Sound of Silence
Goya Francis Lyrics
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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
'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
And no one dare
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 whisper'd in the sounds of silence.
The song "The Sound of Silence" by Goya Francis begins with an acknowledgment to darkness as the singer describes his need to connect with it. He explains that a vision softly appeared in his mind and left its seeds while he was asleep. Although he is awake, the vision remains within the sound of silence within him. As he walks down the cobblestone street, the only source of light is a dim streetlamp, and in the black and white world he resides in, there is no sound until a neon light flashes before his eyes, creating a moment of shock and piercing the sound of silence.
The second verse of the song addresses the issue of humanity attached to technology and the desire to remain disconnected from real communication with others. The singer describes a crowd of people talking without speaking and hearing without listening. He refers to them as fools and explains that the sound of silence is like cancer if not connected to others. He wants to teach them and reach out to them to connect and come together. In the final verse, the people bow and pray to the neon gods they have created, referring to humanity's reliance on technology. The sign flashes out its warning, and the words of the prophets that appear are written on the subway walls and tenement halls, whispering in the sound of silence.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I am in a state of emotional darkness and have come to talk to it like an old friend
I've come to talk with you again,
I have arrived to talk about my thoughts that I can't share with others
Because a vision softly creeping,
I had a vision that came to me softly and slowly
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
The vision left a lasting impression in my subconscious while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
The vision is something that was deeply ingrained in my thoughts
Still remains
The vision is still present even now
Within the sound of silence.
It can only be found within the stillness and silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
I was walking alone in my dreams, feeling restless
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
The streets I walked on felt narrow, and made of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I was underneath the light of a street lamp, or perhaps its halo effect
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
I turned my collar up to try to shield myself from the cold, damp air
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
Suddenly, my eyes were overwhelmed by a bright flash of neon light
That split the night
The flash split the darkness of the night
And touched the sound of silence.
It suddenly awakened me from the silence
And in the naked light I saw
In this bright and sudden light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
There were possibly ten thousand or more people there
People talking without speaking,
People were talking, but without any real meaning or substance
People hearing without listening,
People were hearing, but not really paying attention
People writing songs that voices never share
People were writing songs, but not sharing their own real voices and thoughts
And no one dare
No one was brave enough
Disturb the sound of silence.
To bring about any noise that would disrupt that silence
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
I thought to myself, 'These people are fools, they do not understand
Silence like a cancer grows.
That silence can grow and spread like a disease
Hear my words that I might teach you,
I want to share my words so that they can learn from me
Take my arms that I might reach you."
I want to hold people, help them, and be involved with them
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
However, my words seemed to have no effect, like silent raindrops falling
And echoed
My words echoed in the background
In the wells of silence
Within the deep places of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
The people knelt down and prayed
To the neon god they made.
They prayed to the neon god they've created
And the sign flashed out its warning,
The sign displayed its warning message
In the words that it was forming.
In the words that it was presenting or forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
The sign's message was, 'The words of the prophets'
Are written on the subway walls
Were written on the subway walls like graffiti art
And tenement halls."
and on the walls of buildings where low-income families live.
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.
This message is whispered amongst the sounds of silence
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind