There Is No Time Like The Autumn

We had such a positive response from our seasonal partner song from last winter ("A Perfect Winter Day") that we decided it might be fun to offer more of the same for the other seasons as well. This time, we put our autumnal partners in a country/folk style setting, complete with guitars and "fiddles."

As with most partner songs, the first part is introduced by itself the first time through the song. The second part is then allowed to state its case on the repeat. A third time through the song allows the two parts to combine (or collide, depending on your perspective) for the partner effect.

Part 1 is a more serious approach to the appreciation of the finer points of autumn. It should be performed in a sweet and light manner, extolling the virtues of the magnificent colors offered by the season which "happens only once in a year." It does offer the chance to slightly make fun with exaggerated "ooh's," "ah's," "oh's" and an appropriately heaved sigh of blissfulness.

Part 2 is, as you might imagine, the antithesis of part 1. It should be performed with an air of disgust. The singers are clearly not as enamored with the colors of the season and are more than just a little bummed by all the leaf raking that must be performed when they would much rather be watching football. Then there's that pesky wind.

Listen to the P/A recording for good examples of both sides of the story. Make sure your part 2 singers crescendo into the "no!" each time it occurs, and let them cry rather freely when their work is undone by the latest gust of wind.

Slight scoops in the melodies are indicated on the vocal parts. These are especially effective during the last few bars when the two parts are singing in harmony. They are, of course, optional, though they are easy to do and offer a bit more humor to the song.