The Best Songs for the Beginning of Fall

Author: Chloe Patterson
Posted on September 21, 2020

As Mitski once said, “Autumn comes when you’re not yet done with the summer passing by,” and that sentiment is one I couldn’t agree with more. School and stress come back in a flash, causing the never-ending carefreeness of summer vacation to crumble behind you immediately. With quarantine, that feeling has increased tenfold. While the end of summer is never always bad, with colder weather and the start of holiday season, it’s a universal experience of a shift to something cooler and darker, and I feel that these songs encapsulate that feeling perfectly. 

The first song I wanted to talk about is His Hands by Blegh. This song is a highly emotional dilemma of her being in love with someone who is simultaneously available and unavailable for the singer to love. With profound lyrics reflecting tragically lost young love accompanied by experimental musical elements such as the inclusion of tenor saxophone in the otherwise electronic pop song, this song is one of my current favorites of 2020 in general. Fall to me is often accompanied by new romantic feelings and schoolgirl crushes you get when you meet someone new in your classes, and the element of heartbreak to me truly sums up how it feels to dissent into colder weather and a more restrictive schedule. I feel as though this song would also be perfect for the winter, but to me it more so feels like how the abrupt change from COVID-19 to college has been for me. The song is quite long, capping out at a little over five and a half minutes, but with the way the song grows in desperation- mantras of “and you know you love him, and you might fall in love with him, and you know you love him, and you’re falling in love with him”- it truly only feels like two. 

Continuing on with love songs, the slightly less tragic Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat by Del Water Gap is the next song I’d like to talk about. This song and His Hands almost feel like two sides of the same coin, which is why I wanted to talk about them at the same time. While Blegh’s song is about a more spiraling acceptance of being in love with a hookup, Del Water Gap’s newest song is a more triumphant acceptance of realizing your love for your fling. The lyrics still reflect how desperately in love he is, but it’ much more of a song that would be played over a scene where Actor A runs to Actor B’s house to confess their undying love. Recognizing the signs of him wanting an actual relationship progress almost as though you’re witnessing his thought process first hand and feeling his emotional revelation with him. This song for me is perfect for the seasonal transition because of the deeper feeling it provides while still having hope and a burst of energy that rushes in with the excitement of crisper air, longer nights, and seasonal drinks.