For better or worse!
Earth, Wind & Fire were never likely to record a downbeat number about cold autumn nights. Instead, this classic disco stomper from 1978 sees the band recalling dancing in late September, when "there never was a cloudy day."
Rocker Axl Rose comes over all sentimental in this 1991 classic rock anthem. Turn up the volume and raise a glass to lost loves!
There's clearly something about fall that can soften the heart of even the hardest rockers. Punk band Green Day are in thoughtful, slow mode in this number from their provocative 2004 album 'American Idiot.'
Former Eagles singer Don Henley looks back on the heady days of summer in this classic song about love's young dream and the passing of seemingly-endless sunny days.
Many artists have recorded versions of this touching jazz standard, but Nat King Cole's crooning 1955 version is the best of a formidable bunch.
Wyclef Jean scored an international hit with this track from his 1997 debut album, 'The Carnival.' He knows he's breaking hearts, but can't be tied to a nine-to-five, so he's off until November.
Oklahoma alt-rockers the Flaming Lips are in whimsical mood in this stirring 2006 fall ditty about migrating birds and dying nature. The one bird that stays serves as a poignant symbol of hope.
Music legend Neil Young created one of the most beautiful fall tunes of all time with this mournful 1992 classic. Taken from the album of the same name, it's full of lovelorn yearning.
In this 2001 indie rock autumn anthem, all Jack White can see are "dead leaves and the dirty ground" when the object of his affections is not around.
Beautifully-written lyrics and Fiona Apple's striking voice make this 1996 tune an autumn classic. With heart-breaking clarity, she remembers a time when "the autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin."
This 1963 collab is a warming ode to the beauty of fall. John Coltrane's sax solo adds an extra dash of autumn spice to the musical proceedings.
"The leaves that are green turn to brown." The thoughtful lyrics ponder on the passing of time and the changing seasons in Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's 1966 classic.
The British mod rockers took an altogether lighter look at the arrival of autumn, with their 1967 ode to all that's good about the arrival of fall in the UK.
New York really is beautiful in the fall, and this heartfelt 1956 rendition of a classic ode to autumn in the Big Apple will have you wanting to book a ticket pronto.
Swift warmly recalls "autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place" and a boy who kept her scarf as a memento, in this bitter-sweet 2012 song.
No, not Sheeran's version of the jazz classic, but a moving 2011 lament to a lost love. Autumn is definitely the season for melancholic recollections of past relationships!
British goth-rockers The Cure are not a band you associate with golden summer days. And, indeed, their pained-but-beautiful 2000 single recalls that "the last day of summer never felt so cold."
Even hard-living rockers like Aerosmith can get the change-of-season blues. Steven Tyler recalls time spent with a "blues hearted lady," in the band's 1974 power ballad.
Irish stadium rockers U2 were still in the springtime of their career when they recorded this anthem in 1981. The song plays tribute to the season where "the trees are stripped bare, of all they wear."
Ol' Blue Eyes summons up end-of-summer magic in his 1965 classic about that perfect time when "the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame."
The Australian singer-songwriter is another musician struck by the autumn blues in this 2009 track. His forlorn feelings about the end of another long summer are soul-stirringly set to country music.
Donna Summer keeps the grooves positive in a feel-good 1976 fall number that sees her determined to patch up a relationship that seems to be dying with the summer sun.
Light the fire and pull on a cozy sweater, this yearning number from 2010 will have you feeling more autumnal than a steaming mug of hot spiced wine.
The band really did have the autumn blues in this beautifully-crafted 1978 autumnal musing on migrating birds and a love who blew away "like a leaf on a breeze."
Welsh indie rockers Manic Street Preachers created a heartfelt ode to somebody's seasonal hairstyle change with this soaring 2007 tune.
American singer-songwriter Sam Beam is better known by his Iron & Wine stage name. He perfectly encapsulates the bitter-sweet sensations of fall in this 2018 folk-rock song about a place where "we hold our hats while the days fly past."
The Neighborhood recall the simple pleasure of warming someone's hands inside your sweater, in a sweet indie-pop fall favorite from 2012.
Sweaters and autumn go together like lattes and pumpkin spice, and American rock band Yo La Tengo whimsically capture the cozy-sad fall vibes in their sweet 1997 song.
Country singer Lorrie Morgan is not going to let heartbreak, or the change of seasons, get to her. This is a warming breakup survival number, with lyrics like: "I’m not that lonesome and autumn’s not cold.”
Sources: (Pure Wow) (NME) (Billboard)
See also: Albums you won't believe are turning 30
There's something about fall that seems to inspire songwriters to reminisce about past loves and bittersweet moments. The best songs about fall capture that bittersweet sensation that comes with the change of seasons, the falling leaves, and the looming start of winter. The sense of fall melancholy works perfectly when set to music, and everybody from disco divas to punk rockers has captured the seasonal magic.
In the autumnal mood? Click through this gallery to discover the best songs about fall.
The best songs ever about fall
Your autumn playlist is ready!
MUSIC Tunes
There's something about fall that seems to inspire songwriters to reminisce about past loves and bittersweet moments. The best songs about fall capture that bittersweet sensation that comes with the change of seasons, the falling leaves, and the looming start of winter. The sense of fall melancholy works perfectly when set to music, and everybody from disco divas to punk rockers has captured the seasonal magic.
In the autumnal mood? Click through this gallery to discover the best songs about fall.