“Like a ticking bomb, that doesn’t make a sound.”

[Elite]

How would this work, exactly? It's ticking, meaning that it's making a sound, yet at the same time it 'doesn't make a sound'. Who can solve this paradox for me?

[Ben_Jamin]

I take "ticking bomb" to mean a bomb that is counting down it's time till it detonates.  It's used in the song to show how deadly hidden rage can be. Where we won't know when the rage bomb will detonate, and it could explode at any given moment. That someone could be hiding their rage so well, that one incident or one simple mishap of their day could be the moment that the bomb detonates. Whatever rage they're hiding, is the shadow that is buried and in turn silenced.

I take the song to mean, the things we don't want to talk about being repressed and buried so deep, to the point of silencing. It's so silent, yet it's a ticking bomb that is ready to explode, which leads to the conflict. The lyrics then go on to say "the raging storm below, will never go away, if it is not embraced." These shadows people hide deep down, need to be embraced before they explode and awaken the sleeping giant within. This is what needs to be done to spin that common thread, for our desire and ambition that there is good in this world.

[pg1067]

"Ticking" is simply the countdown of a clock.  It doesn't always have sound associated with it.

[The Curious Orange]

"Ticking" is simply the countdown of a clock.  It doesn't always have sound associated with it.

No, ticking is the noise a clock makes. I have several clocks that don't tick - digital ones, for example.

[pg1067]

I figured it out.  The time bomb is made/decorated with "a strong cotton fabric, usually twilled":  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ticking

[Setlist Scotty]

Just re-reading the lyrics, I think you need to separate the two lines in question. The "ticking time bomb" is actually compared to "the rage inside". However this rage "doesn't make a sound" in terms of giving a warning, just as a hidden time bomb (even if ticking) doesn't give a warning before blowing up.

[hunnus2000]

Heavy shit man!

Somebody roll a doob! 

[Chino]

The bomb is in the vacuum of space and the ticking can't be heard.

Duh.

[bosk1]

In space, no one can hear you tick

[RodrigoAltaf]

It's a primitive design.