The story behind the famous song “Autumn Leaves.”
This song is by far the best known to improvise for piano students and most requested by their piano tutors. It came a long way since the 1950s in which it was composed and has been sung and performed by many renowned and famous artists, such as Edith Piaf, who sung it in both languages, English and French.
Probably the main reason why this song is so popular is that it is very catchy and especially because it is straightforward to improvise to Jazz performers as it is a constant progression of ii — V — I (the most common progression in Jazz music) that goes from the home key, then the relative minor, passing through the subdominant or 4th degree, and finally coming back to the home key again.
This form and progression were not the initial one, the song was much more complex in structure, and it actually became famous when it was translated to English, and only a small part of the opening verse stayed, being the catchy 16-bar phrase the one we know and love.
The reason the song was so long and complex is that originally it was written as a poem by the screenwriter Jacques Prevert. It was, in fact, a part of a script for a ballet called “Le Rendezvous”, but it was a total failure, so the composer, Montand, decided to keep it in his repertoire until 1950 became a hit. The fact that many people don’t know about this song is that the original title was “dead leaves”, and the original topic was more about dark and passionate loss, love and regret. Still, it changed its shade slightly when it was translated into English, becoming more gentle and nostalgic.
Regardless of the tone of its lyrics, “Autumn leaves” has become a Classic among music lovers and musicians alike.
