Please don't call yourself stupid. I'm so impressed on how you are thorough in trying to help us (me) understand the meaning of this song. I love the way you appreciate the music from way back from the 60's and it's the music that I loved and hadn't heard in many years. Thank you :)

These lyrics are deep. The fact that you have such a curious mind that you want to know more means you're intelligent, the opposite of being stupid. To me, this song is about feeling alienated by our shallow society, where you can't get in touch with others, or even with yourself. We are separated by the media and commercialism, which is even more true today than it was when the song was written. I love Disturbed's version because it's just raw and angry. The original is sweet and folksy, but after nobody paid attention to the warning contained in the song for almost 60 years, it's time to rage about it.

It has been said that the original song was a push, a warning and the Disturbed version is a hard shove because we didn't pay attention. I think the silence they are talking about is the silence of nobody talking about the problems and possible solutions in th world, but rather just sitting by quietly. That is how I always saw it.

The original is by Art Garfunkel, and written by Paul Simon. They wrote it in the time television was becoming more common, and people were sitting together, but not talking together because they stayed silent to hear the tv. People are not learning how to communcate with each other, even more now, because of smart devices. People often sit at a table and sms anybody else except the people in front of them. The wider consequences may become political, but the first meaning was more personal.

I’m sorry, but this is not the one you should hear first. You should hear the original done by Simon and Garfunkel!! The album version, not the live.

Looking back on my experiences in the 60's and fast forwarding to now... My perception of the meaning of the original song by SImon and Garfunkel was that technology (at that time the television) was creating a society that didnt allow for as much personal communication. That the conversations at the dinner table and visiting with friends was slowly being replaced by gathering around the TV. Hence the 'the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made'. Today that seems more true than ever. With smart phones, social media, that line becomes even more of our reality as people bow their heads over their phones, messaging instead of talking, etc. 'to the neon god they made' indeed.

You must react to the live version on the Conan show. It's even better, and David was so sick with a high fever. His voice is otherworldly.

Paul Simon wrote the song back in the 60's

My dude you have to understand that the best music can have too many meanings packed into it to be explicit. Don't get hung up on the literal; use it as a seed for self-reflection. If I have one criticism of country and hip-hop, it's that they are far too literal, far too often.

It’s still relevant today because no one listens, hears, or communicates anymore. How loud to silence when no one speaks. This song is over 50 years old.

The original song was from 1964 Simon & Garfunkel. The song conveys a powerful warning against the dangers of indifference and the inability of people to communicate with each other. "Hello darkness, my old friend / I’ve come to talk with you again", the author has no one to talk to but the dark, to whom he tells, almost like a confession, about a dream he had. "talking without speaking and hearing without listening sound like oxymora, but they are instead carefully chosen expressions, hinting to the meaninglessness of most of present-day personal interactions." "writing songs that voices never share" speak of loneliness and incommunicability where art perishes. The Sound of Silence paints the picture of a disheartened, dazed people, mirroring the uncertainty of most Americans and their inability to react in the face of the violence and chaos breaking loose both inside their country and on the international stage. The lyrics were written around the time of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The last verse contains a fierce attack against modern consumerism. The people idolize the neon sign they themselves have created, worshiping it as a god; the means to show how modern men have converted to a new religion, whose holy cows are money, appearances and shiny futility. Though written in 1964 where I believe the author was referring to the television but it applies even more today with social media.

There is no other song that has such vocal build it like this cover 💯.. original is amazing but this modern cover brought the message back ..

This song was written in the sixties when the Vietnam War was going on and President Kennedy was assassinated. All of us can relate to this song in some way. It could even have be written today with all that's going on in the world. I was born in 1959 and knew the original but I think Disturbed's version makes you feel the words. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Best lyric ever written “turn my collar to the cold and damp”.

When Paul Simon heard Disturbed's version he posted it on his own page. He said that Disturbed's version is much more powerful. Well, back in the 60s it had to be toned down. As for Darkness, Paul Simon said that he had a friend that he would greet by saying "hello darkness".

Darkness is the place the singer identifies to ponder in.Darkness is also a metaphor for being unenlightened(whereas "light",is the place of awareness and acknowledgement).The song was originally a soft warning about the dangerous effects of being closed off from each other in body ,as well as in mind.Disturbed's version has given a much more aggressive and urgent feeling .It is very pertinent still today with so many degrees of separation in our lives that we cannot agree on even the most basic of fundamental ideals or goals.

I appreciate your reaction. It’s the kind of song and video where you can see something new each time you listen/watch.

Don't say that, you are not stupid because you have never experienced this before. If you are intrigued, you will find the meaning that speaks to you. That makes sense to you, the beauty of written word, poetry interpretated by you. You are not stupid.

It was a warning about losing society to TV , radio and not just talking to each other….. now with Phones its obvious the sing has an even deeper and more modern warning.

David Draiman is an amazing singer, able to sing metal and sing classical music as well. So extremely talented. I grew up listening to Simon and Garfunkel and they were so good.