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Kaitlyn Dankworth

Prof. Leonard

English Composition ll

February 12, 2022

The lyric “People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening” is a line in

the song “The Sound of Silence” that has a major impact on the song's meaning. These lines

contradict themselves and may seem very confusing but the statement of talking without speaking

and hearing without listening proves that there is a deeper form of communication going on. In

both the original and remake version of the song, we are given black and white visuals with raw

and meaningful symbolism.

While the themes of the song "Sound of Silence" by Disturbed and Simon & Garfunkel are

very similar, Disturbed brings a very different energy to the song and provides evidence that gives

the song an evolved meaning. While Simon & Garfunkel used a subtle visual and vocal style,

Disturbed were more raw with emotion while still keeping the same feeling as the original.

To start, let's give some background as to when these songs were released. As for the

Simon & Garfunkel version, theirs was released in 1966. This is good to know because the video

we see is in black and white, supporting the fact that it is 1966 and color images weren’t

widespread at the moment, and is very simplistic. We can see Simon and Garfunkel on a stage

with only their microphones and a guitar in a crowd of silent people. In contrast, we see in the

Disturbed version that there is still black and white visuals and there are an abundance of people on

two separate islands, both seeming to be defeated and worn down with instruments laying about.

As the video continues, we see these people start to converge and get more confident, grabbing
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instruments and music sheets. Eventually, they get on a boat and go towards each other from across

a body of water.

In the original 1966 version of “The Sound of Silence” there are much more subtle and

hard to acknowledge details in the video that the Disturbed version seems to have made more

easily noticed. For example, we see Simon and Garfunkel on stage with a crowd around them,

being silent and not having much effect on the performance whether it be cheering, clapping or

booing. This supports the line stated earlier in the essay, “People talking without speaking, people

hearing without listening”. They are sitting in the crowd but they seem to have gotten the point of

the song by the strong eye constant and more personal and small audience. The small details that

are going on in this video go on to prove that the nature of the original are consistently more gentle

on the eyes.

We also see that the musical style of the remake by Disturebed varies greatly from the

original, having a metal and more aggressive sound and changing the audience in which the song

is for. For example, in the bridge of the song we hear the lead singer, David Driamen, go into a

deep and gravelly voice, contradictory from the gentle and smooth original. This change in vocal

performance makes the sound of the song less universal but more impactful to the ears. The

demographic for this song changes from and sound for everyone to a song for adults or teenagers.

The use of the rhetorical appeals are strongly presented, especially pathos, mainly in the

Disturbed version as it has more visuals to look at and interpret. Firstly, we see people broken

down and weak along with scattered musical objects, making us feel sympathy for them. Next, we

see them get up and start to regain strength. At the end, they finally band together with their

instruments to help each other with music. Showing these visuals while being in black and white
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gives the viewer a very raw and deep connection to the people in the video, making its use of

pathos strong.

While the videos and musical style are very different, there are also things that are very

similar between the two versions. For example, both videos are in black and white. While Simon

and Garfunkel had to have a balck and white video, I feel as though Disturbed made theirs in black

and white to pay homage to the original and to have a more raw emotion created. To continue, the

musical styles vary but, surprisingly, each song gives off a similar vibe. Both give the listener a

sense of hope and unity within each other. This proves that songs can still be very unique while

still providing a similar experience.

In conclusion, the song “The Sound of Silence” originally by Simon & Garfunkel and

remade by Distubed are both different in their styles, audience, and visual effects while still having

a similar ending feeling and experience.

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Works Cited

“Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence [Official Music Video]” Youtube, uploaded by Disturbed,

8-12-2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4. Accessed on 10-2-2022.

“Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence (HD music video 1966)” Youtube, uploaded Sound

& Vision, 11-7-2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqXyTNKlwTI. Accessed on

10-2-2022.