posted
Simon and Garfunkel's little appreciated work Hazy shade of winter means a lot to me, simply because it is *exactly* my situation [save the optimistic bits].
But it also holds deeper, more global truths. And, on top of that, it's a damn good work on a simple musical level!
Add that together, and you get something quite good.
It starts with a quick, energetic beat.
quote: 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.
The narrator is reflecting on time. He (or she) had time, but while he (assume he for the rest) "looked around for [...] possibilites" the world changed:
Look around! [The] leaves are brown! And the sky is a hazy shade of winter
quote: Hear the Salvation Army band. Down by the riverside's Bound to be a better ride Than what you've got planned. Carry your cup in your hand. And look around, Leaves are brown, And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.
Not much to say here.
quote: 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
This is so poetic. Touching.
Another element confronts the narrator. I assume it's a friend, but it is more likely an internal voice, based on the personal pronouns.
"Hang on to your hopes, my friend"
Then the narrator replies to whatever it is.
"That's an easy thing to say, But if your hopes should pass away"
Without hope, life is the ultimate torture, that only death can relive. The narrator says he has no hope--only to be interupted.
"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"
Now the theme of seasons is being used as an optimistic one.
quote: Seasons change with the scenery; Weaving time in a tapestry Won't you stop and remember me At any convenient time?
The guitar strums harmonically, as this stanza is delivered. Now the narrator reflects on the changing faces of nature--time is woven in a tapestry.
quote: Funny how my memory skips Looking over manuscripts Of unpublished rhyme. Drinking my vodka and lime, I look around Leaves are brown, And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.
And now it ends on a bleak note.
Thoughts, ideas? What could the second stanza mean? And sorry, fugu, but I have as of yet to work on your piece you suggested.
Just as an endnote, it's very bitter for me to be writing about time...(/end rant.)
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
The stanza about the Salvation Army band seems to be about poverty, begging, and charity. I think the cup in his hand is what panhandlers use to collect their change. I think what it's trying to say is, now that your hopes are all gone, you'd do better to let go of them, admit defeat, and accept charity, than to proudly try to continue pursuing the dreams of your youth.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
It also seems to be talking about the seasons of life.
like springtime is when you are young and optimistic. But a lot of the homless are old and worn out, either emotionally or physically, in the hazy winter of their life.
And even if he isn't on the street, he's looking back on the rest of his life via the unpublished, unsuccesful rhymes, and realizing how hollow it was, and that he may not be remembered at all.
posted
*crosses Jim-Me and UofUlawguy off of "People who are allowed to be my friend" list*
While I'm at it I should probably also nix everyone who didn't have good things to say about O Brother.
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posted
I actually have never heard that song. But my favorite of Simon and Garfunkel;'s is The sounds of Silence
Posts: 1401 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote: great work. I liked The Bangles version better.
I like both versions, but I put them into different genres.
*jumps onto list*
-----
I think I've talked about this before. I used to live with my best friend and we loved "I Am a Rock". We listened to it endlessly until her younger sister got sick of it. One day, when we started up the album (Mrs. Robinson was playing), she burst into our room and yelled, "Turn off that stupid music! Nobody cares who found a rock!"
We stopped and looked at her. "What are you talking about?" I asked.
"That SONG! It's so stupid! How many times do I have to hear them say 'I found a rock, I found an island'?"
By now we were trying very hard not to laugh in her face.
Bobbi said, "I can't remember what song you're talking about. How does the rest of it go?"
She looked reluctant to sing, but we pressed her until she said, "And a rock feels no pain, and an island feels the same."
It's not really that big of a deal, but it was so funny to us. To this day whenever we get together we follow her around singing her version of "I Found a Rock".
posted
Speaking of Simon and Garfunkel, and the Sounds of Silence, do any of the hatrack Catholics or former Catholics know whether the tune to Sounds of Silence is also some kind of Catholic song? When I was in Guatemala, I was sitting in one city's central plaza, right outside the catholic church, during a festival. The people inside were singing something to the tune of Sounds of Silence. I was really surprised.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I've always loved Hazy Shade of Winter. That, Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall, and Save the Life of my Child (I think that's the name--for some reason I'm doubting myself on that one) are probably my three favorite Simon and Garfunkle songs (I love the vast majority of their work though), and Bookends, although incredibly depressing, is my favorite of their albums.
I have to say, while I love the sound of I Am a Rock, I've always kind of thought of it as the "Whiny Baby Song[/i]. The lyrics have always seemed so...wallowingly, melodramatically, childishly self pitying, you know?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I'm going to back up Alexa on this one. Tom Waits...:lost in reverie:...Oh, and I never knew the Bangles version was a cover. My bad.
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posted
Hymns are often written to be used with a variety of melodies. the Sounds of Silence might just fit one of those rhythmic patterns.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Hm. I like your assessment of it, Phanto. My personal favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs are "A Dangling Conversation" and "Fakin' It." I love how poetic their lyrics are. So few song lyrics actually say anything. I listen to the radio and often wonder why they're spending such a long time saying nothing. Hm again.
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