Category Archives: autumn

Music Monday: September 26, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Last week we crossed over into my favorite season. And what is not to love about fall? The crisp air especially in the evening when it is ripe with the aroma of wood burning fireplaces, the vibrant colors of the changing leaves, harvest festivals, not one but two holidays revolving around food (yes, I consider Halloween candy a food), pumpkins, gourds and jack-o-lanterns (oh my), the coziness of sweaters & warm blankets and we get an extra hour of sleep. Who is not on board with that? And what better way to celebrate a new season than with music?

fall pinterest image

(Pinterest image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Today’s song dates back to 1946 when it was written for the French film, Les Portes de la nuit (Gates Of The Night). Not long after American lyricist extrairdinaire Johnny Mercer wrote an English version of the track. Since then over a thousand renditions of this song have been recorded-some with vocals, some just instrumentals. Many of them are very well done but the interpretation I always found exceptional was by one of America’s greatest entertainers, Nat King Cole. His polished serene yet evocative vocals convey the loss of both love & one of the season’s most beautiful gifts in a truly sublime performance. He may be universally remembered best for his interpretation of Mel Torme’s classic, “The Christmas Song”, but Cole shines in all the other seasons too, including my favorite one of all.

“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“.

Nat circa 1955

Nat King Cole circa 1955. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Nat King Cole: “Autumn Leaves” (1955, music by Joseph Kosma, English lyrics by Johnny Mercer, French lyrics by Jacques Prévert).

Stay safe and well.

Welcome, October!

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne Of Green Gables.

October quote

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

This month has always held so much wonder and promise for me.  Most kids look forward to Halloween and I was not any different.  And when I was older I remember getting lost in the beautiful changing colors of the leaves as I walked home from school after sports practice or a club meeting.  And because it would start to get dark early I would also get to see even more pretty vibrant colors in the sky as the sun went down.

sky

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

With each step I took all I could hear was the sound of the fallen leaves as they crunched under my feet.  As I passed by the houses on each block I walked down I could see people inside as they turned their inside lights on while the smell of wood burning fireplaces filled the cool refreshing autumn air that caressed my face.  Every one of my senses was completely enveloped by all the season had to offer.  And I loved every second of it.

btr

(Born To Run cover photo by Eric Meola.)

October was the month I bought Born To Run & became part of Bruce Springsteen’s world.  It was the month I learned how to decorate for Halloween first with my mother when I was a child  and later on my own.  It was the month I looked forward to the night my dad would bring home a big orange pumpkin & watch him first draw then carve a big smiling face on it.  And the sweet aroma of it warming from the candle he would place inside of it is something I find unbelievably nostalgic as I carry on that tradition in my own home each year.

carved pumpkin

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

October is the month that took me to Vermont for the first time after years of putting it off.   It introduced me to so many wonderful things including green pumpkins, rustic & elegant antiques & junk stores, white gourds & goat’s milk everything.  It remains the best trip of my life.  And I swoon over each one of my cozy sweaters & blankets as I pull them out of their storage containers each year.  The first time I put the heat on in my home & in my car is when I know the month is in full swing & suddenly all is right in my world.

green

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

This glorious month has taken on other meanings over the years, some very good & others incredibly sad.  But no other month of the year brings back the amount of happy memories as this one does.  And no other month holds the same promise for more magic to occur.  Wishing you all the happiest October of your lives!

Stay well.