I read that the original was a 1945 French song, translated into English in 1947 by Johnny Mercer. That piqued my interest because Johnny Mercer is a familiar name in my adopted Southeast. His roots were in Savannah, GA. Indeed, the Mercer house featured in the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was built by his ancestor, Confederate General Hugh Weeden Mercer, in 1860. Johnny Mercer also hung around the North and South Carolina coastal area. I've lived in North Carolina for 30 years. We sometimes go to Wrightsville Beach, site of the Johnny Mercer Pier. See a picture at http://www.mercerpier.com/ .
But this is about Autumn Leaves, the song Johnny Mercer translated from the French. The song was featured in the 1956 film of the same name, starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Roberstson. That was our freshman year at Rogers. Nat King Cole sung Autum Leaves over the film title sequence. The song fed off the film and so it hit the charts once more, this time as a vocal. The combination of music and evocative lyics has always painted word pictures for me as I listen.
The lyrics written in English, and in French, follow. The French lyrics are by Jacques Prvert; the English lyrics are by johnny mercer.
The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winters song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
Cest une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu maimais et je taimais
Nous vivions tous, les deux ensemble
Toi que maimais moi qui taimais
Mais la vie spare ceux qui saiment
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants dsunis