The Sound of Silence
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"The Sound of Silence" is a classic folk rock song written by Paul Simon and originally released as a duo with Art Garfunkel on their 1964 debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.. The initial acoustic version and the album as a whole initially failed to gain traction and the pair disbanded, but after a remixed version of the song became a #1 hit in 1966, they reunited and went on to release four more successful albums together.
The Longest Johns released a YouTube cover of the song on 24 May 2023, and it was later included on Caught in the Net Vol 1, released 18 October 2024.
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 sounds of silence"