Hello darkness, my old friend I’ve come to talk with you again 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
In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone ‘Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence
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 No one dared Disturb the sound of silence
“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
And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls” And whispered in the sounds of silence
KeyWords
creep v. [i] [creeps, creeping, crept, crept] to move slowly, quietly and carefully, usually in order to avoid being noticed: She turned off the light and crept through the door. Someone was creeping around outside my window. The spider crept up the wall. The traffic was creeping along at a snail’s pace.
creeping adj. adjective [before noun]DISAPPROVING happening, developing or moving slowly or gradually: We are totally against any form of creeping Socialism.
creep n. [C] 1. UK INFORMAL someone who tries to make someone more important like them by being very polite and helpful in a way that is not sincere: Making coffee for the boss again? You creep!
2. INFORMAL an unpleasant person, especially a man: He was a real creep – he was always staring at me in the canteen. Leave me alone, you creep!
creepy adj. INFORMAL strange or unnatural and making you feel frightened: a creepy film a creepy smile
creeps plural noun INFORMAL give sb the creeps to cause someone to have uncomfortable feelings of nervousness or fear: Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.
cobblen. [C usually plural] (ALSO cobblestone) a rounded stone used on the surface of an old-fashioned road: The cart rumbled over the cobbles.
halo n. [plural halos or haloes] 1. [C] a ring of light around the head of a holy person in a religious drawing or painting
2. [C usually singular] a bright circle of light around something, or something that looks like this: the halo around the moon a halo of blonde curls
neath see beneath pre. in or to a lower position than, under: Jeremy hid the letter beneath a pile of papers. We huddled together for warmth beneath the blankets. Emma was so tired and hungry that her legs were beginning to give way beneath her (= she was about to fall over).
collar n. [C] the part around the neck of a piece of clothing, usually sewn on and sometimes made of different material: a shirt collar a fur collar a dress with a big collar
collar verb [T] 1 INFORMAL to catch and hold someone so that they cannot escape: She was collared by the police at the airport. 2 to find someone and stop them going somewhere, often so that you can talk to them about something: I was collared by Pete as I was coming out of the meeting this morning.
neonn. [U] a colourless gas which has no smell, does not react with other chemicals, and shines red when an electric current goes through it: a neon light/sign
stab v. [T] to push a knife into someone or something ⇨ stabbing: He was stabbed to death in a fight. She had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly.
welln. [C] a deep hole in the ground from which water, oil or gas can be obtained See also stairwell.
stairwell n. [C] a long vertical passage through a building around which a set of stairs is built
