[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
[Verse 2] 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
[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 share And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence [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 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.'