Number 259: George Cooper "Come Little Leaves"

Come Little Leaves

"Come, little leaves" said the wind one day,
"Come over the meadows with me, and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold;
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold."

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.

"Cricket, good-bye, we've been friends so long;
Little brook, sing us your farewell song-
Say you're sorry to see us go;
Ah! you are sorry, right well we know.

"Dear little lambs, in your fleecy fold,
Mother will keep you from harm and cold;
Fondly we've watched you in vale and glade;
Say, will you dream of our loving shade?"

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went;
Winter had called them and they were content-
Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds,
The snow laid a soft mantle over their heads

-- George Cooper

Hap Notes: I know very little about George Cooper ( 1838-1927). This was in a little book my Danish cousins gave me for my (16th!) birthday. I think it had been theirs when they were children but as a 16th birthday present, I must admit, I was hoping for something a little less juvenile. They also gave me a book of Anderson's fairytales. Now, at the time, I wanted Ferlinghetti or Robert Lowell or maybe a collection of Romantic poets or even Steal This Book! by Abbie Hoffman. So I was nonplussed. However, getting a book as a present at all was wonderful to me because I loved reading anything. In retrospect, I am very grateful to these older cousins for the books. I still have them, after all the moving and thinning out of my library a dozen or more times over the course of several decades.

Cooper, studied to be a lawyer under Chester A. Arthur but gave up the law to write. He wrote dozens of popular verses, most notably for a "children's" audience. It's a very familiar poem to older folks. It was a fairly popular song. Here's what it sounded like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9SmYPUD8ks


It' Saturday (Yay!) so here's our cartoons and music:

Here's Ub Iwerks take on the coming of Jack Frost: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1YNoGmCChc

On a serious note, this animation shows an autumn festival taking place in a refugee camp: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMgXQKUp10 it's very moving and charming.

Monday would be a good day to eat moon cakes- it's the 2011 mid-autumn festival day: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyZAWq5Qnxc&feature=related

Has nothing to do with anything but I love Annoying Orange in an annoying way: www.youtube.com/user/realannoyingorange

Speaking of my youth (yeah, I was annoying) here's the classic Fleischer "Little Dutch Mill":www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gzUjihBOZU&feature=related

Remember this from Sesame Street? www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX9J7WcYtxI

Here are fairies changing the leaves: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLTyeGVdBg&feature=related

The classic "Falling Leaves" with Nat King Cole: www.youtube.com/watch?v=684eg6S8dCw

Edith Piaf also does the song but I like this one better: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmguyDRBwU&feature=related

And this one, my personal favorite Piaf song, (hey- it's my blog...just sayin'.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq_xVZVKDkc&feature=related