![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Simon-and-Garfunkel-Paul-Simon-Art-Garfunkel-Far-Out-Magazine--1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Sony Music Entertainment<\/p>\n
Tue 21 July 2026 8:56, UK <\/p>\n
Most artists need time to flesh out their sound before making classics. No one appears as a fully developed songwriter, and it can take anywhere from a few months to years at a time before creating that one piece that everyone is going to remember for the rest of their days. Simon and Garfunkel had already turned in time as Tom and Jerry while they were still in high school, but Art Garfunkel<\/a> knew something had changed when he heard \u2018The Sound of Silence\u2019 for the first time.<\/p>\n Granted, it\u2019s not like Tom and Jerry were known for making Bob Dylan-level tunes or anything. Their entire job was creating different close-harmony takes on classic tunes, whether that was covering Everly Brothers tunes or having the musical cajones to take on \u2018You Send Me\u2019 by Sam Cooke. <\/p>\n In light of the major divide in America, though, one of Simon\u2019s first efforts as a writer was still miles above what anyone else could have perceived. While not a heavy song from a musical perspective, hearing Simon talk to his friend in the darkness that he visits when the world is falling apart is still as relevant today as it was back then.<\/p>\n Just looking at the way that every verse is constructed, it\u2019s closer to poetry than it is to the traditional Chuck Berry-penned lyrics. Half of Simon\u2019s best work was more than just psychedelic fodder for the kids, so hearing him be so unabashed about the state of the world and practically crying out in pain for the future generations listening to prophets\u2019 teachings on subway walls could easily be replaced with social media walls in the modern age.<\/p>\n Even years later, after several feuds, Garfunkel had to admit that Simon was getting in tune with something no one had touched on, saying<\/a>, \u201c\u2018Sound Of Silence\u2019 has more melodic, genius, simple power than I ever realised. As the years go by, there\u2019s something extraordinarily hooky about that simple melody\u2014I didn\u2019t know that. I knew it was a good-sounding record when it emerged\u2026 It was the sixth song Paul ever wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the song\u2019s enduring appeal lies in the contrast between its accessibility and its ambition. On the surface, the melody is disarmingly straightforward, inviting listeners in before the lyrics gradually reveal layers of alienation, isolation and failed communication. That balance helps explain why audiences have continued to find new meaning in the song long after the social climate that inspired it had passed.<\/p>\n It also highlights what separated Simon from many of his contemporaries so early in his career. Rather than relying on slogans or easy conclusions, he trusted listeners to wrestle with the same uncertainties that preoccupied him. The questions raised throughout \u2018The Sound of Silence\u2019 remain open-ended, which is precisely why each generation has been able to interpret the song through the lens of its own anxieties.<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n But given all of the negativity in this song, it\u2019s not looking to brow-beat by any means. This was written by a man still in his mid-20s trying to figure out life, so it\u2019s more likely that he was looking to pose questions to his generation rather than claiming that he had all the answers to their problems. <\/p>\n
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