Nat King Cole – Autumn Leaves

About The Song

“It’s a tale of two torch songs. The original, penned in French as ‘Les Feuilles Mortes’ (literally translating to ‘Dead Leaves’), was a somber expression of lost love and regret. Its translated counterpart, ‘Autumn Leaves,’ explored the same theme but in a softer, more contemplative manner.

In 1945, this song emerged as a poem, crafted by screenwriter and intellectual Jacques Prévert as part of the script for a ballet titled ‘Le Rendezvous.’ Two years later, director Marcel Carné adapted the ballet into a film, with Hungarian-born composer Joseph Kosma transforming Prévert’s poem into music. Perhaps due to its origins as a poem rather than a song, it adopted a slightly complex structure. Kosma interpreted it as 24 bars of introductory verse, encompassing two distinct moods and melodies, followed by a 16-bar refrain—half the length of a traditional Tin Pan Alley song.

Although Carné’s film didn’t fare well, the lead actor, a popular young singer named Yves Montand, developed an affinity for ‘Les Feuilles Mortes.’ Despite not performing it in the movie, he included it in his concert repertoire. Initially met with a lukewarm reception—lacking a clear beat, featuring an intricate structure, and conveying an unrelenting sadness—the song persisted. Within a few years, it became Montand’s most significant hit and the most requested song in his repertoire.

While the song is often associated with Montand, another noteworthy rendition was delivered by the French chanteuse Juliette Greco. This enigmatic figure, perpetually dressed in black, recorded it multiple times. Like Montand, her early versions stand out. With her smoky voice and languid delivery, she infused the song with an especially sensual quality, as if conveying that she might never experience such intense love again.

When the song was eventually translated into English in 1950, only a fragment of the opening verse survived and was rarely sung. The focus shifted predominantly to the captivating 16-bar refrain, with lyricist Johnny Mercer crafting a few vivid images—’the sunburned hands I used to hold’ and ‘Old Winter’s song.’ However, this version diverged significantly from the sprawling elegy envisioned by Prévert and Kosma. While the original portrayed an all-consuming passion, this rendition depicted a fleeting attachment—more nostalgic than anguished, more bittersweet than bitter.

After Nat ‘King’ Cole propelled it to the top spot on the hit parade in 1955, the song became a staple for nightclub singers, from Frank Sinatra (whose 1957 recording on ‘Where Are You?’ exuded a fittingly mournful tone) to Tony Bennett and Eartha Kitt. Recently, artists like Chick Corea, Stanley Jordan, and Leonie Smith have all produced their own interpretations.”

Video

Lyric

 The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned 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

C’est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m’aimais et je t’aimais
Nous vivions tous, les deux ensemble
Toi que 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

Chord/Tab song

[F#dim] [B7] [Em]

[Em] The falling [C]leaves [D7] drift by my [Gmaj7]window

[Cmaj7] The falling [F#dim]leaves [B7] of red and [Em]gold

I see your [C]lips [D7] the summer [Gmaj7]kisses

[Cmaj7] The sunburned [F#dim]hands [B7] I used to [Em]hold

[Em] Since you [F#dim]went away [B7] the days grow [Em]long

And soon I’ll h[Am7]ear [D7] old winter’s [Gmaj7]song

But I miss [F#dim]you most of [B7]all

My ‘d[Em]arling’ w[F#dim]hen aut[B7]umn leaves

Begin to [Em]fall

———–

[Em] [Am7] [D7] [Gmaj7] [Cmaj7] [F#dim] [B7] [Em]

———-

[Em] Since you w[F#dim]ent away [B7] the days grow [Em]long

[Em] And soon I’ll h[Am7]ear [D7] old winter’s [Gmaj7]song

But I [F#dim]miss you most of [B7]all

My [Em]’darling?[F#dim]? when [B7]autumn leaves

Begin to [Em]fall’.. whe[F#dim]n autum[B7]n leaves begin t[Em]o fall