AUTUMN LEAVES

IT WAS AROUND 1968, The Zombies sang about a "Time of the Season". The song asks:

What's your name? (What's your name?)
Who's your daddy? (Who's your daddy?)
(He rich?) Is he rich like me?

The song has little to do with the crux of the matter of this post. (If there is a crux to this one.) (As I'm typing, this feels like just putting words out there about something/anything, to avoid saying out loud those words that weigh most heavy.)

So let's get to that crux--the essence: Autumn is my favorite season, and it starts today: Monday, September 22, 2025, at 1:29 CDT here at About Pops HQ. Although, with a forecast high of 90, it's not feeling like sweater-wearing season just yet.

The Autumnal Equinox is the time where the hours of sunlight and darkness are roughly the same. I'm not crazy about the days getting shorter, especially now when it feels like our cultural darkness grows longer and deeper. It is true that the darkest hour is just before dawn, and now dawn will be taking its sweet time bringing light and hope and newness each day. But, like that little girl sang: "The sun'll come out tomorrow."

Fall reminds me of one of my favorite songs. It's one of the "standards" as the music industry says. It's called "Autumn Leaves". It paints a picture, as good lyrics always do. We see the epitome of Autumn, not a pumpkin-spiced latte, but the leaves of red and gold. We're reminded of summer's passing and time marching on. With a twist: even though the daylight hours grow shorter, somehow the days grow long.

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

Here's a little background to save you the googling:

"Autumn Leaves" is the English-language version of the French song "Les Feuilles mortes" ("The Dead Leaves") composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. The original lyrics were written by Jacques Prévert in French, and the English lyrics were by Johnny Mercer. An instrumental recording by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best-seller in the US Billboard charts of 1955. --Wikipedia

Since its introduction "Autumn Leaves" has become one of the most recorded songs by jazz musicians. More than a thousand commercial recordings are known to have been released by mainstream jazz and pop musicians. I've played in a few jazz bands in my days and in each and everyone "Autumn Leaves" was on the set list. It has been arranged and rearranged in so many styles that it can sound like many different songs, but always with that haunting melody. One of my favorite versions is by the jazz pianist Bill Evans.

For a different take on it, listen to this YouTube video of it being played by a drum and bugle corp —The Bluecoats— who have made the song their official anthem. CLICK HERE FOR A LISTEN.

NOW FOR MY FAVORITE: This is a live recording of Eva Cassidy. She was in her young 30s at this performance. She died of cancer not too long afterward. When you watch this and hear her sing I think you'll agree with me that's it's almost like the song was written to be sung by her. CLICK HERE TO SEE EVA’S VIDEO.

Happy Autumn All. Enjoy. The Winter Solstice will be here soon when Autumn leaves until next year.

Football & Fall

BACK IN THE AUTUMN OF 1974, we left Tulsa and headed west. Being young and fairly newly wed, leaving friends and family brought challenges and great times. We’ve been gone from Tulsa for a long time now, and even though we return often, I still miss it. When we are there, I feel like I’m Home.

You’ve probably heard the old joke: Show me someone with an OSU (Oklahoma State University) hat and I’ll show you someone who went to OSU (or had a family member that did). Show me someone with an OU (Oklahoma University) hat and I’ll show you someone who went to Wal Mart.

If you live in Oklahoma but outside the Tulsa metropolitan area, chances are good that you either have a red shirt or an orange one. You might not even know there is another Division One football team in Oklahoma.

There is. It’s the Tulsa University Golden Hurricane. Strange mascot moniker, right? Why the mascot picker chose “hurricane” for a school that’s 500 miles inland, I have no idea. And, why the singular hurricane is golden is even more perplexing. But I don’t care. TU is my school. I went to school there and have the hat. I can whistle the fight song and even know most of the words. The Gold and Blue and Red stir me as much as the red or orange of those other teams do for their fans.

Tulsa’s best season was in 1942, going 10-0, including wins against Oklahoma (23-0), Oklahoma A&M (now OSU) (34-6), and Arkansas (40-7). The Golden Hurricane went to the 1943 Sugar Bowl against Tennessee. Tulsa lost the game on a late Volunteer touchdown, justing missing a National Championship.

Being the smallest school in Division One, as Golden Hurricane fans, you never go in to the season thinking this could be another 1942, the year we win it all. Here’s the cool thing about that, you can just enjoy the atmosphere of a college football game in its innocence and simplicity. If you have indigestion after the game it is likely because the hot dog, nachos and “cheese” covered pretzel you had are indigestible, not because the “game” has become so much more than a game that we work ourselves into a frenzy that sets priorties that might include going out to find another multi-million dollar coach. (Although, I will confess that I’m really glad to have that former Baylor Offensive Coordinator, with his high-flying offensive schemes as our head coach.)

Spending an autumn Saturday afternoon at Skelly Field in the heart of Tulsa is just as fun today as those Saturday afternoons I spent there as a kid.

GO Tulsa! and Sooners! and Pokes!

Autumn

I LOVE AUTUMN. A few days ago, on the autumnal equinox (first day of fall), I thought I should write a post on About Pops about this amazing point in time. But then I remembered, I already had. It’s called Aequus Nox and you can read it by clicking this link.

Let me add this: another thing I love about fall is the return of favorite shows. “The Blacklist” is the one I’ve looked forward to most. It is spellbinding. Not only is it full of great story-telling, and rich characters, but it is one of those shows that make great use of music. Each episode ends with a song that is almost always new to me. The song is always apropos to the theme of the episode emotionally and sometimes lyrically. The song, along with the cliffhangers, pulls you forward, anticipating next Monday’s episode.

Last Monday, the first episode of the new season did not disappoint; at all. It was full of glimpses of the intrigue to come.

But, my favorite part was that final song. Thankfully I had recorded the program because I had to find my phone, rewind a bit, fire up “Shazam”, and purchase that song.

It’s a song by a group of youngsters that call themselves Ages And Ages. The song is called “Divisionary: Do the Right Thing.” Fortunately, NPR has already discovered this group, brought them in for a “Tiny Desk Concert” and posted it for us all to see, hear and enjoy.

There are several songs on this video. The “Divisionary” song is at the 3:50 mark. Watch them all, but watch this one for sure.