Wake Me Up When September Ends... Songs Of Autumn

Today is the last full day of Summer. I feel the melancholia seeping in, which comes easy to me. Yet, the charms of October are not lost on me.

I am a Green Day fan, & this is my favorite of their songs, & I am moved by this acoustic version by Billy Joe Armstrong's amazing voice moved to full focus. It seems perfect for this week's transition into autumn:




summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends


like my father's come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when September ends


here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are


as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends


summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends


ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when September ends

From My Collection Of Vintage Photos of Men Together

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are


as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends


summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when September ends

20 years has gone so fast
wake me up when September ends

Billy Joe Armstrong
2005

September's Here Again

The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches
We say that we’re in love
While secretly wishing for rain
Sipping coke & playing games

September’s here again

David Sylvian
1984

Reverie On A Summer's Slumber

The end of summer, well actually there are 3 weeks left & I will take them. Still, I feel the first smart stinging sorrow that comes over me at summer’s end. August is my favorite month, with 31 days & no holidays. Good bye, August.

Last Sunday our new friends- Peter & Nancy joined us for brunch. The husband, who is the cook in this family, provided a very summer-ish meal of 2 varieties of bruschetta: heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, & guacamole, & one with grilled asparagus & goat cheese both drizzled with a balsamic reduction. My contribution was a white wine & apricot puree punch. A summer Sunday in the Boys’ Fort with new friends & Portland came through with 64 degrees & rain!

I love that the blue polish on the Husband's toes matches the blue of the hydrangea. Larry the canine concurs.

Nancy remarked that Post Apocalyptic Bohemia suggested & had the sense of a beach bungalow with its rocks & beach glass, boardwalks & grasses, stacks of books, dogs, & barefoot men. We live close enough to the Pacific Ocean that we get cool, salty marine air in the mornings. We are just blocks away from the mighty Columbia River & the north flowing Willamette River, which provides us with visits from gulls, eagles & the occasional beachcomber.

Do you feel like you are at the beach?

Labor Day Weekend may spell the end of summer, but September has always felt like the start of the year, perhaps because I lived a big chunk of my life in academia. The melancholy that comes with summer’s sleep is balanced with the thrill of new pencils, Pee Chee folders, & jockstraps.

September Songs 3

If, like me, you see autumn as one long, encroaching dusk, then there should be no surprise that today’s recommendations tend towards the wistful.


Hobeken NJ’s Yo La Tengo are the kind of critically adored alt-rockers who release album after album with little hope of radio play. Autumn Sweater should have done the trick, with its lolloping, baggy breakbeat & sweet, tender vocals.


The Kinks' Autumn Almanac, for all its apparent jolly pub-song style, evokes the humdrum & slightly sad outlook on daily English life as smartly as anything else, except maybe Penny Lane by The Beatles.


Abba's has somewhat obscured their talent for melancholy, but When All Is Said and Done is a deliciously bittersweet breakup song, full of regretful reflections: "When the summer's over & the dark clouds hide the sun/Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done."