Song: Hazy Shade of Winter
Year: 1966
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Album: Bookends
Language Focus: Fluency
Episode Description
It’s the middle of winter, and Heather is m-m-m-miserable in the cold. We get together for a cup of hot chocolate to fight the gloomy winter weather, and we end up talking about the 1966 Simon & Garfunkel song, “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” There’s a famous 1987 cover of the song by the Bangles, and we love them both. Both versions of the song are great for practicing fluency and thought groups. What’s a thought group? Tune in to this episode and find out!
🎶Have fun, and…just keep singing!🎶
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece!
H: And I’m Heather. We’re the cohosts of the music-themed,
E: language learning,
H: song-focused podcast, English as a Singing Language.
E: And right now we’re in the middle of winter.
H: Yes we are! Last week was 20 degrees below zero Celsius every day!
E: I bet you were m-m-m-miserable in the cold.
H: I sure was. The grey skies and the snow got me thinking about the song we’re going to talk about today.
E: Is it a gloomy winter song?
H: It is…but we’re going to use it to practice fluency, so that makes it fun.
E: Hmmmm….I wonder what song it is. I can’t wait to find out!
H: Me neither. Let’s get started.
<end intro>
H: <shivering and humming “Hazy Shade of Winter>
E: Hey Heather! Fancy meeting you here! Where are you off to?
H: I’m headed to the coffee shop. I’m freezing! All I can think about is getting a cup of hot chocolate.
E: Sounds good! Mind if I join you?
H: Of course not! Let’s go.
E: So, I noticed you were humming a winter song just now.
H: I was. It was the 1966 song by Simon & Garfunkel, A Hazy Shade of Winter.
E: I remember it from the 1987 cover by the Bangles.
H: I love that version, too. It was a big hit when I was in high school.
E: The Bangles lead singer, Susanna Hoffs said this about deciding to cover the song, <quote> “I’m listening to K-EARTH 101, an oldies station. I’m alone in this dark room and all I had was the radio. ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ came on one day. I thought I was a Simon & Garfunkel aficionado but I, somehow, had missed that badass folk-rock song of theirs. I ran to our band rehearsal that night and was like, ‘We have to cover this song!’
H: The Bangles took the folk-rock song from Simon and Garfunkel and made it a pop song. In fact, their cover was more popular than the original song!
E: Well, our listeners can try both versions and see which one they like best.
H: Either version is great to practice fluency.
E: We have talked about other songs that are good for practicing fluency in previous episodes.
H: We have! There was ABBA’s song, “Take a Chance on Me.”
E: And Michael Franti’s, “The Sound of Sunshine,” which is also fantastic for practicing fluency.
H: I wish we had some sunshine today!
E: Whether we’re talking about a gloomy winter song or a cheery summer song, they’re both good for fluency practice!
H: Listeners can go back and check out those songs if they want more fluency practice.
E: And this song also has nice examples of thought groups.
H: Thought groups?
E: Yes! When we speak, we pause between phrases, to make it easier to understand.
H: Ah! Sowedon’tjusttalkandtalkwithoutpausingbecausethatwouldbereallydifficultforthelistener!
E: Exactly. For example, in the first line, “Time, time, time, / see what's become of me, /while I looked around / for my possibilities.”
H: That sounds very natural.
E: It does. This song is about passing time and how the cold, winter weather makes the singer feel.
H: Hmmmm….how about the next line, “I was so hard to please.” What does that mean, Ece, to be “hard to please”?
E: It means that a person is never happy, never satisfied.
H: I think I might be hard to please sometimes.
E: Probably everyone is from time to time. Sometimes, things just don’t seem right, no matter what.
H: Definitely true for me. The next part is the refrain, “Look around / the leaves are brown /and the sky / is a hazy shade of winter.” Really nice thought groups, and a good description of what the weather is like today.
E: It’s definitely cold, gray and hazy today. When the sun is out, everything looks crisp and clear.
H: But when it’s cloudy and cold, it looks fuzzy and hazy.
E: The next line is, “Hear the Salvation Army band / Down by the riverside, / there's bound to be /a better ride / than what you’ve got planned.”
H: That line has good examples of thought groups. And what is a Salvation Army Band?
E: The Salvation Army started brass bands in the 1890s. The groups had brass horns and drums.
H: Interesting. The next line is good for fluency practice, too. “Carry your cup in your hand.”
E: It seems like the singer is a little depressed about the brown leaves and the hazy shade of winter.
H: I can relate to that feeling, and I agree the song a little gloomy so far.
E: The next lines are a little hopeful?
H: I think maybe a little hopeful.
E: “Hang on to your hopes, / my friend. / That's an easy thing to say.”
H: “Hang on to” is a useful phrasal verb meaning to keep something carefully and not let it go.
E: Right. And it is easy to say. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged and lose hope.
H: Especially in the winter!
E: The rest of that line is, “But if your hopes should pass away, / simply pretend / that you can build them again.”
H: Even if you lose hope, you should at least pretend that you can regain your dreams and keep going.
E: The next two parts have some interesting images, along with the fluency with pauses and thought groups.
H: The next lines are, “Seasons change with the scenery, / weaving time / in a tapestry.”
E: Wow! That’s a really wonderful description.
H: Thinking about how the seasons change, winter then spring followed by summer and fall.
E: The scenery changes from snow to flowers to green leaves and then the trees turn red, gold, orange and brown.
H: And those images are woven into a tapestry.
E: That’s cool figurative language.
H: Right. You can’t actually weave time, like you weave cotton or wool into a piece of material or fabric.
E: Or a tapestry.
H: A tapestry is a large decorative rug that usually has a beautiful pattern or picture woven into it.
E: They usually hang on the wall like a painting.
H: So the singer is describing how the different seasons weave together to make a beautiful tapestry. Maybe winter doesn’t seem so bad if you think about it like that.
E: Exactly. It’s just part of the beautiful tapestry of life.
H: That’s lovely. So, the next lines are, “The grass is high. The fields are ripe. It's the springtime of my life.”
E: See! Spring is coming and soon life will be full of hope and new beginnings.
H: Nice. In the last verse, the lyrics go, “Funny how my memory skips / while looking over manuscripts /of unpublished rhyme.”
E: The singer is looking at manuscripts, writing that has not been published yet, and their memory skips around thinking about different points in the past.
H: And this is another line that is good for practicing pauses and fluency.
E: The last line is perfect for today!
H: “There’s a patch of snow on the ground.”
E: There are many small patches of snow on the ground today.
H: And a patch is a small area that is different from the area surrounding it.
E: Like in a month or so, you’ll be very happy to see patches of flowers everywhere.
H: You’re right! I will be very happy!
E: I think we’re ready to sing!
H: Me too!
E: Listeners, there are links to both the Simon & Garfunkel 1966 version,
H: and the Bangles 1987 cover in the episode notes.
E: They’re both great for practicing fluency and thought groups.
H: Make sure you sing out loud as you listen!
E: Especially if the leaves are brown,
E + H: and it’s a hazy shade of winter!
<outro>
H: Sitting here with a nice cup of hot chocolate, talking about this great song, I don’t even mind that it’s a cold winter’s day, Ece.
E: Me neither. What a great way to spend an afternoon!
H: And before we know it, there will be patches of flowers everywhere!
E: Just think about the seasons weaving together in the beautiful tapestry of this year.
H: That’s a terrific way to think of it.
E: Listeners, make sure that you like and subscribe to the podcast, so you won’t miss an episode!
H: You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on YouTube.
E: Pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts!
H: You can also follow us on Instagram, @singinglanguages.
E: Until next time, have fun and…
E + H: …just keep singing!
Ivie, Devon. "The Most Endearing and Psychedelic of the Bangles, According to Susanna Hoffs. Vulture, November 30, 2021. https://www.vulture.com/2021/11/interview-susanna-hoffs-on-the-bangles-and-prince.html
Official YouTube Video of the Original Simon & Garfunkel Song
Official YouTube Video of The Bangles Cover
Complete Lyrics
Time, time, time, see what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please
Refrain:
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
Refrain:
And look around
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
Songwriters: Paul Simon
Hazy Shade of Winter lyrics © Sony/atv Songs Llc
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