Hello darkness, my old friendI've come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked aloneNarrow streets of cobblestone'Neath the halo of a street lampI turned my collar to the cold and dampWhen my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon lightThat split the nightAnd touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I sawTen thousand people, maybe morePeople talking without speakingPeople hearing without listeningPeople writing songs that voices never shareNo one daredDisturb the sound of silence
"Fools" said I, "You do not knowSilence like a cancer growsHear my words that I might teach youTake my arms that I might reach you"But my words like silent raindrops fellAnd echoed in the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayedTo the neon god they madeAnd the sign flashed out its warningIn the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophetsAre written on the subway wallsAnd tenement hallsAnd whispered in the sounds of silence"
