Saturday, October 17, 2015

Winter is Coming



"A Hazy Shade of Winter" (listen to it here) was written by Paul Simon in the early sixties and appears on Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). The song is a metaphor for a life which draws upon the transition from fall to winter. It speaks of a person who once had great hope, but as time goes on, hope is slowly transitioning to uncertainty. There is a haze through which the writer cannot see clearly. He listens to the Salvation Army Band for inspiration but it is unclear if this gives him any peace. Ultimately, he rejects the message of salvation and turns back to his vodka and lime while reading his collection of incomplete rhymes. It is a mid-life crisis song in which the singer wonders if he has accomplished anything in his life and longs for something more; he longs to be remembered. He recognizes that it should be the springtime of his life, but the patch of snow on the ground tells him that winter is coming.

Hazy Shade of Winter 
Time, time time, see what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities

I was so hard to please
But look around
The leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside, there's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned

Carry your cup in your hand
And look around you
Leaves are brown, now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend that you can build them again
Look around
The grass is high
The fields are ripe
It's the springtime of my life

Seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me
At any convenient time?
Funny how my memory skips while looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme
Drinking my vodka and lime 
I look around
Leaves are brown, now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground
Look around
Leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground

Words and music written by Paul Simon; published by Universal Music Publishing Group ©.

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