Silentio Sonante

(The Sound of Silence)

To see these lyrics in the original Latin, click here.

Hello, darkness, my friend;
I've come to talk with you again.
A vision disturbed me in my sleep
And my soul is still unquiet.
For this sight I saw in sleep
Still remains
In the resounding silence.

Restless and alone, I wandered
Narrow, dirty streets.
Cold and wet, I clutched
My cloak to me, and straightened it.
My eyes were burned by a light
The darkness was cloven
By the resounding silence.

People, betrayed by the light,
I saw plainly before my eyes
Who spoke without words.
They listened without understanding,
And they wrote songs, but never sang.
They all were scared
Of the resounding silence.

Then I cried these words to them:
"Don't you know that you are sick?
Hear me, and you will be well!
Touch me, and you will understand!
Even as I spoke, my words died
In the resounding silence.

The people worshipped the light,
Although it shone mercilessly.
And as I watched, I suddenly knew
A warning to take to my countrymen.
For prophetic words
Have already been scrawled in the Sabura,
In the resounding silence.


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