Hazy Shade of Winter – English Lyrics

• By: The Bangles

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a fantastic journey, and The Bangles' "Hazy Shade of Winter" offers a great opportunity to explore poetic English lyrics. Originally by Simon & Garfunkel, this rock version is full of powerful imagery about the seasons of life. Its driving rhythm and clear vocals make it a compelling and enjoyable way to practice your English comprehension and dive into deeper metaphorical meanings.

[English]

♪ Time, time, time ♪

♪ See what's become of me ♪

♪ (guitar riffs) ♪

♪ 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 ♪

♪ There'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 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 ♪

♪ 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? ♪

(guitar riffs)

♪ 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 ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole
see /siː/ A1	verb - perceive with the eyes; discern visually
hard /hɑːrd/ A2	adjective - solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced
leaves /liːvz/ A1	noun - plural of leaf
brown /braʊn/ A1	adjective - of a color produced by mixing red, yellow, and blue
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth
hazy /ˈheɪzi/ B2	adjective - covered by haze
shade /ʃeɪd/ B1	noun - relative darkness and coolness caused by shelter from direct sunlight
winter /ˈwɪntər/ A1	noun - the coldest season of the year
army /ˈɑːrmi/ A2	noun - an organized military force equipped for fighting on land
riverside /ˈrɪvərsaɪd/ B1	noun - the land alongside a river or stream
ride /raɪd/ A2	noun - a journey on a horse, bicycle, motorcycle, or in a vehicle
planned /plænd/ B1	adjective - arranged or decided in advance
hopes /hoʊps/ B1	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
grass /ɡræs/ A1	noun - vegetation consisting of typically short plants with long, narrow leaves, growing wild or cultivated on lawns and pasture, and as a fodder crop
high /haɪ/ A1	adjective - of great vertical extent
fields /fiːldz/ A2	noun - an area of open land, especially one planted with crops or pasture, typically bounded by hedges or fences
ripe /raɪp/ B1	adjective - (of fruit or grain) fully developed and ready to be eaten or harvested
springtime /ˈsprɪŋtaɪm/ B1	noun - the season after winter and before summer, in which vegetation begins to appear, in the northern hemisphere from March to May and in the southern hemisphere from September to November
seasons /ˈsiːzənz/ A1	noun - each of the four divisions of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) marked by particular weather patterns and daylight hours, resulting from the earth's changing position with regard to the sun
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A1	verb - make or become different
snow /snoʊ/ A1	noun - atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and falling in light white flakes or lying on the ground as a white layer

Key Grammar Structures

• See what's become of me

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense

  ➔ Uses the auxiliary verb "has/have" (here contracted to "'s") + past participle to describe an action that started in the past and continues to have relevance in the present. "What's become" indicates the current state resulting from past events.

• While I looked around for my possibilities

  ➔ Past Continuous (looking) within a "while" clause indicating duration

  ➔ The use of "looked" indicates an ongoing action in the past while something else was happening. The "while" clause sets up a contrast or simultaneous action.

• There's bound to be a better ride

  ➔ "Be bound to" for future certainty/prediction

  ➔ "Be bound to" suggests a high probability or certainty about a future event. It's a stronger form of prediction than "will" or "may".

• If your hopes should pass away

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood (Should + base form)

  ➔ Using "should" in this conditional clause creates a sense of unlikelihood or hypothetical situation. It emphasizes the possibility of the hopes disappearing, even though it's not expected.

• Simply pretend that you can build them again

  ➔ Imperative mood with "pretend" followed by a 'that' clause introducing reported speech (indirect statement).

  ➔ "Pretend" is in the imperative mood, giving a direct instruction. The "that" clause introduces what you should pretend, transforming a direct thought into an indirect statement. The "can" expresses ability in this indirect statement.