The Sound Of Silence

Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you

When the Sound of Silence was released in 1965, I was 14 and for a brief time thought it was pretty cool.  Quickly growing tired of it I have rarely listened to it over the decades.  Never a big fan of Simon & Garfunkel I found it, like many of their early songs, sophomoric as I grew older.

In 2015 the heavy metal band Disturbed released the album Immortalized, including a cover of Sound of Silence along with a music video.  Their version was interesting but I only listened to it once.  More recently, I came across a live version performed on Conan O'Brien's show.  It is a majestic and moving warning highlighted by David Draiman's stunning vocal. The S&G original sounds like they are distant observers while Disturbed sounds like they are in the midst of the action.

Like many of the best pop/rock songs the lyrics create evocative images and feelings but become slippery when trying to interpret, allowing the listener to apply their own meaning.

After hearing this I listened to other tunes by Disturbed but didn't like any of them.

Here's a vocal coach analyzing the singing technique.