Born in Brooklyn in 1938, Steve Kuhn was fascinated with jazz very early in… Read Full Bio ↴Born in Brooklyn in 1938, Steve Kuhn was fascinated with jazz very early in his life. He began classical piano lessons at age five and soon began to “improvise and syncopate the classical repertoire.”

In his early teens, Kuhn studied with legendary teacher Margaret Chaloff who schooled him in the “Russian Technique”, an invaluable tool for tone production and projection. Chaloff’s son, Serge Chaloff, baritone saxophonist for Woody Herman, hired the 13 year-old pianist to play in his group. Throughout his teens Kuhn continued to play in Boston jazz clubs with, amongst other visiting celebrities, Coleman Hawkins, Chet Baker and Vic Dickenson.

After graduation from Harvard College, Kuhn attended the Lenox School of Music where he recorded with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. The faculty included Bill Evans, George Russell, and Gunther Schuller. While at Lenox, Kuhn met trumpeter Kenny Dorham and began a two-year stint, interrupted when Kuhn was asked to join John Coltrane’s newly-formed quartet.

Kuhn next joined Stan Getz’s band, which included bassist Scott LaFaro. After a period with Art Farmer, he formed the first Steve Kuhn Trio, with drummer Pete LaRoca and bassist Steve Swallow. At the end of the 1960s he spent four years living in Europe, where his performance had a significant impact upon local players. Upon returning to the United States, Kuhn began his long-term affiliation with ECM, resulting in a string of important albums including “Trance”, “Ecstasy”, “Non-Fiction” and the collaborations with Sheila Jordan, “Playground” and “Last Year’s Waltz”.

In the mid-80’s, Kuhn co-founded the popular All Star Trio, with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster, and launched a new, and still evolving, edition of his trio with bassist David Finck – drummers for the latter have included Joey Baron (as on the ECM recording “Remembering Tomorrow”), Lewis Nash and Billy Drummond. He continues to tour widely, with a strong following in Europe and, especially, Japan where his albums frequently appear in the jazz charts.

Autumn Leaves
Steve Kuhn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

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 winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment

Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis

Overall Meaning

The song Autumn Leaves is a wistful and nostalgic homage to a lost love. The opening lines evoke the beauty of fall with the falling leaves drifting by the window in shades of red and gold. The singer reminisces about the summer kisses and sun-burned hands of his former lover, whom he now misses dearly. The melancholic refrain "But I miss you most of all my darling, when autumn leaves start to fall" reflects the sadness and longing for a love that has passed.

The second verse transitions to French and captures the universality of lost love. The lyrics "C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble, Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais" ("This is a song that resembles us, you loved me and I loved you") are a poignant reminder that love and loss are universal human experiences. However, the next lines "Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment, Tout doucement sans faire de bruit, Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis" ("But life separates those who love each other, gradually and silently, and the sea erases on the sand the footsteps of the separated lovers") paint a bleak picture of the impermanence of love.

Overall, Autumn Leaves is a beautiful and haunting ballad that captures the yearning and sorrow of lost love.

Line by Line Meaning

The falling leaves drift by the window
The leaves that were once green during the summer are now turning red and gold, and are falling due to the onset of autumn

The autumn leaves of red and gold
The leaves that fall during autumn are of varying colors, but are mostly in shades of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses
I remember the warmth of your kisses on my lips during the summer days that have now passed

The sun-burned hands I used to hold
I miss holding your hands that were once sun-burned due to spending long hours outdoors during summer

Since you went away the days grow long
The days seem to be longer and lonely without you since the time you went away

And soon I'll hear old winter's song
Winter is approaching and soon I'll have to face the loneliness without you and the coldness of winter

But I miss you most of all my darling
Above everything else, I miss you the most, my dearest

When autumn leaves start to fall
The memories of us and our love come flooding back to me when I see the autumn leaves fall

C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
This is a song that resembles us, our love story and memories

Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
You loved me, and I loved you in return

Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
We lived together, sharing all the joys and sorrows that life brings along

Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
You loved me and I loved you back, our love being the strongest bond that kept us together

Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment
But as life goes on, it separates even those who love each other

Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Silently and slowly, without any noise or commotion

Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis
The sea erases the footsteps of the lovers who are no longer together on the sand, symbolizing the transience of life and love

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GIORGIO CANALI, FRANCESCO MAGNELLI, GIANNI MAROCCOLO, MASSIMO ZAMBONI, GIOVANNI LINDO FERRETTI

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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