Friday, October 2, 2020

The falling leaves - Eva Cassidy - Autumn Leaves - She knew she was dying when she sang this

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
The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burn 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 leave start to fall

As a child, I remembered how my mother would cry when she heard this song. Said it reminded her of her mother, who was gone from this world. Now it's 49 years since my mother is gone and I think of her when I hear it. This is such a beautiful version. Sad to know that she, too, is gone. What a loss. 

I've heard Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald sing this song...beautifully. They sang it. This woman owned it. She took it apart, re-assembled it, infused it with her soul, her passions, her dreams and gave it to us. It was as if I had never heard it before. She not only gave something new to me, she drew something out of me. Her love for song aroused my love for listening. She danced with me...in a sense. I am touched. RIP Eva.
  She knew she was dying when she sang this. Her arrangement and vocals brought out the grief that’s central to this song. So many other versions ignore this poignancy.
Ever since I was a child, this kind of music would bring me to tears. And it still does. I am 74 now and still succumb now. It is my achilles heel. I learn to live with it.
The falling leaves drift by my window  
The falling leaves of red and gold  
I see your lips the summer kisses  
The sunburned 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  
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 
I miss you most of all my darling  
When autumn leaves start to fall
 

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