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James R Eddy's avatar

Another wonderful deep dive. Through coincidence/record rotation I was just listening to Jo Stafford again a few days ago, and that video from the Judy Garland show was simply astounding.

Although he is sometimes mocked for it, Van Morrison has shown an obsession with actual falling/fallen leaves in many of his songs, again as "elements of the painting" rather than as metaphors in any particular way. As early as "Cypress Avenue" his narrator recalls being entranced as "the leaves fall one by one by one, and call the autumn time a fool." Then in the Moondance title song, "all the leaves on the trees are falling, to the sound of the breezes that blow."

Three years later, he recast his song "Purple Heather" (which he claimed he "wrote," but it is largely a remake of Wild Mountain Thyme -- a summer tune) as an autumn reverie, observing that "when the summertime is gone, and the leaves are gently turning" he will go with his love into the mountains. On the same record, his trance-inducing "Autumn Song" begins with "leaves of brown, they fall to the ground...and it's here, over there, leaves abound" -- for a narrative all about the seasonal changes and celebrations brought by autumn.

A decade later he cast the changing color of leaves in a starring role in the title song of "Sense of Wonder," actually naming as many leaf changing colors as the narrator could come up with in one verse, while also offering with resignation this thought about the emotional state of observing leaves change: "It's easy to describe the leaves in the autumn, and it's oh so easy in the spring....but down through January and February, that's a very different thing." A schoolboy song of nostalgia like "Orangefield" begins with "On a golden autumn day, you came my way...in Orangefield." (And while I suppose the narrator could have been referring to the odd sunny autumn day in Belfast, I've always understood that golden day to be attributed to the fall color change).

There are other examples of his leaf obsession, but I've stretched any reader's patience already.

Finally, an iconic song by the great Australian songwriter Paul Kelly, "Leaps and Bounds," captures perfectly the month of May -- autumn in antipodean nations -- with a non-visual reference to leaves, in this case their incineration -- "I'm breathing today, the month of May, all the burning leaves." For Australians, that early line in the song firmly cemented a personal experience of leaves in all listeners.

Thanks for all of your writiing Richard.

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Michael K. Fell's avatar

This is a lovely piece, Richard. I live in a beautiful, damp part of the US where we are surrounded by trees. Western Oregon is essentially a temperate rainforest. The autumnal colors in our neighborhood, on our road, and the western hills that outline downtown Portland to the west - are stunning. It also means, however, that I am raking leaves for literally two+ months. But it is so worth it because not only do the trees bring our house lovely shade in the summer, but they are home to many vocal crows, other birds and families of raccoons and squirrels. 

While reading this, I also couldn't help but think about Nick Drake's album title, 'Five Leaves Left,' but also a couple of quotes the American artist, Georgia O'Keefe, once said about her flower paintings: 

"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t time, and to see...takes time. It’s like having a friend. Having a friend takes time."

And...

"I decided that if I painted a flower huge, you cannot ignore its beauty.”.

Both of these quotes are so powerful, as art is about learning how to see and music is about listening. Within the songs you listed, you clearly took the time to become close friends with them, and as with O'Keefe's large flower paintings, you clearly can't ignore the song's beauty. 

One of the things I vividly remember about my time during the pandemic is that my wife and I would go on very long walks throughout the city, and we noticed the little things that many of us miss amongst the busyness of our normal lives. Taking the time to see the kaleidoscopic colors of spring, the cluster of bees on flowers in the front gardens throughout Portland's neighborhoods, the sounds of kids playing, and eventually the first sign of autumn on the trees were all key moments during the 2020 lockdown. It also brought a sense of calm and beauty, as for over 100 days the evenings descended into chaos with the riots and tear-gassed skies in the night (which lasted over three months in Portland). 

Lastly, Nelson is right—the weed is stronger. I stopped smoking because it's too strong. But it's also not weed growing in the wild. The stuff grown today is genetically modified, or cross-pollinated to blow your head off. It's also legal in Oregon, and the smell of weed is part of the urban fabric and tapestry of this city. 

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on leaves, songs, and the artists behind the lyrics. 

PS: Oh, I just remembered... Last year, we cut a small bit off a houseplant and put it in a glass of water until it grew roots. We then planted it in its own pot, and it is now a healthy plant. 😊

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