What a great song! A few weeks ago, my professor for an online course asked the class to take a look at its lyrics and respond to it. No one took him up on his request except me, so I'm not sure if my response is what he's looking for. Nevertheless, the English major in me took over when I finally got a chance to look at the lyrics. I have no idea if I'm close to the mark, but I just had a great time analyzing these lyrics! I got something like this out of it:
Verse #1: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 the first verse, the speaker talks of darkness, his old friend. This darkness is the result of a world saturated in empty, mindless "crap" that is produced today. Since Paul Simon is a musician, I assume he's talking about contemporary music (of the 1960s perhaps). The darkness isn't an absence of all light, so to speak; rather, it's an absence of the light that results from music of substance -- quality music. Darkness is his old friend because it's been around a while for him; he feels an association with it. The paradox of the sound of silence is similar to the darkness metaphor. A light that cannot be seen, a song that cannot be heard.
Verse #2:In restless dreams I walked alone / Narrow streets of cobblestone / 'Neath the halo of a street lamp / I turn 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.
The next verse talks about the speaker walking alone in his dreams, the birthplace of so many creative ideas. There's a contrast between the halo of the street light (which guides the way on a journey) and the flash of a neon light (which guides someone into a terminus -- a bar, store, etc.). In the darkness, the flashing neon light gives comfort because one can assume shelter or safety lies within. A street light offers a way to go, but no terminus in sight. So, which is more important -- the journey or the destination? This metaphor takes the idea of light and further defines it as different types of light. The speaker sees an absence of a guiding light, yet there is probably a plethora of neon lights that lure people in and halts their journeys. The music that the speaker is talking about is more like the neon lights.
Verse #3: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 shared / No one dared / Disturb the sound of silence.
The next verse brings in the image of the multitudes of people out there -- people who talk without speaking / listen without hearing and people who are too afraid to voice their songs. The first group puts forth a paradox that make sense in today's world -- look at some of the pop songs out there (*cough-*cough, Justin Bieber -- *cough). People pretending to take in the words of others, but there are two problems. One, the words of others are empty. Two, the people listening care only about themselves. The second group puts forth the idea of people being too afraid to say what they really feel. They're afraid for some reason or another. Whatever the case, these people are hesitant to disturb the peace and speak out.
Verse #4:"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.
Verse four establishes a crazy metaphor -- a powerful one. I can't figure it out, however. Is the speaker saying that the silence is like a cancer and it will kill humanity? Or, is he saying that the silence spreads quickly like a cancer and that's the extent of the analogy? But this verse is the first time the speaker directly addresses someone. His words, however, fall like silent raindrops. This is a recurrence of the silence metaphor, but also the addition of the rain metaphor. Rain is symbolic of healing, nourishment, and cleansing... which is just what the people need, but they cannot accept because they do not see that they need it.
Verse #5: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 final verse reflects the importance that people have put on the neon lights -- the terminus, the objective of happiness -- they're like neon gods. In its flashing light (which is how the neon light attracts attention) it is also being ironic. It says one thing to the masses: "Come on in, you'll be happy, it'll feel good," but to the other people who truly listen, it says another thing, a warning: "I'm just a simple, pretty flashing light, nothing more." It tells the listener, the one who would find happiness on the journey, that the true words of wisdom are where you least expect to see them: the graffiti on the walls of the subway station (another metaphor for the journey) and on the halls of the tenements (the passages that lead to the homes of the meek). How often do we listen to the poor and uneducated for wisdom? How often do we look for deep messages in the simplest of writings?
With the convergence of all of the different media (internet, television, radio, print, etc.), there's more and more "crap" (sorry for the lack of more intelligent-sounding word... but when it comes down to it, "crap" is the best word to describe crap) placed in front of us. Where do we look for quality messages? More importantly, where do we find it? People are afraid to put their ideas out there for lots of reasons. They don't want to offend anyone else. They don't want to be attacked. They don't want to be marginalized or categorized. They don't want to reveal themselves in a world full of diverse thoughts. They don't want to compromise their insecurities.
Whether this was Paul Simon's message or not, I don't care. It's a good song, I found some meaning behind it, and life goes on.
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