Release Date: January 1, 2012
Format: CD Single, Digital Download
Recorded: Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre: Acoustic Pop, Country Pop, Pop
Length: 4:08
Label: Studio60 Records!
Writer: Ellie-Grace Summers
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Ellie-Grace Summers

’Silence Is Deafening’ is the third single from the 19 year old American acoustic-pop singer-songwriter Ellie-Grace Summers. Taken from her September 2011 debut album ‘Ellie-Grace’ it’s the third single from the album. Like all of the songs from the album it was written entirely by Ellie-Grace and was produced by Ryan Ross Hernandez. It’s a biographical song and was written about the downfall of a relationship that Ellie had when she was 17 years old, it was written following an argument with her boyfriend at the time which eventually led to their break up. It’s regularly been performed live following the release of her debut album, It’s the final single from her debut album and is set for release on January 1, 2012

Background
Written while she was 17 and following an argument with her boyfriend at the time, the song is a biographical interpretation of her feelings for the guy that she was dating and his inability to open up to her, the two broke up shortly after their argument and the song was inspired by that with its lyrics explaining the difficulties within the relationship, “We used to be so close/once upon a time/But now it seems you’ve stopped feeling now/and your heart is no longer mine.” Shows the trouble’s between the two teenagers and how Ellie’s feelings were starting to waver a little and the silence between them had started to get worse, “Silence is deafening/like the cold sound of pain/Silence is deafening/when there’s nothing left to gain/Silence is deafening/And has the power to kill/Silence is deafening/You’d tell me if being with me/Was just a cheap thrill.”

Song Description
The song opens with a soft piano introduction, followed by a soft drum beat which can be heard consistently in the background throughout the song, the music plays alone for the first seventeen seconds of the song before Ellie strikes the first chords on her acoustic guitar, she strikes the strings softly a number of times which slowly builds up the song, the piano then goes silent as does the drums before you can clearly hear Ellie sigh into the microphone before her quiet voice can be heard as she says softly, “Here we go.” which leads to her playing her acoustic guitar quickly and energetically, quickly followed by the re-introduction of the piano and drums and finally to complete the sound, Ellie begins singing the lyrics to the song with her soft country vocals, which has enough emotion combined with energy to give it more than just a sad feel, it manages to avoid being dull and slow but manages to keep it’s emotion in tact throughout.

Songwriter’s Comment
“Like most of the songs I write, this was written about a specific time in my life, I guess I was 17 years old when I wrote this, it was a time in high school where everybody was planning their future, some of my best friends had dropped out a few months before the term started for whatever reasons they had and so it was a different feeling starting that term because most of the people I was really tight with had gone, there was a few friends that were still around but basically It was kinda like I was the only one left, well I was dating someone at that time and it was kinda the first ‘crazy love’ that I had ever had, you know? The kind of love where you just can’t stop thinking about the person your dating, the kind where it sort of aches to be away from each other or go the whole day without being able to talk to them, it was like all relationships, it has it’s good things but it has it’s bad things too and anyway, we spent a couple of hours after school together, just hanging out and talking and we started to talk about our relationship, you know? To kinda get things out in the open. And of course it led to argument which inspired the writing of this song in particular.

I just wanted him to open up a little more, he took it badly when I told him how it made me feel when he never opens up to me and things started to unravel from there really and it turned into an argument, I ended up walking back home by myself and the next day was a Saturday, and there was absolutely no communication from him at all, I texted him and got no reply, I called, I even went over to see him but he sent me away and so I returned home and I was upset, I sat in silence for a little while and eventually I picked up my guitar and started to play, I just started singing about how I was feeling in that moment and then came the pain focus of the song, ‘Silence Is Deafening’ and about forty minutes later I had pretty much written the version of the song that appeared on my debut album and it’s now gone on to become my third single, so it sort of proves that you can always get something good out of a difficult moment in your life, we broke up pretty soon after that and we kinda went our own separate ways but with a lot of songs that I write, it brings me back to that time, it’s interesting to see things looking back now, so that’s basically the story behind the song and what inspired the lyrics, I hope you’ll enjoy the song.”
- Ellie-Grace Summers ~ xoxo

Lyrics

We used to be so close, once upon a time
But now it seems you’ve stopped feeling now
And your heart is no longer mine
---
All we’ve got is an awkward silence
And the whisper in the air
All we’ve got is unwritten love letters
And the feeling of despair
---
We don’t seem to talk no more
The same way that we used to do
And now I feel so cold and alone
And I guess this means, we’re through
---
You never tell me how you’re really feeling
And I’m just playing this same old guessing game
My mind just wanders through all of this silence
And leaves me here in so much pain
---
So I guess what I’m trying to say
In my own messed up kinda way
Is that I wish you happiness in your life
And I hope to see you again someday
---
But for now if this is what you need to do
I won’t blame us, I won’t blame you
I guess that we just want different things
But I just want the joy that your love used to bring
---
But this silence is deafening
Like the cold sound of pain
And silence is deafening
When there’s nothing left to gain
---
Silence is deafening
And has the power to kill
You would tell me if being with me
Was just a cheap thrill
---
Silence is deafening
And I can’t take no more
Silence is deafening
And I’m closing the door
---
Silence is deafening
And it’s harder to try
Silence is deafening
It’s such a shame to see true love die

Personnel
Ellie-Grace Summers – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Songwriting, Production
William Blake – Piano, Backing Vocals
Alexander Hall – Drums, Percussion
Ryan Ross Hernandez – Production, Mixing, Mastering
Rebecca Jackson – Album Art