Fall Fun Series: Fall Music

I thought this was a really interesting topic for a blog post, because it there really such a thing as "fall" music? Not really in the same way that there's Christmas music for example, with thousands of ubiquitous Christmas songs. Other than perhaps Monster Mash or maybe Thriller playing on the radio this time of year, I can't really think of a specific anthem or genre of music that represents the fall and Halloween season.

This inspired me to think a little deeper and interpret "fall" music as something that can evoke imagery of fall or feeling that one would relate to fall. I came up with two songs that give me that almost melancholy autumn vibe of wide open spaces, colorful foliage and mercurial weather.

The first is of the old school country variety that the hubby and I developed a taste for during trucking a few years ago. It's basically mandatory trucker music, but a lot of it really speaks to my soul. Whenever I heard John Denver's Country Roads, I'd get pretty homesick. I'm from the country in California, not West Virginia, but I really connect to the imagery in the song. Especially these lines-

"Radio reminds me of my home/far away/And driving/down the road/I get a feeling that I should have been home yesterday, yesterday. Country roads/take me home/to the place/where I belong."

We went through a lot of beautiful rural areas in state back east; winding roads with gorgeous fall foliage, and it always made me think that if I followed these roads long enough they'd lead me back to the ones I was familiar with. Since I've called a certain area home almost my whole life, I have images burned into my mind of those familiar back roads I would drive, where every tree, field, house and bend in the river is, and the feelings of longing, coziness and familiarity evoked by those images are synonymous with fall to me. Admiring the natural beauty of the season always made me feel connected to home no matter where I was, if that makes sense. 

Here are a few photos that help capture some of my fall memories.

This first photo is my ideal "Country Roads" image. It was taken in September 2013 in the village of New Berlin, New York. That area really captivated me; it's been my phone's home screen photo for years.

These two photos were taken in my parent's yard in December of 2014.

I have actually been to West Virginia too; it was quite nice. I didn't find any great landscape photos, but this selfie was taken in March 2013 in a cool 50's style diner in Fairmont West Virginia. We look so young!

The second of the two songs that gives me super moody fall vibes is Make It Rain by Ed Sheeran. It was actually debuted on the series finale of Sons of Anarchy, which was a show I followed. Not only was it the perfect soundtrack of the tumultuous end of this series but everything from the angst ridden opening guitar solo to the weather metaphor driven lyrics, this song really makes me think about a beginning of fall thunderstorm that washes away the heat of the summer.

"And let the clouds fill with thunderous applause/and let lightning be the veins And fill the sky/With all that they can drop/When it's time/To make a change/Make it rain"

Very fall like, don't you think?

Not to mention that even though the town of Charming where SOA takes place is fictional, it is set in central California and mentions many nearby to me cities that are real, so I have that extra connection to it.

What do you think of these songs? What would you consider "fall" music? Does any particular song evoke images of fall for you?