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The New Meaning I Found in “The Sounds of Silence”
Learn to listen what is “whispered”
Recently I have been experiencing different feelings when I listen to some old song lyrics, as I continue my meditation practices.
I started noticing it a few months ago while listening to a new version of the amazing song “The Sounds of Silence”, written by Paul Simon in 1963/64.
The old song
Until recently, I only knew the original version, performed by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon, and I liked it — it always seemed like a beautiful and powerful song that could bring us some peace and focus.
Although I always admired the song, I must confess that I never found in it any special meaning to me. It was a song always worth listening but there wasn’t much more to it.
Becomes a new song
But last month I discovered a new version that dramatically increased the impact those lyrics had on me. This new version, performed by Disturbed made me stop, hear the song lyrics in a different way, and find new meanings in the words.
First, I was struck by the very different style of the interpretation. To be completely honest, the first time I listened to it it seemed almost like a “violent misinterpretation”, like if the singer was picking up something calm and peaceful and decided to turn into a shout of dissatisfaction, almost sounded like something he was not singing but throwing out to people faces…
But that first impression quickly vanished as the singer’s voice and new music arrangement dragged me into the song’s rhythm, and I ended up really captivated by this “radical” new interpretation.
