Lirik lagu “The Sound of Silence” sangat menyentuh. Paul Simon menuliskannya beberapa bulan antara tahun 1963-1964 ketika berusia 22 tahun. Penulis lagu dan penyanyi dengan tinggi 1,55 meter yang lahir 13 Oktober 1941 di Newark, New Jersey, boleh jadi menulis lagu yang sangat populer itu terpengaruh oleh peristiwa penembakan John F Kennedy dan masa perang Vietnam. Tak seperti Bob Dylan yang melantunkan lagu-lagu protes sosial dan anti perang dengan lantang, Paul Simon dan Art Garfunkel berdendang dengan kelembutan dan agak melankoli. Paul Simon bertekad tidak akan mengikuti karakter dan gaya penyanyi yang dia kagumi itu. Martin Luther King pernah berujar “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,but the silence of our friends.” Apakah Paul Simon membawa kegundahan Martin Luther King The Sound of Silence? Entahlah. Versi asli The Sound of Silence yang tercantum dalam album perdana Simon & Garfunkel “Wednesday Morning 3AM” dirilis Oktober 1964 bisa diunduh di Lirik the Sound of Silence seolah-olah hadir di malam yang hening ini. Ketika setiap hari mendengar dan membaca pernyataan para politisi. Bicara tetapi tidak mencerahkan Mendengar tetapi tidak mendengarkan Bertindak tetapi tidak memperjuangkan Melangkah tetapi tidak jelas arah Berjani tetapi beda pelaksanaan Terima kasih kepada Attar yang telah menguakkan ingat-ingatan ayah kembali atas lagu-lagu Simon & Garfunkel malam tadi, yang menghadirkan cermin untuk memahami kondisi negeri dengan lebih baik. “The Sound Of Silence” 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 And 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 sound of silence. Diterbitkan oleh faisal basri Faisal Basri is currently senior lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia and Chief of Advisory Board of Indonesia Research & Strategic Analysis IRSA. His area of expertise and discipline covers Economics, Political Economy, and Economic Development. His prior engagement includes Economic Adviser to the President of Republic of Indonesia on economic affairs 2000; Head of the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia 1995-98; and Director of Institute for Economic and Social Research at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia 1993-1995, the Commissioner of the Supervisory Commission for Business Competition 2000-2006; Rector, Perbanas Business School 1999-2003. He was the founder of the National Mandate Party where he was served in the Party as the first Secretary General and then the Deputy Chairman responsible for research and development. He quit the Party in January 2001. He has actively been involved in several NGOs, among others is The Indonesian Movement. Faisal Basri was educated at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Indonesia where he received his BA in 1985 and graduated with an MA in economics from Vanderbilt University, USA, in 1988. Lihat semua pos dari faisal basri