Book of D: The Sound of Silence by Disturbed

 RE: "The Sound of Silence" Conan performance by Disturbed

I remember watching Conan (O'Brien) in March of 2016. He had Disturbed as the performing musical guest. Disturbed is an American heavy metal band that hails from Chi-Town and is led by the remarkable vocalist David Draiman. Draiman (a.k.a. Mr. Oh...Wakakaka) has an extraordinary vocal range; his ability to rasp primal scream sans hot lava damage to his vocal cords is sublime. He reminds me a lot of  Scott Stapp, the lead vocalist for the now defunct Creed. 

Anyway, I remember watching / listening to Disturbed's own personal rendition of the classic aforementioned Simon & Garfunkel song. I was in awe. That's the best way in which I can describe how I felt while watching the live performance. It was moving. I admit I was also gobsmacked (no, I am not an anglophile, but do like stealing Briticisms like "gobsmacked"! 😃).

If you are one of the few peeps who has not yet given a listen to "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed, please do yourself a favor and give it a try. You might fall in love with this version - maybe you won't, but it can't hurt to be amongst the over 900 million people who have given it a chance. It will either give you good vibes and chills ala chicken skin or it will deem me a liar and give you the creeps and make you sick with chicken shivers. 😅 The hype surrounding Disturbed's version of "The Sound of Silence" might be apocryphal, but it has confounded the algorithms. Moreover, as of July 2022, the video on YouTube has more than 826 million views, while the live performance on Conan has over 131 million. According to experts, it is the most watched YouTube video from the show.

 

Lyrics "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel 

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"