[Intro]
 
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[Pre-Verse] - only played once
 
D A x2 D  A
 
[Verse 1]
F#m                E
Hello darkness, my old friend
                         F#m
I've come to talk with you again
                  D      A
Because a vision softly creeping
            F#m        D      A
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
F#m     D               D5      D     A
And the vision that was planted in my brain
        F#m              E        F#m
Still remains within the sound of silence
 
[Verse 2]
F#m                        E
In restless dreams I walked alone
                  F#m
Narrow streets of cobblestone
                   D        A
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
                F#m       D        A
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
        D                          D5      D     A
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
     F#m        A
That split the night
F#m             E        F#m
And touched the sound of silence
 
[Verse 3]
F#m                E
And in the naked light I saw
                         F#m
Ten thousand people, maybe more
                  D       A
People talking without speaking
                  D       A
People hearing without listening
               D          D5     D     A
People writing songs that voices never share
           F#m
And no one dare
            E        F#m
Disturb the sound of silence
 
[Verse 4]
F#m                     E
Fools said I, you do not know
                      F#m
Silence like a cancer grows
                      D          A
Hear my words that I might teach you
                     D          A
Take my arms that I might reach you
       D          D5     D         A
But my words like silent raindrops fell
 F#m   A           E       F#m
And echoed in the wells of silence
 
[Verse 5]
F#m                      E
And the people bowed and prayed
                   F#m
To the neon God they made
                     D       A
And the sign flashed out it's warning
                     D       A
And the words that it was forming
N.C.
And the sign said
     D                        D5             D       A
The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
                F#m
And tenement halls
                     E          F#m
And whispered in the sound of silence