Sunday, October 16, 2011

Autumn Songs

Autumn Song

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)


Autumn Music (1963) by Isabel McLaughlin (1903-2002)
Know'st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the heart feels a languid grief
Laid on it for a covering,
And how sleep seems a goodly thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

And how the swift beat of the brain
Falters because it is in vain,
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf
Knowest thou not? and how the chief
Of joys seems--not to suffer pain?

 Know'st thou not at the fall of the leaf
 How the soul feels like a dried sheaf
 Bound up at length for harvesting,
And how death seems a comely thin 
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?


Except for nature's glorious display of colour, this time of year -- with darkness falling ever earlier and colder weather descending, can seem rather depressing for some people.  No wonder then, that the poetry and music which has been inspired by it is often melancholic.

These two songs performed by Gordon Lightfoot on one of his earliest albums have been favourites of mine forever!  In fact, I dearly love the entire album Lightfoot! and have referred to it before in an earlier post. But I did not realize until very recently that this next song was not written by Lightfoot but by Phil Ochs. If you are not already familiar with the work of Phil Ochs I urge you to click on his name (which is highlighted) above the following video. The link will take you to a Wikipedia article about him.  I will admit, although I had heard of him, I was not aware of the range of his work or his lasting influence.


Changes / by Phil Ochs (sung by Gordon Lightfoot)



This song is so simple and pure.  It is a like a hymn of benediction.


Peaceful Waters / by Gordon Lightfoot





I have collected some very autumn looking scenes to make a collage from the
BBC's Robin Hood with Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne.



Guy of Gisborne, the character portrayed so realistically by Richard Armitage in the BBC's rather campy production of Robin Hood 2006-2009 undergoes his own fall from grace. Luckily he redeems himself in the end.

When You're Falling: a Guy of Gisborne (Richard Armitage) fanvideo / by Delicateblossomvideo


Many of us who have seen his work, have fallen for the talent and dedication to his craft, of Richard Armitage, (not to mention his amazing good looks) and even more amazingly the shy humbleness and good humoured generosity of his personality. Many fans came to know his work in Robin Hood as Guy of Gisborne. Even though he played a "bad guy" who struggled and failed to win the heart of Maid Marian, he was able to capture the hearts of many fans.


Falling Into You / by litteraes

15 comments:

JeannieGisborne said...

I love the Gordon Lightfoot songs and I 've never seen those GoG vids before. Wow! Like you, I recognised Peter Gabriel's voice right away. The peom and the painting were lovely.

Phylly3 said...

Thanks Jeannie! Glad you liked my collection. The fanvids were new to me too!

jazzbaby1 said...

*Sigh* I love Gordon Lightfoot. Thanks, phylly!

LadyCassia said...

Hi Phylly, thank you for your musical advices. I will go through these ballads that are completely new to me.

Can I reciprocate, sending you one of my notorious virtual gifts for Autumn?

Hope you will enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kGqm80Y4do
Tchaikovsky - "The Seasons": October (Autumn Song)

Yes, Guy is definitely an autumnal character: sad, tormented, trying to change his destiny, but destined to fall. Sigh!

MaryKwizMiz said...

LOL - lovely post.. especially opening with Mr. Rosetti..I just sat through the whole batch of Desperate Romantics on Saturday ;)
had been planning an autumn post for a while but sidetracked as usual.. we're experiencing the most lovely one here at the mo, sunshine and soft light (though no real autumn colours yet, all that rust and gold and copper and blood red...waiting for it) and still balmy-ish temperatures...
the darker evenings invite to tea and choccie and re-watches of favourite shows...
love your musical choices.... I quite like Vivaldi's 'Autumn'.. but my all-time favourite song... and would be title of the post probably never written - 'Forever Autum'... Justin Hayward's version.. part of The War of the Worlds 'musical'.. aaawwh. I'm singing now.. thanks to you :) and might still write it all up after all. and illustrate?
thanks for a lovely start into the new week :D

Anonymous said...

Autumn was briefly lovely and colourful here too. The vibratto in Lightfoot's voice is always moving.

I do like your collage and caption, phylly! The Gisborne performance attained iconic status...

fitzg

Anonymous said...

HI!
Love the Guy photo collage - well done!
Autumn here has been a bit of a mixed bag - we've actually had some nicer days in October than we did in July/August!
Hope all is well!
tyme4t

Phylly3 said...

@jazzbaby1-- Ah! Me too! Thanks for visiting!
@LadyCassia - I do love Classical music and that one in particular would have been a lovely choice for this post. Thanks for the link! I wish it could be highlighted in the comments. I hope people realize they can copy and paste it into the address bar. Thanks for sharing!

Phylly3 said...

@TeeTotallyNot - I would love to see "Desperate Romantics"! I think it might be on Netflix!!
You are so lucky to still have nice weather. We had a wonderfully warm and colourful autumn up until a couple of days ago when the winds blew most of the leaves away and the temperature dropped. We have had a bit of snow (which luckily melted). I do love Autumn but it never lasts long enough in my part of the country.
I recognize that voice from Forever Autumn as the singer from The Moody Blues. Beautiful song! Can't wait to see your post!

Phylly3 said...

@fitzg- It sounds like this season was very nice all over Canada! I love Lightfoot's voice best in his earliest works (like these ones). Glad you like the collage. I found an easy online source for making them. (photovisi(dot)com)

@tyme4t - Thank you for the compliment! :) We had a really perfect summer and excellent Fall so far so I know we will probably have a brutal winter! (Can't have it all, right?)

JaneGS said...

I am so glad I visited your blog tonight. Gorgeous sights and sounds. I'd forgotten how much I love Gordon Lightfoot, and Changes was stunning.

Yesterday I walked down an avenue of yellow elms that gently showered me with falling leaves--heavenly.

Thanks for sharing this.

Phylly3 said...

@JaneGS - Autumn is such a glorious season, until the leaves are gone! Sounds like you are still enjoying it at the height of its beauty. Here, unfortunately the winds have stripped most of the leaves and we have had our first taste of snow. I am getting into serious hibernation mode!
Thanks so much for visiting and leaving your comment! :)

bccmee said...

Wow, I like your graphic. Very appealing and entertaining. "Fallen like a leaf." :D

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful song - love the lines: "And then they have to die. Trapped within the circle time parade of changes" That really hit me.

My favorite "fall" song is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vupHdbcogNo

(Sensommervisen by Kirsten og Finn Jørgensen.Not the best singer , but she is okay :-))

Guy - *SIGH* You have made a lovely portrait of his "fall"

Phylly3 said...

@alfie - Yes! I love those lines too.
That is a lovely song! Thanks for sharing it.