The Sound of Silence
Disturbed [2015 - Immortalized] Lyrics

Hello darkness, my old friend
The singer greets his old friend, a state of emptiness and loneliness, that has always been present in his life.

I've come to talk with you again
The singer is searching for solace and wants to have a conversation with this emptiness and loneliness.

Because a vision softly creeping
The singer encountered an idea that slowly and carefully came to his mind.

Left its seeds while I was sleeping
The idea sprouted while the singer was unconscious.

And the vision that was planted in my brain
The idea remained in the singer's mind.

Still remains
The idea has stayed with the singer and hasn't gone away.

Within the sound of silence
The singer finds the quietness to be an environment in which the idea can exist and continue to grow.

In restless dreams I walked alone
The singer is alone even in his dreams.

Narrow streets of cobblestone
The singer walks through old downtown streets, where there is not much life.

'Neath the halo of a street lamp
The light from the street lamp creates a ring around the singer.

I turned my collar to the cold and damp
The singer is trying to cope with the cold, damp weather by turning his collar up around his neck.

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
The singer's eyes were blinded by the sudden, bright light from the neon sign.

That split the night
The neon sign cuts through the dark of the night with its brilliant light.

And touched the sound of silence
The neon light adds to the emptiness and loneliness of the silent night.

And in the naked light I saw
The singer saw clearly in the bright light.

Ten thousand people, maybe more
The number of people around the singer is vast and unknown, but still not enough to combat his loneliness.

People talking without speaking
People are speaking words but do not truly communicate with each other.

People hearing without listening
People hear what is said but don't take the time to truly listen and understand it.

People writing songs that voices never share
People write songs that no one ever hears or that no one listens to.

And no one dared
No one wanted to break the sound of silence and speak up, even though they knew they should.

Disturb the sound of silence
No one wanted to upset the peaceful and lonely environment of the silence.

Fools, said I, you do not know
The singer is frustrated with the people around him who don't realize the importance of communication and breaking the sound of silence.

Silence like a cancer grows
The singer is comparing the constant feeling of emptiness and lack of communication to a gradually worsening disease.

Hear my words that I might teach you
The singer hopes that his words will be heard and understood by others, so they can learn to communicate better.

Take my arms that I might reach you
The singer wants to embrace and comfort the people around him, so that they can all find a sense of comfort and belonging.

But my words, like silent raindrops fell
Just like the sound of rain drops, the singer's words fell onto the deaf ears of those around him.

And echoed in the wells of silence
The singer's words were quickly silenced among the emptiness and lack of communication in the environment.

And the people bowed and prayed
The people around him succumbed to a false sense of hope and made gestures of prayer, but did not take action to truly communicate or connect.

To the neon god they made
The people around him put their faith and trust into the brightness of the neon sign, falsely believing that it could replace true communication and connection.

And the sign flashed out its warning
The neon sign emits a warning of the dangers of a lack of communication and emptiness.

In the words that it was forming
The warning was clearly visible in the words on the sign.

And the sign said, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
The sign suggests that the true words of those who understand the importance of communication can be found written on the subway walls.

And tenement halls
The message can be found even in the poor and forgotten parts of the city.

And whispered in the sounds of silence
The true message can only be heard amidst the silence and emptiness of the environment around them.