Nostalgia: The Sound of Silence (fwd)

[AnHai Doan <anhai@cs.washington.edu>]

A bit of nostalgia:

The Sound of Silence

      Simon and Garfunkel

  In the light of later developments the next song The Sounds Of Silence is a
most revealing performance. It begins slower than we expect, if we know the
succeeding Simon and Garfunkel versions, and in general Simon is a little
rougher with his song than he allowed it to be used later. Judith Piepe calls
it 'a major work', the very phrase Art Garfunkel applies to it on his notes
for the Wednesday, 3 a.m. album, and it must have created a vivid impact on
listeners of twenty years ago. In many ways this performance senses the need
for fuller treatment; Simon - or someone else - taps an insistent rhythm as
the song grows in intensity; his voice becomes more urgent and compelling;
the tempo is gradually increased and the guitar is heavily struck. It is as
though the artist is about to burst the confines of his own resources, to
tell the world of the certainty of his vision. 

   In the complete recorded legacy of Simon and Garfunkel this may not be the
most profound version of the song, but on its own terms it provides an
overwhelming experience. 


>From VKS:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 20:50:51 +0200
From: cuong nguyen phu 

The Sound of Silence 


          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 restless dreams I walked alone 
          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 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. 

                               - Paul Simon - 
                      "Wednesday Morning 3A.M.", 1964