The Sound of Silence
The Sound of Silence
Simon & Garfunkel
Tempo: 108*
Transpose
Multiple possible keys*
- Ebm (Song metadata)
- F# (Chord analysis)
Standard tuning
Verse 1
D#m C#
Hello darkness, my old friend,
D#m
I've come to talk with you again,
B F#
Because a vision softly creeping,
B F#
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
B F#
And the vision that was planted in my brain
F#/F D#m F#
Still remains
C# D#m
Within the sound of silence.
Verse 2
C#
In restless dreams I walked alone
D#m
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
B F#
'neath the halo of a street lamp,
B F#
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
B F#
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
F#/F D#m F#
That split the night
C# D#m
And touched the sound of silence.
Verse 3
C#
And in the naked light I saw
D#m
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
B F#
People talking without speaking,
B F#
People hearing without listening,
B F#
People writing songs that voices never share
F#/F D#m F#
And no one dare
C# D#m
Disturb the sound of silence.
Verse 4
C#
Fools said I, you do not know
D#m
Silence like a cancer grows.
B F#
Hear my words that I might teach you,
B F#
Take my arms that I might reach you.
B F# F#/F D#m
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
F# C# D#m
And echoed in the wells of silence
Verse 5
C#
And the people bowed and prayed
D#m
To the neon god they made.
B F#
And the sign flashed out its warning,
B F#
In the words that it was forming.
B
And the sign said, the words of the prophets
F#
Are written on the subway walls
F#/F D#m
And tenement halls
F# C# D#m
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.
* Automatically estimated; not yet verified by the author.
Last update: May 30, 2026, 02:56 PM