the world. This fake import they put on such things allows them to worry about smaller things rather than problems that they see as beyond their capabilities. The narrator is diffierent and sees their distractions for what they really are. He sees the future and is shaking them violently, much more so than the gentle nature of the song would suggest, begging them to see what he can.Either that or pizza. 😉
😆
🙄 😆
Originally posted by Furie:
Deep! :sherlock:
Originally posted by Cois:
😆 Mine, too!
Originally posted by Furie:
Your response is beautiful!! Funny, it also reminded me of a conversation I had with my 19 year old son this evening…he often amazes me. Tonight, he was suggesting that most people are asleep and have no idea of what's happening in the world around them. Our world is in ruins and nobody seems to notice, or care.
Yep, deep dish pizza.Now then, I believe we're owed an explanation of how Aadil sees it.
:worried: There's no anchovies on that pizza, is there? I hate anchovies.
Nevertheless, this versin works for me, big time!
Originally posted by H82typ:
Ever tried Peck's Anchovette? :whistle:Goes great with Provita! :chef:Can't say I've ever thought of putting it on pizza though! :left:
Originally posted by Furie:
Well that is easier said than done since the meaning seems to keep changing in my head! :insane:But here is my attempt.http://my.opera.com/qlue/blog/2012/10/04/the-sound-of-silence-analysis