Autumn Leaves

Album: Miracle Pill (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Goo Goo Dolls singer John Rzeznik describes this poignant track as a "melancholy goodbye to someone." It grew out of a writing session with Drew Pearson, a songwriter and producer who also contributed to the band's previous album, Boxes. Rzeznik told Spin: "He was showing me this instrument that he has called the una corda. It's a crazy-sounding thing. It's like a piano, but every note has one string instead of three, so it sounds very weird."
  • This is the fifth and final single from Miracle Pill, the band's 12th studio album. Although the song has a somber tone, there's hope in the message that seasons change and life goes on. "There always has to be hope in my songs," Rzeznik says, "What is there to live for otherwise?"
  • The music video, directed by Matt Mahurin, depicts the passage of time through the eyes of an old man, a young woman, and a boy as leaves fall, a pocket watch ticks, and a bird dies. According to the band, the concept of the clip was to show "multiple generations of people traveling through natural landscapes and explores the dramatic, yet awe-inspiring effect time inevitably takes on all life."
  • Earlier in their career, the band would only bring one or two producers on board for an album, namely Rob Cavallo on their breakthrough '90s releases A Boy Named Goo and Dizzy Up The Girl, and Rzeznik would do much of his songwriting sitting in a room by himself. By the 2010s, however, the band preferred a more collaborative approach, enlisting multiple producers, songwriters, and engineers to stay fresh and retain their identity.

    "I don't like using one producer," Rzeznik told hmv.com in 2019. "I want the band to be the element that ties the song together rather than the producer being the sound. When I start to sing or the way I play guitar is us, I want to retain that. And, to be honest, I burn producers out. I'm a producer myself and I burn these guys out. The last time I did 10 songs with one guy I thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown." For this release, the Goos enlisted their songwriter/producer friends Drew Pearson, Sam Hollander, and Derek Fuhrmann, among others.

Comments: 1

  • Danny from London Great song especially during covid depicting what has happened life is change we move on
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top Proverb

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.