Anatomy of a Song: "Sounds Of Silence" Quiz

Answer: Darkness

"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again"

This is a great way of setting the scene for the song. As a youngster I remember rationalising this by asking "Why doesn't he turn on the light?" Life was so much easier then!

Answer: In restless dreams

"In restless dreams I walked alone"

Ah! Haven't we all been there at one time or another?

Answer: Seeds

"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"

Answer: Cobblestone

"In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone"

"Sound Of Silence" (which also gets displayed in various S&G material as "Sounds Of Silence" or "The Sound Of Silence") was originally released on the wonderful folk/rock album "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.". The version on the album is more acoustic than the one that appears in the soundtrack of "The Graduate".

Answer: Cold/Wet

"Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp"

Answer: Neon

Eep! I hope you didn't say "Electric Candlelight"! If you did, you are getting the song mixed up with The Kinks' "Lola", which I must add would be a pretty hard thing to do!

Neon is mentioned twice in the song:

"When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night"

and

"And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made"

Answer: 10,000

"And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more"

"Sounds Of Silence" hit number 1 spot in the U.S.A on New Year's Day in 1966.

Answer: People talking without speaking

"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"

Answer: Cancer

"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"

According to www.songfacts.com: "Despite its great popularity, Blender magazine voted this the 42nd worst song ever, remarking sardonically that "If Frasier Crane were a song, he would sound like this". The magazine's editor, Craig Marks, defended Blender's decision to include this much-loved song on their list, stating: "It's the freshman-poetry meaningfulness that got our goat, with self-important lyrics like 'hear my words that I might teach you', it's almost a parody of pretentious 60s folk-rock." The brief article on the song corresponding with this called the 'hear my words' line "the most self-important - in rock history", and elaborated on Mark's remarks with: "Simon and Garfunkel thunder away in voices that suggest they're scowling and wagging their fingers as they sing. The overall experience is like being lectured on the meaning of life by a jumped-up freshman".

My response is (a) This is why I do not buy Blender magazine, and (b) everybody has the right to be totally wrong!

Answer: Petula Clark

"And the sign said 'The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"'"

Okay, this was a bit of a stretch, but I had fun doing it! "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls". Petula Clark advises us "Don't Sleep In The Subway". Therefore the connection is "subway".