October is my favorite month of the year. Not only does the shift in weather punctuate, the end of the hot, oppressive summer; October is the month that I celebrate my wedding anniversary with my Tayviator. The days and nights are a bipolar mix between needing the heat and air-conditioning on. The leaves on the trees change color, shed their verdant rainment, and bear their naked skeleton for a season. The world becomes more monochromatic, making Spring colors even more delightful.
I love breathing in October, especially in Utah. The air is not too dry, not to cold. It’s crisp. It’s invigorating. It’s great for a few weeks before Jack Frost makes a daily residence, thereby torturing my asthmatic lungs. The precipitation tends to be rainy, which I love. Occasionally a few days of Indian Summer will pop up, but I rarely have to deal with temperatures over 80 degrees. The first dusting of snow happens, as it did yesterday, and the “3 month holiday season” begins. October is my happy place.
In high school French class, I listened to “Octobre” by Francis Cabrel. Every October since, I’ve listened to this song to get in the mood. Click on the video below, and enjoy the soothing music and voice of “France’s James Taylor.”
Octobre de Francis Cabrel
La brume viendra dans sa robe blanche / The mist will come in its white dress
Y’aura des feuilles partout / There will be leaves everywhere
Couchées sur les cailloux /Lying on the pebbles
Octobre tiendra sa revanche / October will have its revenge
Le soleil sortira à peine / The sun will be just gone
Nos corps se cacheront / Our bodies will hide themselves
Sous des bouts de laine / Beneath bits of wool
Perdue dans tes foulards / Lost in your scarves
Tu croiseras le soir / You will pass October
Octobre endormi aux fontaines /October asleep at the fontains
Il y aura certainement, / There will be certainly
Sur les tables en fer blanc /On the tables of tin
Quelques vases vides qui traînent / Some empty vases lying around
Et des nuages pris aux antennes / And some clouds hanging onto antennas
Je t’offrirai des fleurs / I will offer you flowers
Et des nappes en couleurs / And colored tablecloths
Pour ne pas qu’Octobre nous prenne / So October won’t capture us
On ira tout en haut des collines / We will run to the top of the hills
Regarder tout ce qu’Octobre illumine / And see everything that October is illuminating
Mes mains sur tes cheveux / My hand on your hair
Des écharpes pour deux / Scarves for the both of us
Devant le monde qui s’incline /The world will give into us
Certainement appuyés sur des bancs / Certainly resting on a bench
Il y aura quelques hommes qui se souviennent / There will be some men who remember
Et des nuages pris sur les antennes / And some clouds hanging on antennas
Je t’offrirai des fleurs / I will offer you flowers
Et des nappes en couleurs / And colorful tablecloths
Pour ne pas qu’Octobre nous prenne / So October won’t capture us
Et sans doute on verra apparaître / And without a doubt, we will
Quelques dessins sur la buée des fenêtres / See some paintings of condensation on the windows
Vous, vous jouerez dehors / You, you will be playing outside
Comme les enfants du nord / Like the children from the north
Octobre restera peut-être. / October will stay, maybe