The Legendary Paul Simon Song That Art Garfunkel Had To Admit Was Genius: “More Power Than I Ever Realized”

“The Sound Of Silence” is a killer song. Though it’s been meme’d to death in modern times, this simple, pure track carries a wealth of emotion. The power of this song is made all the more impressive when we consider that Paul Simon hadn’t even written ten songs by the time he wrote this one. Not many songwriters can claim that they had a generational-defining track so early in their career.

Though their relationship hasn’t been an easy path to tread, Art Garfunkel did give props to his former bandmate at one point, calling this song simply “Genius.” Find out why he thought this song was better than anyone ever gave it credit for.

[RELATED: Paul Simon Calls This Early No. 1 Single a “Nonsense Song”]

The Legendary Paul Simon Song Art Garfunkel Had to Give Props To

Simon arguably wrote the best song about loneliness ever with this acoustic offering. He and Garfunkel brought that sentiment to life with pitch-perfect harmonies in 1964. Though Simon and Garfunkel have had their fair share of beef over the years, the latter did give credit where it was due.

“‘Sound Of Silence’ has more melodic, genius, simple power than I ever realized,” Garfunkel once said. “As the years go by, there’s something extraordinarily hooky about that simple melody—I didn’t know that. I knew it was a good-sounding record when it emerged…It was the sixth song Paul ever wrote.”

We can’t argue with Garfunkel there. This classic song remains a powerful statement of Simon’s singular songwriting, especially when we consider how green he was when he wrote it. Simon once commented on the notion that he was a young, inexperienced writer when this song came about, saying that it benefited the song.

“Really the key to ‘The Sound of Silence’ is the simplicity of the melody and the words, which are youthful alienation,” Simon once said. “It’s a young lyric, but not bad for a 21-year-old. It’s not a sophisticated thought, but a thought that I gathered from some college reading material or something.”

“It wasn’t something that I was experiencing at some deep, profound level; nobody’s listening to me, nobody’s listening to anyone,” he continued. “It was a post-adolescent angst, but it had some level of truth to it, and it resonated with millions of people. Largely because it had a simple and singable melody.”

No matter how many years pass or how much the internet tries to make this song a punchline, “The Sound Of Silence” will always affect listeners deeply. Revisit it above.

(Photo by Chris Walter/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)