Chiemi Eri -- Kareha ga Chiru（枯葉が散る）

 

As much as I've often referred to Burt Bacharach as one of the architects of pop music in the 1960s, I think another figure that should be put into that role is Michel Legrand because his compositions and arrangements have also hit me as being representative melodies of that decade. One example is his score for the 1968 movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" with the main theme "The Windmills of Your Mind" as sung by Noel Harrison.

Legrand was not lost on Japanese audiences either...or for that matter, Japanese songwriters of the time. To be honest, the song "Kareha ga Chiru" (Dead Leaves Fall) has a rhythm that reminds me of "The Windmills of Your Mind" but at the same time, the instrumentation and laconic tempo also have me thinking of Legrand's other earlier magnum opus "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".

However, "Kareha ga Chiru" had nothing to do with the legendary French composer and arranger. Instead, this was a Chiemi Eri（江利チエミ）kayo kyoku that was written by Michio Yamagami（山上路夫） and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）. It does sound so French and melancholy that I can only imagine Paris as being the city where the song's romance began...and died. Of course, the title immediately sends out that message that this is a bittersweet tune at best because kayo kyoku dealing with autumn almost always refers to the loss of love. Now, unfortunately, try as I might, I couldn't track down the origin year of "Kareha ga Chiru" although it has popped up in later Eri BEST compilations, so at least for now, why not give it the adopted year of 1968, just like "The Windmills of Your Mind"?