The Feelings of Fall in the Fables of Folk

A dive into autumn through the eyes of a folk music fan

By: Quinn McClurg

Ah, the first days of fall. The first of cold winds, falling leaves, and heavy sweaters. The air is perfumed with the papery smell of leaves, the sweetness of the cold, and the spices of our warm lattes; it’s hard to deny the magic of fall. And I, for one, believe there isn’t a genre that captures these feelings better than folk music.

Every fall, I find myself returning to a specific album: Good Morning Bedlam’s “Like Kings.” Released in 2018, the 10-track album has themes of fall woven into every track, themes of death, nature, and tradition. Stories are told of the quiet love in new beginnings in “Like Kings,” of persistence in bitter ends in “The Orchard,” of revelry in the face of death in “Devil’s Waltz,” and of love in the art of tradition in “St. James Infirmary.” All of these stories mirror the core themes of fall and make the album all the more impactful.

These themes are not only found in the album’s lyricism; they are also present in the album’s auditory aesthetic. The guitar is the amber of harvest, the violin is the melancholic beauty of falling leaves, the banjo is the unabashedness of festival and feast, and the vocals are the communal sanctity of singing around a bonfire and how precious we find that warmth in the presence of cold winds.

The storied lyricism and cozy melodies of “Like Kings” combine to summon fervent images and feelings of fall. Although folk music may be enjoyed at any time, there is no time like the present, so be sure to revel in these autumnal stories as they come and bask in these autumnal moods before they fade. After all, you may find a new appreciation for music, for fall, and for life.