Wintering

The 1975

Track 8 on Being Funny in a Foreign Language (Japanese Deluxe)

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“Wintering” is the eighth song included in The 1975’s fifth studio album Being Funny in a Foreign Language. It was written as a Christmas song, inspired by the band’s… Read More

Oct. 14, 20221 viewer92K views

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Wintering Lyrics

[Intro]
Yeah, it's just like
It should start, it just
It should just come straight in
And just be like—

[Verse 1]
She walks down the stairs, feeling herself
Lookin' like she just won a court case
He's got a funny way of using the same
Four chords for every song he makes
He's called Bill and he plays with words
Like a skill, yeah he's pretty great
He said his official friend died 'cause of a officiate
Yeah, she's called Hannah and she plays the Joanna
Grade eight but she's got no soul
John's obsessed with fat ass and hе's ten years old
Oh, Dad's an Otis Redding at a wеdding type guy
With the best voice you ever heard
He said, "Give me a date I can work on, my heart hurts"

[Chorus]
I get home on the twenty-third
I'll drive up on the twenty-third

[Verse 2]
And I bumped into Julie in the co-op
She asked how the family's been
I said, "Alex is a sculptor and Olivia's been a vegan since ten
While Vin wears dresses while Debbie coalesces in a fleece that doesn't work
And I'll be givin' my chair to my Mum 'cause her back hurts"

[Chorus]
I get home on the twenty-third
Yeah, I drive up on the twenty-third (Yeah, yeah)

[Bridge]
Now Mum's not a fan of that line about her back
She said it makes her sound frumpy and old
I said, "Woman, you are sixty-four years old"

[Verse 3]
Now, stop the percussion, I wanna have a discussion
And it's Christmas so this is gonna be a nightmare
I just came for the stuffin', not to argue about nothin'
But mark my words

[Chorus]
I'll be home on the twenty-third
Yeah, I drive up on the twenty-third
(Yeah, I come home on the twenty-third)

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About

“Wintering” is the eighth song included in The 1975’s fifth studio album Being Funny in a Foreign Language.

It was written as a Christmas song, inspired by the band’s self-titled debut album.

“It’s a series of Polaroids and captured moments that’s just about your family—the dynamics, the quirks and the beauty of it.”

The track was originally created by The 1975 under their moniker Drive Like I Do. This was one of the early names of the band, but has turned into a separate project in the years since.

It was released alongside the rest of the album on October 14th, 2022.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The 1975 say about "Wintering"?

This is very much a vignette, a little story in the middle that paints a picture but doesn’t really tell you much of where I’m at. It’s kind of about my family, and it’s kind of a Christmas song, but it’s also that thing of relatable specificity because everyone knows that feeling of getting home for Christmas and the wanting to, but the not wanting to, but the needing to, and having to do all the driving and that whole thing. Other parts of the record have a bit more purpose, even though they’re slightly more abstract, but ‘Wintering’ is just this moment of brevity, and I think it’s really nice.

–via Apple Music (October 14, 2022)

What else have the artistis said about the song?

Wintering is me going home for Christmas. The reason it is interesting, is that whilst it could be seen as this charming notebook story what it’s also referencing is that at christmas and family gatherings, the conflict used to be in monopoly and trivial pursuits, now these meetings are almost being encouraged by young people on the internet to be political gatherings where the generational divide is set and fought over. My family don’t have big arguments about politcs so it’s quite nice. A song about a family that’s different, weird and quite eccentric just getting back together. Like Hann said, BFIAFL in the term of The 1975: ‘'this isn’t our War & Peace’‘. This is our collection of polaroids. It’s not our big magnum opus. It’s the photos of our vacation, that kind of feeling.