Ofte… Read Full Bio ↴Racoon Racoon is Léa & Léonard, a chamber folk duo from France.
Often compared to The Paper Kites, Fenne Lily or Imaginary Future, the ten-year couple began to compose together when living in Belgium, in 2016 and soon released a first EP Our Love's Funeral in February 2017 on the German label Majestic Casual Records.
Early 2018, they released their second EP Dawn Chorus, written in the heart of the Italian Alps. They recorded it in Belgium with talented musicians from Brussels' Philharmonic orchestra Thomas Fiorini (double bass) and Emile Verstraeten (violins and mandolin) that Léo met while working as a set-up engineer on a recording of Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thones).
In 2020, they’re back with a third EP A Birds Story out on October 2nd.
The Sound of Silence
Racoon Racoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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
And 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 sound of silence.
The Sound of Silence by Racoon Racoon is a cover of the famous song by Simon and Garfunkel, which touches on themes like isolation, apathy, and the loss of communication in society. The song starts with the line, "Hello darkness, my old friend," which welcomes the darkness and symbolizes the artist’s willingness to confront it. The darkness represents isolation, apathy, and the silence that characterizes the modern world. The following line, “I've come to talk with you again,” indicates that the artist has gone through this experience before, and it has not been the best.
The artist reflects on how a vision, which entered his consciousness while he was asleep, is still lingering in his mind. The vision has left its seeds, and he is still impacted by it. In verse two, the artist describes being surrounded by people in the city, but despite the crowds, there is no communication. People talk without speaking, hear without listening, and write songs that nobody shares. These lines describe the situation in modern urban centers where people are constantly surrounded by noise but seldom communicate with each other.
In verse three, the artist becomes a prophet, urging people to listen to him, to understand the importance of communication, and resist the temptation of creating false gods. He says that silence grows like a cancer and concludes the song with the warning that the words of wisdom are often whispered in the sound of silence.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello darkness, my old friend
I am talking to my depression, which I have known for a long time and have become familiar with.
I've come to talk with you again
I want to have a conversation with my depression once again.
Because a vision softly creeping
There was a vague idea that came into my mind slowly and gently.
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
This idea remained in my subconscious and took root while I was asleep.
And the vision that was planted in my brain
The idea that was planted in my head.
Still remains
It is still there.
Within the sound of silence
It can only be heard in the absence of noise and distraction.
In restless dreams I walked alone
I wandered aimlessly in my dreams.
Narrow streets of cobblestone
The streets were cramped and uncomfortable.
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
Under the dim light of a street lamp.
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
I tried to protect myself from the unpleasant weather.
When my eyes were stabbed by
Suddenly, my eyes were hurt by
The flash of a neon light
The bright light of a neon sign.
That split the night
It illuminated the night, making it feel less dark and lonely.
And touched the sound of silence
It disrupted the peace and quiet that was present before.
And in the naked light I saw
I saw clearly under the bright light.
Ten thousand people, maybe more
There were many people around, possibly even more than ten thousand.
People talking without speaking
Although people were communicating, they weren't really saying anything important.
People hearing without listening
Although people were hearing what was being said, they weren't really paying attention.
People writing songs that voices never share
People were writing songs that never truly expressed what they really wanted to say.
And no one dared
Nobody had the courage to
Disturb the sound of silence
Interrupt the serene atmosphere of quietness.
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
I thought to myself, these people are foolish, they don't understand that
Silence like a cancer grows
Too much silence can be harmful, just as cancer can grow and spread in the body.
Hear my words that I might teach you
Listen to me so that I can impart knowledge to you.
Take my arms that I might reach you"
Let me help you and reach out to you.
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
My words were falling on deaf ears and were as ineffective as silent raindrops.
And echoed
My words bounced back to me.
In the wells of silence
In the deep, empty space that remained when there was no sound.
And the people bowed and prayed
People were worshipping and praying.
To the neon god they made
They were worshipping a man-made creation, the neon sign.
And the sign flashed out its warning
The neon sign gave a warning.
In the words that it was forming
The words that formed on the sign.
And the sign said:
The words on the sign declared:
"The words of the prophets are
The teachings of great thinkers and wise men are
Written on the subway walls
Displayed on the walls of public transportation areas.
And tenement halls
And on the walls of overcrowded, run-down apartments.
And whispered in the sound of silence.
And can only be heard in moments of absolute quiet and stillness.
Writer(s): SIMON PAUL, SIMON PAUL
Contributed by Henry H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@RizkaPotter
I swear this one is best cover of this song. It's shocking how this cover only had less than 10k viewers I mean wtf. This is an amazing cover. incredibly calming and beautiful
@RacoonRacoon
Thank you 🙈
@russelldavies1423
I agree, l just came across this song.What a masterpiece,it just carries you away.I also love their other project Camel Power Club, they are seriously talented artists
@naiyomotion
my day is better for having heard this song. This is the way.
@marytesta3003
Sometimes titles hurt groups. I never heard of it. A friend came across a song and so I checked them out.
Absolutely beautiful duo.
@ashishshah6730
For me this is the best version of this song I've heard so far. I am trying to fight and recover from a chronic addiction, this song and few others (Birds and daises, Unnamed , Dawn chorus) have really helped me a lot. I am really thankful.
@shridiviedayrit5499
This is the best cover of this song.
@RacoonRacoon
Thank you ❤️
@ayeshahalal3302
Discovered your channel through an indie folk playlist and I´m so grateful!! this is beautiful!! I love your Music!
@RacoonRacoon
Livia Carrieri We’re glad you did ! Thank you 🤗