The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
Welcome to my The Sound of Silence chord chart by Simon and Garfunkel. I’ve had A LOT of requests for this song and I hope I can do it some justice because it absolutely beautiful.
This sound is more a fingerpicking song but I will give you some strumming options as well.
The chords themselves are not hard at all. We have Am, C, G and F. There is also the occasional C/B indicating a walkdown and for the F, you can always use the easier Fmaj7 below.
This song does require the use of a Capo at the 6th fret.
I pulled strumming from one of their live performances.
Strumming:
1 + 2 + 3 + 4+
DUDU DU DU
Now remember there are two guitars on this song. Also, the picking for this song does varying from chord to chord. I will give you a generic general pattern you can use, but if you are looking for a more in depth precise version of the picking, try this version here. That uses a capo at the 1st fret.
Here is the real sound of the intro with Capo at 6th fret:
And this is my generic picking pattern you can use to play over the chords. Mainly alternating bass with some treble notes. But at least it’s a pattern you can stick with.
THE SOUND OF SILENCE GUITAR CHORDS CHART BY SIMON & GARFUNKEL, CAPO 6TH FRET
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.
Intro:
Picking pattern x 3
Verse:
Am(strum & hold) G G
Hello darkness, my old friend,
Am Am
I've come to talk with you again,
|F C| C
Because a vision softly creeping,
|F C| C (2/4)
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
F F
And the vision that was planted in my
|C - - C/B| Am Am(2/4)
Brain ….Still remains
G Am Am(strum & hold)
Within the sound of silence.
Verse: (strumming begins)
G G
In restless dreams I walked alone
Am Am
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
|F C| C
'neath the halo of a street lamp,
|F C| C (2/4)
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
F F
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon
|C - - C/B| Am Am(2/4)
Light That split the night
G Am Am
And touched the sound of silence.
Verse:
G G
And in the naked light I saw
Am Am
Ten thousand people, maybe more
|F C|
People talking without speaking,
|F C| C (2/4)
People hearing without listening,
F F
People writing songs that voices never
|C - - C/B| Am Am(2/4)
Share and no one dare
G Am Am
Disturb the sound of silence.
Verse:
G G
Fools said I, you do not know
Am Am
Silence like a cancer grows.
|F C|
Hear my words that I might teach you,
|F C| C (2/4)
Take my arms that I might reach you
F F
But my words like silent raindrops
|C - - C/B| Am Am(2/4)
Fell…and echoed
G Am Am
In the wells of silence
Verse:
G G
And the people bowed and prayed
Am Am
To the neon God they made.
|F C|
And the sign flashed out its warning,
|F C| C (2/4)
In the words that it was forming.
F
And the sign said, the words of the prophets
F
Are written on the subway
|C - - C/B| Am Am(2/4)
Walls, and tenement halls.
G Am (hold or play intro)
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.