‘A Hazy Shade of Winter’ is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on October 22, 1966, initially as a stand-alone single, but subsequently included on the duo's album Bookends (1968). It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song follows a rock-tinged sound, with a fairly straightforward verse-refrain structure. The song dates back to Simon's days in England in 1965; it follows a hopeless poet, with "manuscripts of unpublished rhyme", unsure of his achievements in life. Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger described the song as "one of [Simon and Garfunkel's] best songs, and certainly one of the toughest and more rock-oriented."
In 1987, the Bangles were approached to record a song for the soundtrack of the film Less than Zero. They recorded a cover of ‘A Hazy Shade of Winter’ as ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ in a hard rock style, which they had been performing live as early as March 1983. Susanna Hoffs explained: “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".”
Lead vocals were performed jointly by all four members of the group, with a short solo led by Susanna Hoffs toward the end. This was a rare occurrence in The Bangles songs as they mostly had just one member singing lead. Due to pressure from their record label, The Bangles removed the verse from the original song that contained the line "drinking my vodka and lime". When released as a single in November 1987, ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ became a huge hit, surpassing the popularity of the original version, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 in the UK. It was also a hit around Europe.
The music video (the first for future country music video director Jim Shea) showed the group singing in a studio surrounded by television screens on the walls, similar to a scene from the film Less Than Zero, from which other scenes appear throughout the video. ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ was not included on any of the group's studio albums, but later appeared on their first official Greatest Hits in 1990 and on many of their compilations.
Label – Def Jam Recordings
Songwriter – Paul Simon
Producer – Rick Rubin
SONG LYRICS
Time, time, timeSee what's become of me
Time, time, time
See what's become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside
It's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned
Carry a cup in your hand
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
Hang onto 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
Grass is high
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?
Look around
Leaves are brown
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