What does The Sound Of Silence mean?

[Mal12345]

I've been hearing this song all my life called The Sound of Silence. The musical group Disturbed recently released its cover of that song.

I believe the lyrics are stating that materialism is destroying our ability to communicate. The neon sign represents materialism. When first describing it, the neon sign comes across as dangerous:
"my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light."

The lyrics indicate that people worship the neon sign (i.e., they worship crass materialism).

But the message of the neon light is the part I struggle to understand:
"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls." That would indicate graffiti. What is the graffiti? Perhaps an attempt to be understood, to communicate to others feelings that nobody understands? The prophets in the Bible (or other spiritual sources) have degenerated, in materialistic terms, to graffiti artists, graffiti considered perhaps the lowest art form. Spiritualism produces prophets and great books that last forever, materialism produces graffiti artists and art that can merely be washed away or painted over.

I guess that's what it means.

 

[Mal12345]

From Reddit:
2 years ago
Keep in mind that this song came out during the American anti war movement. When there were protests and the government was literally trying to silence them. Anyway, back to the song. The whole tone of the song is prophetic to me. Like he is explaining how he feels the world will ultimately end up, and he's so worried about it that he lays awake at night thinking about it. Anyway, below is how I've interpreted the lyrics is question.

"And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made.

I always thought this referred to television, how people were beginning to spend their life just staring at this light box while mindlessly saying grace and eating their frozen tv dinners (literally bowing and praying in front of their "god")

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming.

This part I thought was about people watching wars/disasters/protests on television and being disassociated or willfuly ignorant about what is going on in the world around them. They don't take action because everything is just a "show" until it's too late.

And the sign said, The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls

And whispered in the sound of silence."

This is after society has lost it's voice. People finally see they had ignored all the signs of impending doom in the world around them. They were too distracted to care. Now there is oppression and no one is allowed to speak about it. The resistance is literally reduced to anonymous graffiti, but symbolically is everywhere, from subway walls to tenement halls. That's the only way people can speak out, because the world is now censored into silence.

To me, I feel like it is specifically a warning that government is trying to take absolute control resulting in curfews and the loss of freedom of speech. Leaving us with only the "sound of silence"

So thats my 2 cents. Let me know if you need change.
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That interpretation went totally wrong from the beginning. The song was not written during the anti-war protests. It was written over several months between 1963 and 1964. The song is not about television, and the neon light is not a television. It is a flashing neon sign.

"To me, I feel like it is specifically a warning that government is trying to take absolute control resulting in curfews and the loss of freedom of speech. Leaving us with only the "sound of silence."

Just a bit of research would destroy that interpretation. Simon and Garfunkel say their song is about communication.

It is not anti-war or anti-government. It is about materialistic beliefs, or it is about the evils of materialism one of which is taking away our ability to communicate.