Music Notes: Autumn Leaves
The sky was lit up with brilliant sunshine yesterday, and the dazzling colours of an autumn unleashed. Stand back in wonder, nature called out; be thankful for the chance to behold such beauty, a beauty that is so achingly familiar and forever astonishing.
It is so fleeting, and maybe that is why it always hurts a little. We are bathed in these glorious golds, reds and orange hues for such a short time; nature’s poignant reminder that so much life will pass before us before we behold it once more.
That sounds sad, and I don’t mean it to. Introspection is thoughtful, and, if these days, our thoughts wander more often to those people we miss, or concerns both global and at home, that is simply a reflection of the times we are living through.
There is a song, there is always music! This song – Autumn Leaves – ran through my mind the other day as I was walking through the field, with a delicate mist at my feet, as the sun made its final stretch to daylight. It’s a beautiful song, and so many musicians have made it their own. I prefer the simpler versions, and although jazz greats, such as our own Oscar Peterson, have recorded spellbinding instrumental riffs and variations on the tune, there are a few singers who bring to it the beauty and the poignancy I treasure.
‘Les feuilles mortes’ was composed in Paris by Joseph Kosma just after the Second World War, with lyrics by Jacques Prévert. Yves Montand sang it many times, but it is this later version, many years after his first interpretation in 1950, that I like the most. You can hear how much he has lived through the song. Memories and experience are the cushion that truly great musicians bring to the performance of a piece of music that has accompanied them throughout their lives. It is not to say that great musicians can’t be young! And once in a while, we’ll talk about a young musician or singer with an old soul!
Here is Yves Montand in a live recording:
Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics just a few years later, and the song was made hugely popular by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, and my favourite, Nat King Cole.
There are a few recordings of Eva Cassidy singing Autumn Leaves. She was and will forever be young, a beautiful singer who died far too soon. An old soul? She has a haunting voice, and I haven’t been able to decide which version to include – the video with the London Symphony Orchestra, or the live recording where she accompanies herself on guitar. So here are both, in that order:
Ah, the seasons of life.
In a few days, two to be exact, Steve Scales will be interred. The funeral originally planned for the same day was postponed to next spring, not cancelled. If you’d like to pause for a moment at 11 am on Saturday, however, that would be a fine thing.
Till soon, very soon,
Sarah
LES FEUILLES MORTES
paroles: Jacques Prévert
musique: Joseph Kosma
Oh! je voudrais tant que tu te souviennes
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle,
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié...
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Et le vent du nord les emporte
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
La chanson que tu me chantais.
REFRAIN:
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble
Toi, tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Et nous vivions tous deux ensemble
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis.
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie
Je t'aimais tant, tu étais si jolie,
Comment veux-tu que je t'oublie?
En ce temps-là, la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
Mais je n'ai que faire des regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais
Toujours, toujours je l'entendrai!
REFRAIN
Translation
AUTUMN LEAVES (Johnny Mercer)
The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sunburnt hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall