The Sound of Silence
Julia Westlin Lyrics

Hello darkness, my old friend
I acknowledge my long-standing relationship with loneliness and wish to converse with it

I've come to talk with you again
I seek to engage with my familiar companion, loneliness

Because a vision softly creeping
An abstract concept is gradually materializing in my mind

Left its seeds while I was sleeping
This concept began to form in my subconscious

And the vision that was planted in my brain
The idea that was born in my mind

Still remains
It hasn't faded away or disappeared

Within the sound of silence
It's hidden within the silence, which is why I need to talk to it

In restless dreams I walked alone
In my troubled dreams, I'm always by myself

Narrow streets of cobblestone
The streets I walk on in my dreams are old and worn-out

'Neath the halo of a street lamp
The dim light coming from a street lamp above me

I turned my collar to the cold and damp
I adjusted my coat to protect myself from the harsh weather

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
Suddenly, a bright light blinded me

That split the night
It tore through the darkness

And touched the sound of silence
It disrupted the quietness that enveloped me

And in the naked light I saw
In the bright light, I saw clearly

Ten thousand people, maybe more
Many people, perhaps even more than ten thousand

People talking without speaking
People are communicating, but no meaningful exchange is happening

People hearing without listening
People are hearing, but not truly taking in what's being said

People writing songs that voices never share
Songwriters are expressing themselves, yet their message never reaches their audience

And no one dared
No one was courageous enough

Disturb the sound of silence
To break the serenity that permeated the environment

Fools, said I, you do not know
I addressed them as ignorant

Silence like a cancer grows
Silence is a destructive force that grows and spreads

Hear my words that I might teach you
Listen to what I have to say, so I could educate you

Take my arms that I might reach you
Let me help you, accept my assistance

But my words, like silent raindrops fell
My words seemed to have no impact, like raindrops falling soundlessly

And echoed in the wells of silence
My words simply echoed into the abyss of stillness and meaninglessness

And the people bowed and prayed
People surrendered and appealed for help

To the neon god they made
They prayed to their own creation, a symbol of technology and modernity

And the sign flashed out its warning
The neon symbol warned them of an impending crisis

In the words that it was forming
Through the message it was delivering

And the sign said,
The neon symbol spoke out

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
The messages of great thinkers are found in unlikely places

And tenement halls
Even in poor apartment blocks

And whispered
A soft and quiet voice

In the sounds of silence
Amidst the silence, there is a faint voice that speaks