In the shade of the blackthorn and the touch of the frost

[sovay]

It occurred to me that if April is the cruelest month, then six months later, October must be the kindest.
—ericmvan

In appreciation of the aforementioned awesomeness of October, I present a handful of songs that I associate with this season. Some of these are more explicable than others.


Joan Baez, "Farewell, Angelina"

Call me any name you like, I will never deny it
But farewell, Angelina, the sky's erupting
I must go where it's quiet

Beggar's Velvet, "Blackbird"

And later on this autumn day
I saw a tree-fire burning
The leaves like flames of red and gold
They set my heart a-yearning

Kate Bush, "Coffee Homeground"

Where are the plumbers
Who went missing here on Monday?
There was a tall man with his companion
And I bet you gave them coffee homeground

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, "Disappearing Man"

In the dark, in the dawn, with your wedding dress in tatters
You reveal the yearning desert in the country of your skin
How you ache for the fawn and he says it doesn't matter
But it does and he's gone and you know that he won't be back again

The Devil's Interval, "The Bonfire Carol"

There was one bonfire standing all alone
Down by the marish it smoked away
It smoked all night and it smoked all day
'Twas a proper green pother for all to see
But the fire burns bright on our dear Lord's tree

The Dresden Dolls, "Good Day"

God, it's been a lovely day
Everything's been going my way
I took up croquet today and I'm on fire

Dave Goulder, "Stone on Stone"

Now that autumn is returning and the garden fires are burning
And the summer beasts are learning how to cope with shorter days
There I labor all alone, piling stone upon the stone
Feeling just a touch of sadness as the summer slips away

PJ Harvey, "Sweeter Than Anything"

Summer was here
I remember it well
How he stood in the shade
How we both kissed and fell

Rainer Lemke, "Oy, Dortn, Dortn"

Fartribn hostu mikh in di vaytene lender
Un benken, benk ikh nokh dir zurik

Kirsty MacColl, "Autumngirlsoup"

I'm an autumn girl flying over London
With the trees on fire, it looks like home
I'm an autumn girl on the endless search for summer
'Cause I need some love to heat my frozen bones

Geordie MacIntyre, "Tam Lin"

But this nicht it is the Halloween
When the fairy folk maun ride
And them that would their true love win
At Miles Cross they must bide

Eileen McGann, "The Rolling of the Stones"

Oh, will you drink out of the blood the white wine and the red?
And will you go and see pretty Susie when that I am dead?

Sam Phillips, "All Night"

I've been wanting to touch you since we met
You don't give a girl a chance to forget
And all night, all night, I've been looking for you all night

Stan Rogers, "Northwest Passage"

Westward from the Davis Strait, 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea-route to the Orient for which so many died
Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones

Tom Rush, "Urge for Going"

When the sun turns traitor cold
And shivering trees are standing in a naked row
I get the urge for going, but I never seem to go

Camille Saint-Saëns, "Danse Macabre (Op.40)"

Zig et zig et zag, la mort cri cadence
Frappant une tombe avec son talon,
La mort à minuit joue un air de danse,
Zig et zig et zag, sur son violon.
—Henri Cazalis

Buffy Saint-Marie, "Lyke-Wake Dirge"

From Whinney-muir when thou hast passed
Every night and all
To Brig o' Dread thou comest at last
And Christ receive thy soul

Steeleye Span, "Tom o' Bedlam's Song"

For to see mad Tom o' Bedlam
Ten thousand miles I'll travel
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
For to save her shoes from gravel

June Tabor, "The Scarecrow"

As I walked out one summer's morn
I saw a scarecrow tied to a pole in a field of corn
His coat was black, his head was bare
When the wind shook him, the crows took up into the air

Louise Taylor, "Miriam Bell"

He's laying in the belly of the earth
He's sleeping in the corn-dry leaves
He's laying in the belly of the earth
With his head upon his sleeve


. . . unautumnally, and how do you know you went to Brandeis? You watch the pilot of Pushing Daisies and think, wow, is that shomer negiah from hell.

Comments

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Have you heard the Dead can Dance version of "I am Stretched on Your Grave?" Brendan has the perfect voice for it. The first line of the second verse When my family thinks that I'm safe in my bed... leaves me with the chills.

[sovay]

Have you heard the Dead can Dance version of "I am Stretched on Your Grave?"

I have not. Wow.