I only found out recently that Billy Bragg had nicked the first 2 lines from Paul Simon. An admirer of Mr Bragg as I am, I think these lyrics belong in this song far more than they do in "A New England".
The only criticism I would give is that the music is a little too "happy" for the lyrics, and doesn't give much sense of the mood, which I think should be, at best, melancholy. After all, getting old is pretty depressing!
"Hazy Shade Of Winter" perfectly describes the life process and its music sets the exact scene whereas the music and lyrics seem to contradict themselves in this song.
I agree somewhat. Many times, Simon's melodies don't seem to match his lyrics. I think the point of this is to create an ironic juxtaposition. I actually think that the irony works with this song, although it distracts from the lyrics of others (i.e., Save the Life of My Child). A Hazy Shade of Winter is a separate case, because Simon does not attempt irony in pairing the music with the lyrics.
I agree somewhat. Many times, Simon's melodies don't seem to match his lyrics. I think the point of this is to create an ironic juxtaposition. I actually think that the irony works with this song, although it distracts from the lyrics of others (i.e., Save the Life of My Child). A Hazy Shade of Winter is a separate case, because Simon does not attempt irony in pairing the music with the lyrics.
I only found out recently that Billy Bragg had nicked the first 2 lines from Paul Simon. An admirer of Mr Bragg as I am, I think these lyrics belong in this song far more than they do in "A New England". The only criticism I would give is that the music is a little too "happy" for the lyrics, and doesn't give much sense of the mood, which I think should be, at best, melancholy. After all, getting old is pretty depressing! "Hazy Shade Of Winter" perfectly describes the life process and its music sets the exact scene whereas the music and lyrics seem to contradict themselves in this song.
I agree somewhat. Many times, Simon's melodies don't seem to match his lyrics. I think the point of this is to create an ironic juxtaposition. I actually think that the irony works with this song, although it distracts from the lyrics of others (i.e., Save the Life of My Child). A Hazy Shade of Winter is a separate case, because Simon does not attempt irony in pairing the music with the lyrics.
I agree somewhat. Many times, Simon's melodies don't seem to match his lyrics. I think the point of this is to create an ironic juxtaposition. I actually think that the irony works with this song, although it distracts from the lyrics of others (i.e., Save the Life of My Child). A Hazy Shade of Winter is a separate case, because Simon does not attempt irony in pairing the music with the lyrics.
I think the original Paul Simon solo version has that 'less happy' arrangement and works much better
I think the original Paul Simon solo version has that 'less happy' arrangement and works much better