Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” Lyrics Meaning

First off it should be noted that “the sound of silence” is not a good thing. Rather it is indicative of people being unable to effectively communicate with each other, particularly on an emotional level. Yet the implication as presented is that these people are not cognizant that such an effect even exists. Or rather the reason “the sound of silence” is so strong is because people deem it to be more important than its aftereffect.

Song warns against dangers of Social Isolationism

And in that regard it has been theorized that Simon & Garfunkel are issuing a warning against the threat of mas mid-20^th century social isolationism. In other words, a form of media which may have been deemed as propagating introversive behavior back in those days was the television. And as such, it is feasible that the “neon light” referred to in this song is in fact an allusion to a television set or something of the sort. 

This is perhaps made most evident in the final verse, in which the narrator states that “people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made”. As evident in this statement the lyrics of this song are in fact metaphorical, for there is nothing like a common idea of people worshiping a “neon god”. 

As such, the ‘bowing and praying’ referenced is not meant to be taken literally but are rather intended to point to another idea. And that idea could very much be based on individuals being enraptured by a television set. And as we all know, behaving in a such a manner tends to minimize interpersonal communication.

Does “The Sound of Silence” criticize introversive Behavior?

Ultimately as touched upon earlier, this song is not a critique of introversive behavior in and of itself. Rather what it is ultimately dealing with is how the people prefer this manner of living. Or stated differently, they don’t want anyone ‘disturbing the sound of silence’. So even though their ability to effectively communicate with each other is being negatively affected by it, it is obvious that “the sound of silence” is still something which they enjoy.

As such Simon & Garfunkel view themselves as “prophets”, if you will, who are tasked with enlightening the masses as to what is actually going on. But once again “the sound of silence” is what they prefer. And as such, the vocalists and likeminded people are basically regulated to keeping their prophecies on the downlow.

Conclusion

The above is just one way of attempting to explain a song literally which relies almost entirely on metaphors. For at the end of the day, the ultimate idea this track is intended to lead us to is that a ton of people are challenged with expressing themselves emotionally to their fellow human beings.

Facts about “The Sound of Silence”

This is the song which helped Simon & Garfunkel get signed to Columbia Records in the early 1960s.

“The Sound of Silence” was produced by Tom Wilson. He played a very important role in the track blowing up as it was a remix he initiated in 1965, without the knowledge of Simon & Garfunkel, which proved to be more successful than the original.

And blow up it did, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and US Cash Box Top 100, as well as music charts in Japan and South Africa. An interesting fact to note is that it actually topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 1 January (i.e. New Year’s Day), 1966. And worldwide, it charted in almost 15 nations, including being certified Gold in the following countries:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Italy

In fact it is considered one of the greatest American songs ever. As such, it made it onto Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Furthermore, it has also had been preserved in the National Recording Registry by the US Library of Congress.

“The Sound of Silence” was written by Paul Simon, one half of Simon & Garfunkel. He is said to have completed the writing over a six-month time span.

This song has been featured in a few movies, perhaps most notably 1967’s “The Graduate”. The soundtrack of that album, which contained quite a bunch of tracks from Simon & Garfunkel (including “Mrs. Robinson“), is credited with helping the duo reach a larger audience.

It has also been featured on television shows such as “The Simpsons” (1994) and “Arrested Development” (2013).

During the Grammy Awards in 2003, Simon & Garfunkel were giving the Lifetime Achievement Award. And it was this song, after a decade of separation, which they performed in celebration.

When was “The Sound of Silence” released?

“The Sound of Silence” originally came out, via Columbia Records, on 1 October 1964. And shortly thereafter Simon & Garfunkel named their second album after the song, where it was featured also.

Samples/Interpolations/Covers

Being one of the greatest songs the music world has ever seen, this classic has been sampled, covered and interpolated numerous times. One of the most notable songs to have sampled “The Sound of Silence” is Eminem’s 2020 track “Darkness“.

And of course there is the iconic 2015 cover by Disturbed. The cover was so good that Paul Simon couldn’t help but praise and endorse it.