Autumn Leaves

When we moved into our house over twenty years ago the Bradford Pear tree in front was no more than a twig.  Now it is about forty feet high with a two-foot wide trunk.  It’s taken over the entire front yard and I love it.  It gives us shade all throughout the summer, keeping the kitchen cool, and I can put a comfortable chair under it on nice days and sit and read while the cats play or lounge in the front yard.

Then comes Autumn and the leaves come falling down.  And there’s a bunch of them.  I raked yesterday morning and filled up twelve large trash bags. 

“Autumn Leaves” was originally a French song based on a poem entitled “Les Feuilles Mortes” (literally, “The Dead Leaves”) by Jacques Prevert. Johnny Mercer (he seems to be all over this blog recently) penned English lyrics for the tune, changing the title to “Autumn Leaves”.  Jo Stafford recorded it first (she was an early and long-time member of Mercer’s Capitol Records stable) and her recording of it is fine, though to my ears a bit rushed.  She sang it on a television show many years later and the video once was available on YouTube but seems to be gone now due to copyright violations.  Which is a shame because it was a marvelous and moving rendition of the song – the best I’ve ever heard.  Sinatra did it, as did Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, and, well, I guess everyone who was anyone took a shot at it back in the day.  Here’s Nat King Cole’s version, a terrific one, for your morning listening pleasure:

UPDATE:  Funny how things work.  After I posted this morning I went off on my usual political blog troll and over at The Corner Mark Steyn linked over to a new Christmas CD he’s recorded with Jessica Martin.  I took a look and then decided to check in on Mark’s Song of The Week entry.  Funny, he did “Autumn Leaves” a couple of weeks ago.  Go here to find out everything you’ll ever want to know about the song, all in Steyn’s inimitable style. 

UPDATE II: Oh my.  Continuing my browsing at Steyn’s site I find that it’s Johnny Mercer month over there too.  And there’s much more if you’re so inclined, including his Macleans column and a 45-minute podcast that is highly enjoyable.  Great stuff if you love Mercer.