Five Songs for the End of Fall
Cheers and tears for the first snow
Every year we hear the lament that there are no “Thanksgiving bangers,” (“I’ve never heard that” –ed.) and it’s true. Great Thanksgiving songs can be hard to find. There are, however, great songs for the end of fall, enduring tracks that capture something about fallen leaves, creeping cold, the arrival of winter and all it entails–physcially, emotionally, symbolically, metaphysically (“that might be a stretch” –ed.). Here are my top five for the end of fall–well, for this year. My criteria this time is simple. Is it dark? Is it cold? Does it bring you low but offer a glimmer of light? If so, it can earn a spot on this list. As always, this top five is not a ranking of the five, just a listing with some notes on why they endure in my rotation.
Ramble On
Led Zeppelin on the 1969 Album Led Zeppelin II
“Leaves are falling all around . . .” This line arrives over a melodic bassline, warm acoustic guitar and a padding drum part that evokes the pit-pat of (Hobbit?) feet on the move. Within a minute, the struggles have arrived, “now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it’s headed my way . . . “ At the one minute mark, the quiet is broken with a classic Jon Bonham drum break and a change to the raucous chorus: “I know I got one thing I got to do, I gotta Ramble on.” Somehow the song ends up directly referencing The Hobbit, “But In the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her . . .” Does this make a lot of sense? No. No it does not, but this is a song that simply never gets old and captures the drift from the pleasant peace of early fall to the harsh realities to come while exhorting us to carry on. This track looks at the coming winter and says, “Bring. It. On.”
Michigan
Milk Carton Kids on the 2011 Album Prologue
As melancholy as melancholy gets, this song taps into that feeling we all get when on the run from the law in an icy rain after a heartbreaking revelation of unrequited love (“Um . . .” -ed.). The album cover backs up the vibe here.
Dark, cold, and just plain sad, The Milk Carton Kids drop you into the middle of a tragic story (the nature of which isn’t exactly clear) where it’s important to “keep your hands where I can see ‘em” and there’s a recurring question of “What am I supposed to now?” rarely good signs. A great song for wallowing in the darkest of days.
Cheers to the First Snow
The Benders on the 2003 Album Mountain Radio
Bow Thayer is a lesser-known artist who fled Boston years ago to the woods of Vermont where he still makes music today. His early career band, The Benders, recorded many favorites of mine. According to legend (“you mean wikipedia?” -ed.), they recorded their first two albums old school, gathering the musicians in room around two microphones. In “Cheers to the First Snow” they have recorded a perfect anthem for the end of the fall. It actually features the line, “It’s the end of the fall.” (“a little on the nose?” -ed.). This banjo driven narrative song is a melancholy yet joyful reflection with a recurring invitation to “meet me down at the bar tonight” and “drink to the first snow arrivin’.” Simultaneously evoking the cold, anticipating money troubles, pondering the sadness of the coming winter, and reveling in the warmth of friendship with shared beverages, this is a song to return to every year—right around the time of the first snow.
Bound for Another Harvest Home
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason on the 1999 Album Harvest Home
When people complain that there are no “Thanksgiving bangers,” I direct them to Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, who have built a career out of writing and performing songs that deserve that title. I could have selected any number of their songs for this list, but settled on the most iconic, “Bound for Another Harvest Home.” With verses for each of spring, summer, and fall, this is a serene and sincere tribute to life on the farm and the rhythm of the seasons. Winter is the only season without a verse here and that is perfectly appropriate. This heartfelt, earnest-to-the-point-of-near-parody, nostalgic family song perfectly sets the stage for winter’s arrival.
The Reapers
The Decemberists on the 2024 album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
Dark and prophetic, The Decemberists turn their convincing faux-ancient folk story telling to a tale of fall’s drift into winter while awaiting the “reapers” in all of their potential meanings. A haunting airy flute opens this six-eight sing-song tale. Colin Meloy then unfurls the story that sprawls from farm to hillside to valley to mansion and then overseas. It features a trial (no police chase or six weeks community service, however) and concludes with a dark invitation, “Come and lie with me in the fresh fallen snow, and we’ll wait for the reapers to mow.” The slow pleasant roll of this tune contrasts with its melancholy tone and eerie lyrics, creating a song that is subtle enough, dark enough, and compelling enough that it could play while the opening credits roll on a film titled “At Winter’s Edge”
Here is the link to the playlist of these Top Five for the End of Fall. Feel free to add your favorites that I missed in the comments.