Kevin
July 28, 2021
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Do you know the meaning of sound of silence? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the term sound of silence, including its meaning, history, and more!
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According to Song Facts, the term sound of silence is a reference to the 1964 song “The Sound of Silence” written by 21-year-old Paul Simon. This song was released by Simon and Garfunkel – the band formed by duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – in 1966 on their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. This was the group’s first album. The song hit #1 in the United States when Simon was in England and Garfunkel was in college. Simon initially presented the song to producer Tom Wilson at Columbia Records for The Pilgrims, but Wilson was so impressed by him and Garfunkel’s performance that he signed them instead. He placed electric guitars and drums on the track along with other electric instruments. The song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending January 1, 1966.
Simon, according to LinkedIn and Psychiatric Times, states that the song is about the inability of people to communicate with each other emotionally, but not necessarily intentionally. It is about people who are unable to love each other. Paul Simon took six months to write the lyrics to the song. This song was considered the group’s first hit, and they would frequently perform it in folk clubs in Greenwich Village. Simon was often compared to Bob Dylan. Simon and Garfunkel performed a famous free concert in Central Park to a crowd of over 500,000 people upon their reunion in 1981.
The folk rock song was one of many featured in the film The Graduate. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the entirety of the soundtrack to his film is made up of Simon & Garfunkel songs. Songs included are two different versions of The Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, Scarborough Fair/Canticle, April Come She Will, and The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine. Instrumentals for the film were composed by Dave Grusin. IMDb states that The Graduate was released in late December 1967. The film stars Dustine Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross. It was directed by Mike Nichole and written by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, and follows a disillusioned college grad who finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
The lyrics to “The Sound of Silence” are below, from Paul Simon. The first line of the first stanza is a reference to Simon’s habit of recording songs in the dark bathroom in his parents’ home.
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 share
No one dare
Disturb the sound of silence
“Fools” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grow
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 subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence”
Simon and Garfunkel are an immensely popular folk rock duo. Below is a list of some of their most popular songs, per Independent UK and Rolling Stone.
According to Grammy, Simon and Garfunkel have won seven grammys and been nominated eleven times. Below is a list of the Grammy awards tha duo has won.
Overall, sound of silence refers to the song “The Sound of Silence” written by Paul Simon. This song is about youthful alienation and about not being able to connect with others. It is heavily featured in the 1967 film The Graduate starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft.
