Sounds of Silence Analysis

In the process of conveying emotion and feeling, people take different routes in going about such a task. Some people draw, some debate, and others write. Paul Simon, a genius

with words and music, wrote poems to describe his feelings on politics, love, and the ways of

life. Hearing or reading a Paul Simon song gives a person a blessed experienced, they had just seen real emotion, an oddity in these days. One Simon song that stands out above the rest is also probably his most famous, “The Sounds of Silence”. Like many other Paul Simon pieces, the contradictory title is not the only confusing aspect of the song, each line conveys complex yet meaningful words.

The 60's was a decade dominated by great musicians: Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Jimi

Hendrix. Paul Simon is another man that tackled music and took it to the level of excellence, like

the other 60's music idols. In his song “The Sounds of Silence”, he puts multiple concepts of importance into one 35 line poem, successfully getting his point across. So the question is, what

are the sounds of silence and what is it Paul Simon is trying to say? The Sounds of Silence that

he refers to numerous times shows the lack of human communication in everyday life . Simon is saying that intelligent conversations or friendly words to one another have been overlooked in society. The poem shows that although people talk to others, they are not saying what they truly feel. Instead they keep it inside, and those kept feelings are the sounds of silence. Numerous times he makes reference to technology, showing that it is the cause of the separation between people. He also says that while walking through a large city his eyes are opened to such lack of communication as he sees no talking or speaking. Since everyone speaks these sounds of silence the others follow such a trend and continue to uphold the lack of communication.

Although many of us are accustomed with some of Paul Simon’s elated songs such as “You Can Call Me Al”, the “Sounds of Silence,” is one of his satirical songs. The” Sounds of Silence” are written in a very sad tone, as he expresses his shame for humans lack of feeling. Numerous times he refers to his loneliness , such as the verse “In resless dreams I walked alone.” He’s formed this sort of contempt for American society, but he cares to push himself from it, he cares to remain lonely and by himself instead of conforming to society.

“People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening, people writing songs that voices never share, no one dare disturb the sound of silence,” is the most