Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: piano
Song Meaning of “Autumn Leaves” by Bill Evans
The song “Autumn Leaves” by Bill Evans is a melancholic yet beautiful expression of the emotion of sadness. The haunting minor chords evoke a feeling of sadness and longing, while the gentle piano and background strings create a sense of wistful longing for something lost. The instrumentation here paints an image of a tree in the Autumn season, changing its foliage from greens to golden yellows and deep reds – a beautiful but temporary reminder of the passage of time and the inevitability of change in one’s life.
The lyrics to the song are spare but serve to amplify the musical message – one of acceptance, that sadness is part of life, but must eventually be set aside and accepted. The line “The autumn leaves of red and gold, I see your lips, the summer kisses, the sunburned hands I used to hold” is a poetic and melancholic reference to a summer love that can no longer be, a reminder of the impermanence of all we have.
In the end the song serves as a beautiful reminder of both the pain and beauty of life, and the necessity of accepting and embracing both in order to truly live.