Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prevert
Autumn Leaves Music Sheet
Explore the Autumn Leaves virtual piano sheet and Roblox piano sheet, compare available arrangements, and play online with QWERTY notes. “Autumn Leaves” did not begin as an English-language piano standard. Its melody emerged as music for Roland Petit's 1945 ballet Le Rendez-vous, with Jacques Prévert's French words arriving around the song's cinematic life as Les Feuilles mortes. Johnny Mercer's English lyric is an adaptation rather than a literal translation. The French song appeared in the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit; Mercer's later English version then helped the melody travel into recordings and the jazz repertoire, while retaining its wistful falling-leaf image. The selected piano score may treat the tune as a ballad, a straight song or a jazz vehicle. The history explains the work's two-language identity; the edition in front of you determines its harmony, introduction and rhythmic feel.
About Autumn Leaves
Explore the Autumn Leaves virtual piano sheet and Roblox piano sheet, compare available arrangements, and play online with QWERTY notes.
“Autumn Leaves” did not begin as an English-language piano standard. Its melody emerged as music for Roland Petit's 1945 ballet Le Rendez-vous, with Jacques Prévert's French words arriving around the song's cinematic life as Les Feuilles mortes.
Johnny Mercer's English lyric is an adaptation rather than a literal translation. The French song appeared in the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit; Mercer's later English version then helped the melody travel into recordings and the jazz repertoire, while retaining its wistful falling-leaf image.
The selected piano score may treat the tune as a ballad, a straight song or a jazz vehicle. The history explains the work's two-language identity; the edition in front of you determines its harmony, introduction and rhythmic feel.
Search the library
Common questions
Questions and answers FAQ
Who wrote Autumn Leaves?
Joseph Kosma wrote the music, Jacques Prévert wrote the French words, and Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics.
What is the French original called?
The French song is Les Feuilles mortes, meaning “The Dead Leaves.”
Where did the melody first appear?
Research traces it to music for Roland Petit's 1945 ballet Le Rendez-vous before its film and song versions.
Is the English lyric a direct translation?
No. Mercer's English lyric is a shorter adaptation with different imagery from Prévert's French text.