Autumn Winds

Today is a beautiful, crisp autumn day with wind that makes one forget the summer. It reminds me that eight years ago I composed a song titled, "Autumn Winds." It was written for my friend Andrew Childs, tenor, with words by myself about the move my family and I made from the desert of Arizona to the Midwest U.S.
It was sung beautifully by Sangeetha Rayapati a few years ago, and is available for anyone who would like to sing it; just send me an email with your request.

Autumn winds are blowing, blowing

Blowing leaves around me.

Must I leave it all behind me

As I walk through open doors that once were closed?

When I close my eyes to see

The visions I once loved

Will I remember

            Building and living in a house of mud and straw;

            Singing for the beauty of the earth?

            Roses and jasmine under the mesquite tree;

            Eating fruit from our garden?

Autumn leaves are falling, falling

Falling down around me.

Must I fall upon the ground to be set free?

            Freedom is making the life that we lead;

            Freedom is change.

            Freedom is strength we gain

                        From the mountains rising purple

                        Behind our desert house

                        And the trees reaching upwards

                        To the harvest moon.

Autumn winds are blowing, blowing,

And the leaves are falling.

But I still remember.

Autumn Winds, © 2005 William Campbell