‘The Sound of Silence’: the simple brilliance of Paul Simon’s greatest work
Paul Simon’s career has ebbed and flowed through genres and eras, penning tracks that have cemented his place in the legacy of great songwriters. From his early 1960s folk-rock with Simon and Garfunkel to his iconic 1986 album, Graceland, that blended the cool sounds of Americana with the pulsing rhythms sections of South African music.
His back catalogue showcases such a breadth that you’d be forgiven for thinking he has a songwriting formula up his sleeve. But history has always proved that methodical approaches to music where cookie-cutter hooks and choruses are copied and pasted into different soundscapes rarely establish a long-lasting cultural legacy.
From the beginning of his career with songwriting partner Art Garfunkel, Simon showcased his ability to depict the nuances of modern life, be it isolation, the passage of time, or forbidden lust. There was a profound sense of humanity to Simon and Garfunkel’s lyricism that, when delivered in their layered harmonic composition, felt like a hymn sung straight to the heart.
Writing for the Gramophone Newsletter, Simon explained the relatively simple undercurrent that runs beneath music’s greatest songs: “As far as making a good song, it’s not necessary to have anything but just the gift that either occurs rarely or once in a lifetime – or more often with great professional songwriters. Take Hank Williams – his songs are very, very simple harmonically, but they’re very powerful, have very strong melodies, and their words are very relatable. They’re great songs.”
He continued, “Or the way The Beatles evolved from the early ‘She Loves You’, or ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, to more complex harmonic things that Paul did. Maybe critics would say ‘he’s modulating’, but the analysis is unimportant – if the song is beautiful, then it lasts.”
Before it became the soundtrack to 21st-century meme culture, Simon and Garfunkel’s unexpected hit, ‘The Sound of Silence’, displayed the aforementioned simplicity. It was a song inspired by the true tale of Art Garfunkel’s university roommate, who endured a painstaking slump of depression that resulted in Garfunkel adopting the position of his guardian.
But while the song paints a first-person narrative inspired by true events, its success lies in juxtaposing that with the universality of human despondency.
The lyrics, “And in the naked light, I saw / 10,000 people, maybe more / People talking without speaking / People hearing without listening”, sit atop a brooding finger-picked melody that envelopes the listener with the feeling of despair that the masses can relate to.
However, the innate genesis of the song, coupled with its pared-back instrumental, is ultimately what lends it to the feeling of creative simplicity Simon previously described. In that same interview, he continued by writing: “My music goes from pretty simple stuff like ‘The Sound of Silence’ – a very simple song in terms of chords and structure, but it might be the most lasting of what I’ve written.”
It’s hard to tell whether Simon’s musing about the song’s everlasting legacy is tinged with disappointment. In his essay, he continues to describe different songs from his discography, citing ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’, which he says ‘is more complex and has a key shift in the bridge that’s interesting’ or ‘American Tune’ which has a composition inspired from ‘Bach or before – that has a chord change on virtually every note.
While chord changes on every note make for an exciting listen on the days when noise-cancelling headphones are nearby, the striking humanity and timelessness of a track like ‘The Sound of Silence’ have made it a companion to many a music listener, regardless of environment.
