Colbert Mocks Trump With ‘The Sound of Silence’

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 21, 2020 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | October 21, 2020 |

Hoooo boy, I love a good song parody. I grew up devouring any Weird Al album I could get my hands on. There are some songs I’ve heard parodies of more than the actual song! Needless to say, in a week of late-night hosts joking about a mute button at the upcoming presidential debate, Stephen Colbert won the top prize (my affection) by parodying Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence.

What makes the parody so good, you might ask? Well! For starters, there are harmonies that would make S&G proud. A good parody should still sound like a good song. It’s only when you listen to the lyrics that you should notice something is amiss. There also has to be good jokes (obviously). Not only are the shots at Trump here solid, “where were you in 2016, during his reign of mansplaining”, but they even take a well-deserved shot at Jeffery Toobin!

It’s hard to predict what Thursday’s debate will be like. Our current “normal” is constantly stretching and changing and being kicked in the teeth. Trump could very well just yell like a crazy person whenever he is muted. For now, I’m going to allow this song to give me a bit of comfort. Maybe the button will be a saving grace? If not, maybe the Debate Commission will take a cue from Colbert and add a Nickelodeon type slime button?

For now, all I can do is dream … and hum The Sound of Silence for the next seven hours as it is firmly stuck in my head.