Autumn Leaves: Poetry, Photography, and Song

I loved the song ‘Autumn Leaves’ from the first time I heard it. I love the energy of the song and the way I feel singing it. I have spent hours with this song, singing this song just for the sheer pleasure like I did as a teenager.

At Thanksgiving this year it rained most of the weekend, but there were occasional short breaks. Dad and I went out on Sunday afternoon to take pictures along the Britt road (otherwise known as Riverside Drive). On Monday, driving home I continued to pull over and take pictures. Since the sky was so grey it made the colours pop.

I learned the song last Spring in my voice lessons and was looking for somewhere to share it. I don’t perform often (a few times a year) and I need more practice singing in front of an audience. Maybe the practice will help me feel less nervous.

‘Autumn Leaves’ is part of my goal of learning as many Eva Cassidy covers as I can. My process for learning a song extends beyond learning the notes. I prefer to do a deep inquiry into a song, exploring it over months, allowing the song to change as I change, noticing the meaning shift, allowing my voice to fall into a place where it goes where it wants within the song without my control. Autumn leaves are a rich metaphor.

Since the theme for the Festival of the Arts hosted by Spirit of the Hills was “sharing,” I thought it would be interesting to think of a way to use it there–sharing poetry through song.

Words on a Wire is a multimedia event. I created this video featuring the photos and sang live, with the photos and music serving as an audio-visual backdrop. The video linked below is a practice video that includes my voice.

Songs are a dynamic way to share poetry and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to bring my hobbies together: poetry, photography, and song.