Dm C
Hello darkness, my old friend,
Dm
I've come to talk with you again,
F Bb F
Because a vision softly creeping,
Bb F
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
Bb F
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Dm
Still remains
F C Dm
Within the sounds of silence.
Dm C
In restless dreams I walked alone
Dm
Through narrow streets of cobblestone,
F Bb F
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
Bb F
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
Bb F
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
Dm
That split the night
F C Dm
And touched the sounds of silence.
Dm C
And in the naked light I saw
Dm
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
F Bb F
People talking without speaking,
Bb F
People hearing without listening,
Bb F
People writing songs that voices never shared
Dm
And no one dared
F C Dm
Disturb the sounds of silence.
Dm C
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Dm
Silence like a cancer grows.
F Bb F
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Bb F
Take my arms that I might reach you."
Bb F
But my words like silent raindrops fell ...
Dm F
And echoed
C Dm
In the wells of silence
C
And the people bowed and prayed
Dm
To the neon god they made.
F Bb F
And the sign flashed out its warning,
Bb F
In the words that it was forming.
Bb F
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
Dm
And tenement halls."
F C Dm
And whispered in the sounds of silence.