Jeffersons Ghost's Journal - shhh... do you hear THE SOUND OF SILENCE? w/ HEAVY graphics!

Sound of Silence
by Simon and Garfunkel

The union of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel actually predates their first mid-'60s hit by almost a decade. As childhood friends in Forest Hills, NY, they began making records in 1957, not only performing but also writing material in something of an Everly Brothers style. Calling themselves Tom & Jerry, their first single, "Hey Schoolgirl," actually made it into the Top 50's, but a series of follow-ups went nowhere. The duo split up, although Simon continued to struggle in the music business as a songwriter and performer.

By the early '60s, both Simon and Garfunkel came under the influence of some potent sounds coming out of California. After they re-teamed, pop roots of Simon expedited the synthesis into folk music. Signing with Columbia, they recorded an initially unsuccessful acoustic debut as Simon & Garfunkel in 1964, only to again separate. Simon, after moving to England to play the folk circuit, recorded an obscure solo album.

The Simon & Garfunkel story might have ended there, except for a brainstorm by producer, Tom Wilson (who also produced several early Bob Dylan albums.) Wilson took the strongest track from the duo's debut track, "Sounds of Silence," and embellished it with electric guitars, bass, and drums. It hit number one on the charts in early 1966, giving Simon and Garfunkel impetus to reunite. From 1966 to 1967, they topped the charts with some of the best folk-rock of the era, including "Homeward Bound," "I Am a Rock," and "A Hazy Shade of Winter."

LISTEN AS YOU READ ALONG WITH THIS CLEAN LINK TO THE MUSIC: TURN IT UP! http://www.aodultrac.com/files/Music/Simon...

Hello darkness, my old friend,

Ive 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.

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.

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.

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

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 signs said,

the words of the prophets

are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls.

And whispered in the sounds of silence.