Talk:The Sound of Silence

Christian images

hmmm

Both Simon and Garfunkel were jewish, so saying that The Sound of Silence is stock-full of christian images is not exactly accurate, considering that they were both practicing jews. Saying "religious" imagery may be a better way.

Not sure. They both were brought up as jews but didn't Simon have a song called "Jesus is the Answer"? Will look this up, worried cf. Norman Greenbaum. Also worth pointing out that there's no good reason why Christ allegories can't be used by non-christians. See The Matrix.Matthew Platts 9 July 2005 17:02 (UTC)

I've wondered this too, and have left a note at Talk:Paul Simon asking about his religious affiliation. There are other songs on "Wednesday Morning 3 AM" that are distinctly christian, much more obviously so than "The Sound of Silence": "You Can Tell The World", "Benedictus", "Go Tell It On The Mountain". Of course, S&G didn't write those songs, but they did choose to sing them. --Angr/_{tɔk tə mi} 09:42, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

Most of the things on the internet, especially the interviews with S&G say that the song is about alienation and society's inability to communicate on an emotional level. As a christian, I really do not see any link to the book of Exodus here. Yes, there is a little "religious" language, but it's a poetic thing - it provides a wonderful contrast between the light and dark, the gentle and the harsh. These are the bigger themes in the song.

I think there is some religious imagery, but most of it is about Prophets and god in general. I think Tanakh or maybe Old Testament, if he had become christian, imagery is possible. I don't recall thinking any of it is specifically about Christ though and I've heard this song my whole life.(My parents were fans of this group and also quite strongly catholic so I think they would've picked up on such a thing)--T. Anthony 15:22, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

I altered that section. I know I have no source for this, but I think it reads as more justifiable to the song.--T. Anthony 15:13, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

The "Bowed and prayed to the neon god they made" bit kind of reminded me of the whole golden calf debacle in the old testament, but I didn't really think that's what it was actually supposed to be about. I just figured it represented the "shiny objects" that distract us from one another.--71.229.77.97 (talk) 18:59, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Just adding to this as someone who grew up on this song, became part of the "Jesus Movement"/Jesus Freaks"/"JesusPeople" of the early 70s, and gravitated to a coffeehouse called "The Bridge," which was very much referring to "Bridge over Troubled Waters" and was a mission for teens and young adults in the college town I lived in. Much older now, I just watched a special tribute to Paul Simon last week. (End of December 2022, since this is an old thread.)

We knew Bridge over Troubled Waters was not a Christian song, just like we knew this wasn't. But Paul Simon is very much a poet, so took from experience. America was never a "Christian nation," however, the country did have assumed morals taken from the Old Testament/Pentateuch/Torah, and didn't start questioning them until the late 60s. He lived in that era, but he was also one of the voices singing a different tune. (Pun unintended, but enjoyed.)

I see this as a surprisingly prophetic song, 50+ years later. Not Christian, but America has created a more modern morality by accepting the philosophy found on subway walls and tenement halls. Read what the taggers write, and see if it isn't what America practices today. 2600:4040:7EDC:6400:84CF:1B96:7D78:6EC5 (talk) 18:37, 30 December 2022 (UTC)

I traveled to Latin America last year and there they sing a traditional catholic hymn that has the same exact melody as this song. I don't know the hymn's name but clearly Simon and Garfunkel took the melody. --24.226.31.126 (talk) 22:55, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

" . . . clearly Simon and Garfunkel took the melody" — Personally, I'd want a lot more evidence than that. What seems more likely to me is that the melody was adapted for that "traditional hymn". I've known quite a few cases where things were labeled as being "traditional" within five years or so after being composed. Half a century (or a little less, when that comment was posted) is plenty of time. If you don't even know the name, what evidence do you have that it's "traditional"?? "The Sounds of Silence" was tremendously popular in the mid-1960s. Davecat4 (talk) 03:20, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

Actually, the hymn's name is Padre Nuestro (Our Father). Its melody is originally from Simon and Garfunkel (being The Sound of Silence), and the Latin Americans adapted it to be a more Catholic song.

Also noted the reference to a "false" god in the article when discussing the "neon god" lyric. The term "false god" is not found in the song and no sources have been provided to suggest this Christian association. I'd suggest this should be changed unless anyone has justification for it? SycamoreWood (talk) 11:09, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

Full Lyrics?

Is there any reason why this article shouldn't contain the entire lyrics for this song?--User:Gravinos 02:31, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Unless there is any objection, I'm going to add the full lyrics of the song to this article. I will wait one week for any objections to my proposal before carrying it out. If no one voices their objections on this page, I will take it as a sign that there are none. --User:Gravinos 02:31, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

That would be copyright violation; there is already an external link to the lyrics. The lyrics already on the page might be too much already, I am not sure. BryanOU 22:45, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs#Lyrics_and_music_videos states that we shouldn't put lyrics on the main pages, as they are most likely copyrighted already. I think we'd have to show that they aren't copyrighted in order to actually post them. Banaticus 04:18, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Well I'm glad they're there. Leave them. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.122.208.51 (talk) 15:19, 1 February 2007 (UTC).

I've removed the lyrics for the aforementioned copyright reasons. If people really want to find them, they're out there, and it's a clear copyright violation. El Zoof 04:27, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Quotes

This whole section is based on quotes found on a webpage with no references or citations. Can we please find sources for any of these?

Title is wrong.

It's "Sounds" not "Sound" Zazaban 05:02, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, it is "Sound", and this controversy should be noted in the article. The original name is "The Sound of Silence", then when Bob Wilson reissued the "electric" version, it was renamed "The Sounds of Silence", and as such it was known for many years, till Paul Simon finally got to unify the title in every S&G record, back to the original title. Nazroon 00:27, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

To confirm this, yes, the song is "The Sound of Silence," but this fact was not acertained with certainty until the 1990s. I want to say that it was when the Old Friends box set came out. I'll have to dig out my copy of the box set, but I remember the essay in that box said that a lot of research, going back to the original copyright registration, handwritten lyrics and the like, was involved in determining the song's true title. Even on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., the song was listed as "The Sounds of Silence" with an S, and the 45, the later LP of the same name, the Greatest Hits album and even Live Rhymin' had it with an S. I don't advocate changing the name of the page, but I'd think there needs to be a redirect reflecting that most people know the song (incorrectly) as "The Sounds of Silence". Cheemo 04:34, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Problem with authorship of song

From the first paragraph: It was written by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

From History section: This song, contrary to all popular belief, was not written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Like many other Simon and Garfunkel songs, it was written by a man under contract with them who would ask for his time to be witheld.

These two bits of information can't both be right. WHICH ONE is right? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wendingwanderer (talk • contribs) 00:51, August 26, 2007 (UTC)

Of courser it's by Simon, that other bit is just a fluke.. /Strausszek (talk) 03:46, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

Inconsistencies

This article states in the opening section that the song reached #1 on New Years Day 1966 (Jan 1, 1966). Later in the article, it states that it reached Number One on US charts late 1965, and early 1966, causing them to reunite. It then states that their next album 'Sound of Silence' was hastily recorded Dec 1965 - Jan 1966. How could they do this without being back together which didn't happen until at least 1966? Donnyj (talk) 22:55, 29 April 2008 (UTC)Donnyj

The article is wrong. I'll fix it. Simon & Garfunkel reunited in December 1965, primarily to record most of the tracks for Sounds Of Silence. The original track of Simon & Garfunkel's vocals and acoustic guitar of "The Sounds of Silence" single was from Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., recorded 10 March 1964. Tom Wilson held an overdub session on 15 June 1965 to record the electric guitar, bass, and drums for the single track. The B-side "We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'" was recorded on 5 April 1965. The single was released in September 1965. Once the single entered the charts in the fall of 1965, Simon returned to the USA from Europe, where he had been performing solo for several months prior. See my page here: [1] Absecon 59 (talk) 12:20, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

The edition I saw made this statement: "The single was released in September 1965 and immediately began climbing the charts." It appears that the phrase, "immediately began climbing the charts," is pure rhetoric, without any factual backup. In point of fact, the record was released on September 18. It was not listed on the Billboard Hot 100 until November 20, and the ARSA does not list it as being on any radio station's charts prior to October 11. Therefore I am removing this phrase. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AQuandary (talk • contribs) 16:19, 26 December 2015 (UTC)

This and many other sources claim that Tom Wilson used the same musicians for the overdub as were used on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." However, a comparison of musician credits in the Wikipedia articles for these two songs indicate that the only musician who played on both was drummer Bobby Gregg. Bass was played on LARS by Joe Macho, Jr.; on TSOS by Bob Bushnell; guitar on the former by Mike Bloomfield; on the latter by Al Gorgoni. Either the musician credits or the general assertion is wrong. Somebody with accurate knowledge please clarify. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AQuandary (talk • contribs) 15:20, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

Another Cover

Burton C. Bells side project, Ascension of the Watchers, covered the song on their CD Numinosum —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.91.144.11 (talk) 12:03, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Vienna Teng covered this song as well. She has never released it officially but apparently covered it on one of her tours. Some fans of her seem to have it linked on her official forums at http://www.viennateng.com, however I have no proper link at the moment. There is also a YouTube video showing a woman dancing while having that cover song in the background, but I'd rather not link it here since I'm not sure about possible copyright issues. --178.1.7.187 (talk) 22:16, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Blender's worst songs

Somehow this song made it onto Blenders 50 worst songs of all time. I'm not sure if this should be included in the article because it seems like a joke because a few other well received songs are on that list as well like The End by The Doors, but i'm still unsure weather or not to include it in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mjosephs (talk • contribs) 00:09, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Cover

Point Valid and Catherine Asaro also released a copy of this song on their album/soundtrack Diamond Star. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.101.59.38 (talk) 06:01, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Paul Simon Sound of silence rare beatle PROMO RECORD dj copy

VERVE yellow promo dj copy 45 vinyl has John Lennon Paul Mccarthy Beatles Lady Madonna on one side and Paul SIMON Sound of Silence on other side. 45 rpm vinyl record in procession . Tmmassari (talk) 20:33, 23 September 2010 (UTC) tmmassari

Paul Simon Sound of silence verve promo dj beatile copy

VERVE yellow promo dj copy 45 vinyl has PAul Simon Sound of silence John Lennon Paul Mccarthy Beatles Lady Madonna on other side ````

Reference conflicts with article information

The article names the Bob Dylan band members who added the electric instruments and drums to the original acoustic recording. But the cited references do not support the information, and footnote 8 specifically names a different drummer and an additional guitarist. Please clarify. ˜˜˜˜ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.167.92.175 (talk) 07:19, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

I've corrected it. - SummerPhD (talk) 13:12, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

There are two conflicting lists of musicians in this page: in the first paragraph it has Al Gorgoni, Bob Bushnell and Bobby Gregg on guitar/bass/drums, but further down it lists Gorgoni and Vinnie Bell on guitars, Joe Mack on bass and Buddy Salzman on drums. They can't both be correct; which is it? Shalom S. (talk) 16:35, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

Legacy/Presence in other Media

Anyone want to help me form a list of all its appearance in media? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.82.187.1 (talk) 09:26, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

Please read Wikipedia:In_popular_culture#Good_and_bad_popular_culture_references first. - SummerPhD (talk) 22:42, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

To whoever updates this Wikipedia entry business, A section of The Sound of Silence appeared on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on April 5, 2020 (https://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Zoey%27s_Extraordinary_Playlist) in the episode called "Zoey's Extraordinary Silence." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:583:300:D20:2D9F:BFE9:3FCF:F2AB (talk) 08:22, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

Mass Texting/MP3s Foretold

This song was always discussed as echoes of a bleak technological wasteland. Here we are living the lyrics. People too busy with their devices to look up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.167.238.81 (talk) 07:20, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Please limit discussion on article talk pages to efforts to improve the article. Thanks. - SummerPhD (talk) 21:40, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

another cover

rocksteady cover by THE GAYLADS 1967 prod. by C. S. DODD http://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Coxsone_Dodd

I can't link a youtube video but you can easy find it — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.147.119.176 (talk) 17:55, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

"The Awakening" did a cover in 1997 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt72iC7GJrQ) (http://en.wiki.x.io/wiki/Risen_(The_Awakening_album)) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.241.102.94 (talk) 03:16, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Sergio Denis (old and popular spanish cover)

Los sonidos del silencio... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.225.70.219 (talk) 17:08, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Disturbed needs update

Need to update Disturbed chart rank with its continued climb.2602:30A:C016:A3A0:6526:6EEE:1B3A:1F03 (talk) 08:47, 4 July 2016 (UTC)GAfromCA

Song Meaning Misquote

Quote from the article:

"Garfunkel once summed up the song's meaning as 'the inability of people to communicate with each other, not particularly internationally but especially emotionally, so what you see around you are people unable to love each other.'"

First, the word "internationally" makes no sense in this context. I believe Paul Simon actually explained the meaning of the song. See this Youtube video

Evan Canady (talk) 03:29, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

You're right. I watched the YouTube video and the word is "intellectually", not "internationally", which makes much more sense. This might have been misheard and misquoted because there is a short burst of microphone noise. [CJL, Wikipedia user, UK] 109.147.47.68 (talk) 12:55, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

D# natural minor?

Either it's D# minor or D natural minor. Kortoso (talk) 21:39, 14 March 2017 (UTC)

Minor_scale#Natural_minor_scale - not natural as in "D natural". (But as this is the usual meaning of "D minor" as a key, 'natural' could probably be omitted.) TSP (talk) 00:08, 15 March 2017 (UTC)

Key

The article notes that the song is in D♯ minor - however, live, Simon and Garfunkel have sung it keys including D ([2]) and E ([3]). Unfortunately I don't think a reliable source has ever remarked on this - but keep an eye out in case one ever does and we can put it in the article! TSP (talk) 00:36, 21 March 2017 (UTC)

Original version

This Wiki page is all about the mixed CBS version Sound of Silence, not the original song, this page need updates badly, the covered version gets all the attention this way! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.80.157.6 (talk) 10:30, 5 August 2017 (UTC)

I think the page has a good balance on the two S&G versions (the remix is MUCH more notable than the original). I don't quite understand what you consider "the covered version." That said, I think the Disturbed version is getting a bit more space than it might. I have never heard it or anything about it outside this page - but that may just be my "bubble." --John (User:Jwy/talk) 17:57, 5 August 2017 (UTC)

From my perspective, the Disturbed cover was literally inescapable for months or even years. I can't stand it, but it definitely made a big dent. Jules TH 16 (talk) 17:04, 24 April 2021 (UTC)

Meme status

The most ubiquitous usage of this song is in memes. Why is there absolutely no mention of this? Taric25 (talk) 12:43, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

Can you provide a reliable source documenting the notability of this? TSP (talk) 13:22, 29 August 2018 (UTC)

Not a lot out there which is a shame because its definitely a relevant subject to the popular culture section. Would dictionary.com meet the standards in the apparent absence of anything better?

https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/hello-darkness-my-old-friend/ SycamoreWood (talk) 11:20, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

I've recently added a reliable source, The Independent, which mentions this to some extent. It's included in the popular culture section now. Coalah (talk) 19:13, 14 February 2024 (UTC)

Remix section

Errors are visible in the text. -Inowen (nlfte) 06:40, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Soundtrack of this song

Can maybe someone add soundtrack to this song article? I mean, if there aren't any copyrights. -Undiine55 (talk) 21:28, 12 January 2019 (UTC)

Problem areas in the article

This article overall has a good structure, but some of the points in the article may need to be cleaned up a bit. It’s already been made clear that the article is weak with citations, but the opening paragraphs and the Other Cover Versions section need some serious work. Not only are they insufficiently cited, but both of them seem to be overstretched. I would suggest moving some of the opening information down to the body of the article and either cleaning up Other Cover Versions or removing it entirely. If these things were fixed I feel that this could be a high quality article. AlexhendersonSCC (talk) 23:40, 30 March 2019 (UTC)

"lost" covers

Way back this page had a comprehensive listing of covers that were removed by an ip edit at some point. Some of the tracks on the list feel much more relevant that what is currently in the section. I'll re-add them to the The Sound of Silence#Other cover versions section unless there are any objections. -- Hairmare (talk) 00:54, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

• The Bachelors released a cover version as a single (Decca F12351, 9 Apr 1966), hitting number 3 in the UK charts. The track has been included on many of their albums.
• B.B. Seaton and The Gaylads recorded a Reggae version in 1967.
• Boudewijn de Groot, a famous Dutch artist, included a translated version of the song on his 1965 Apocalyps album. The lyrics were translated by his textwriter Lenneart Nijgh.
• It was covered in French by Gérard Lenorman under the title "Chanson d'innocence" (1981).
• German ethereal band Dark Orange released two versions of the song in 1992 as a single.
• "The Sounds of Silence" was covered by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini for a 1996 compilation, Stone Free
• Gregorian recorded a version for their 1999 album Masters of Chant.
• Progressive metal band Nevermore also recorded their own rendition for their 2000 album, Dead Heart in a Dead World. While directly borrowing Simon's lyrics and vocal melody, musically, Nevermore's version barely resembles the original, lasting over two minutes longer, and with only the introductory guitar chords resembling the original melody.
• German metalband Atrocity covered this song for their album Gemini in 2000. It features Norwegian singer Liv Kristine.
• Dinu Bomha released an instrumental version on the panflute in 1999
• Shaw Blades, consisting of Night Ranger's Jack Blades and Styx's Tommy Shaw, covered the song on their 2007 album Influences.
• In November 2007, the female British classical choral quartet All Angels of Universal Records released a cover of the song on their album Into Paradise.
• Argentinian singer Sergio Denis has made a spanish cover of this song.
• Ascension of The Watchers on album Numinosum
• Ove Jungsjö wrote lyrics in Swedish, as En ton av tystnad, which was recorded by Tommy Körberg in 1970 as B-side for the Sol på Jorden single, which was at Svensktoppen for two weeks during the period 10-17 October 1971, with the positions 6 and , and by Anni-Frid Lyngstad in 1993 on the album Tre kvart från nu'.
• While not a cover, per se, Rush riffs on Sounds of Silence in The Spirit of Radio, from their 1980 album Permanent Waves: "For the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall/Concert hall/And echoes with the sounds of salesmen/Of salesmen/Of salesmen"

References

Origins

What do fellow editors make of these news articles and memoir from last summer?

• [4] [5]

If the story and source are reliable, presumably that info should be included. What more corroboration does this need?

• See also Sanford Greenberg which corroborates his friendship with Art Garfunkel.

Also, is the published memoir reliable?

• [6] [7] [8] Simon Grant (talk) 17:48, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Original music

El Cóndor Pasa 78.55.235.141 (talk) 18:14, 23 October 2022 (UTC)