Time, time, time
See 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 their 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
See 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 their 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
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
The Bangles cut out part of the lyric. The original had a line, "Funny how my memory slips while looking over manuscripts/Of unpublished rhyme/ Drinking my vodka and lime." The Bangles restored that line in many of their more recent performances, including the one they recorded for their DVD. Aside from the wonderful angst, I think that missing line makes it clear that the narrator of the song is a frustrated writer or poet.
Interestingly for a song about getting old, Simon was about 27 when he wrote the song, and the Bangles weren't much older when they recorded it.
I like both versions.
I think (as an older person myself) this song's wonderfully empathic with the plight of that person entering the "winter of her life" and seeing that "patch of snow on the ground." Not quite Dylan Thomas' "rage against the dying of the light," but very close.
"Hear the Salvation Army Band
Down by the riverside
It's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned... "
Because that cup could be for a Salvation Army soup line (or something).
I agree. And it was unusually empathic and insightful into how older people feel... when their bodies begin to die on them. and they see that "patch of snow on the ground" heralding the winter of their lives.
This is a great cover, never heard the original but I fell in love with this version instantly.
I agree from a different perspective - the "rockier approach" goes with how older people are rejecting decrepitude as a lifestyle - so that "60 is the new 40."
Many of us who are entering our sixth decade of life don't really FEEL ready to give up. We still want to rock.
As a side note - this song was released right before the holidays in 1987. I thought that the bridge - the "Seasons change with the scenery ..." bit - sounded almost like a Christmas carol. It really resonated with the holidays that year, and always makes me think of that specific time of my life when I hear it. Just my memory of this song.