As I write this, autumn has once again arrived across the Norselands. Nature has exploded in all kinds of colours. The weather is getting wetter and cooler. The air is chiller and filled with crisp freshness. The daylight hours are getting shorter and darkness makes up a bigger part of every passing day. Slowly but surely we creep towards winter.
I have always enjoyed the season even though (and maybe because) it brings some melancholy along with it. Seeing nature explode with colours can be breathtakingly beautiful, but we know the contrast is just around the corner with more barren and desolate landscapes. The season is used as a symbol of old age (being in “the autumn of one’s life”) and death for a reason.
From a musical point of view, the season has inspired many artists to make great music. The best of it taps into the inherent melancholy that the season can bring.
If autumn was a rock band, it would be Lake of Tears.
Lake of Tears is a Swedish rock/metal band, with the core line-up of Daniel Brennare (vocals/guitar), Mikael Larsson (bass) and Johan Oudhuis (drums). They are known for their melodic and strongly melancholic sound. Their lyrics range from sadly reflective to intensely mournful. Psychedelic imagery often enhance the heavy, autumnal soundscapes of their albums.
Their earlier albums, going back to their first release in 1994, are a little heavier with stronger emphasis on guitar riffs. It is fair to say that they started out as a goth metal band, and while those early albums aren’t bad, I am really glad they developed. They would gradually embrace a more introspective and atmospheric sound that at times feels quiet, although several layers are usually unfolding.
Their magnum opus is widely considered to be their fourth album Forever Autumn (released 20 July 1999). For this album, they added keyboardist Christian Saarinen to the line-up as well as using string instruments (particularly cello) to add something extra to their sound. The album’s overall effect is sedate and sorrowful, with an intensely sad beauty.
The album shares its title with the song that has ended up defining the band. Forever Autumn has the prime spot of closing out all their live shows. In this song, songwriter/singer Daniel Brennare describes a longing for his favourite season, which always disappears too soon.
“Today they came, the first drops of autumn rain” Brennare recently said on Facebook. “Not yet a symphony. More a prelude of the storms to come. And I already think of the day when it is gone. It saddens me so that this season is so short. And that there are more of them behind me than in front of me, these golden moments.”
Just like that statement, the Forever Autumn song is an unashamed love letter to the autumn season. Even so, the trademark melancholy that can come from missing something is found as usual.
The song starts with an acoustic guitar playing minor key chords, over which the singer welcomes the season to his location.
So the season of the fall begins
Down the crossroads in a sleepy little inn
By the fire when the sun goes down
But the night becomes you
And the secrets of the rain
Forever autumn
Lyrics like “the night becomes you” would typically be sung to another person as a compliment to their appearance that particular evening. In this instance, the singer is addressing the autumn landscape and the magic found as the day darkens. Nightfall over the autumn landscape by that inn at the crossroads is a beautiful thing to behold.
In the Norselands, getting dark nights again also means the stars return in the sky after being absent for half a year or so, and that is another aspect of a lovely autumn night. There is an inherent romantic view of how the season can feel and look.
The “secrets of the rain” are not yet told. Just like in Daniel’s quote above, the first verse contains “the first drops of rain, not yet a symphony”.
The singer is waiting for the autumn storms to set in with great anticipation, so that the rain can tell their secrets.
This happens in the second verse:
And the season of the fall begins
Out the nightlands when the thunderstorm sets in
The secrets clear in the cloudy night
With the arrival of the thunderstorms, you will find the singer outside, soaking it in (literally and figuratively) and finding deep comfort in it. Standing outside in nature, experiencing an autumn rainstorm as the landscape gets darker, can be a glorious thing. I know many people who do this. Maybe it’s a Nordic thing.
The song adds other elements as it progress, but it stays on the same level as far as intensity. It does not add expected elements like electric guitars (which are found aplenty on other songs), the song retains its acoustic expression throughout. It gets a bit of bedding with drums and bass, as well as more ambience thanks to some lovely keyboard layers. Instead of a guitar solo we get two cellos playing a lovely, mournful twin melody.
The final verse is all about praising the beauty that the symphony of rains will bring, and looking ahead to the next time they will come.
But the night becomes you
And the secrets of the rain they will stay the same
And the time will come soon
With the secrets of the rain and the storm again
Coming closer every day
Forever autumn
The phrase “forever autumn” can mean a couple of things in the context of this song. I’d like to see it as a pledge to the season which clearly means something very unique to the singer. He enjoys it when it arrives, engulfs himself in the experiences that the unique weather and landscapes of the season can unlock, and looks forward to it returning so he can do it again.
A second interpretation would be that the singer is living in a permanent state of ‘autumn’ – never being able to separate mentally from the sadness of the season. Possibly something is a source of constant sadness – or at least melancholy – with only that season and those weather conditions being able to give some level of comfort.
It could also be that he is stuck at a point in time, reliving something harrowing that happened, being caught by his own inability to move on. There are many reasons why someone could be stuck in a ‘forever autumn’ frame of mind. As far as this song goes, we don’t know. We can only speculate.
Any and all of the factors mentioned could be at play, but overall, I still think the ‘love letter to autumn’ interpretation feels more right here. The band has other songs dealing with different aspects of this, but this one definitely feels lighter than most of them.
Forever Autumn ends up being a celebration of autumn rituals, of autumn weather, and of exploring the beauty found in the melancholy of the season. The song carries the same melancholic flair, and becomes a great example of the beauty that can be found within those moods.
The Forever Autumn album is one of the most musically accomplished releases from Lake of Tears. Personally I find it their finest achievement, but far from the only great album. It’s a good sign that albums spanning the width of their catalogue are brought up when fans debate the eternal question of favourite albums.
RELATED ARTICLE: Lake of Tears – «Ominous» (2021)
BONUS TRACKS:
A taste of other tracks from the Forever Autumn album
1) So Fell Autumn Rain
So Fell Autumn Rain is the album opener, and immediately sets the tone for the album with its cello opening. It is lovely, but sombre, but the song itself has some tempo. It is yet another celebration of the autumn rains, going further than Forever Autumn does as far as describing its healing effect on the singer.
2) The Homecoming
The Homecoming is ripe with fantasy and psychedelic imagery, but at its core it is a tribute to the night and ‘the nocturnals’ who are at their happiest under the moon/starlight.
Lake of Tears affectionately refer to their fans as “cosmic sailors” which is a term first mentioned in this song.
3) Demon You/Lily Anne
In Demon You/Lily Anne the singer meets someone who is willing to wait for fall with him. When fall arrives, however, she has disappeared! Who was she? Was she a demon? The song mixes fantasy imagery into its narrative quite effectively. We don’t really know what happened, and the narrative of the song is quite intriguing. The song works well musically as well, with its use of keyboard countermelody in the chorus being particularly effective.
4) To Blossom Blue
The album closer To Blossom Blue is a very quiet and introspective song. It is among the saddest songs Lake of Tears have ever done. The song deals with loss, and the singer is mourning that loss deeply. There is great beauty in the song as well, but this is definitely one where you should listen at your own peril.
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