Welcome to Part 3 of our Prythian Court series! Today, we're going to be checking out the playlist I made for The Autumn Court, neighbor to the Spring, Summer, & Winter Courts and ruled over by Resident POS High Lord Beron.
The most we know about the Autumn Court is likely its cruel and cutthroat nature, with the powerful High Fae being in constant competition for power. Beron and his wife have seven sons (including the oldest and POS in Training Eris and the youngest and personal favorite of mine Lucien), a relatively large brood in this universe, and they all virtually hate each other and their dad but seem pretty partial to their poor mom. The Autumn Court's ruling family is also one of the only Fae lines in ACOTAR that Maas reveals their surname, Vanserra, so not sure what that means yet but can't wait to find out.
Like the other posts, I've done my best to capture the essence of the Autumn Court here, not necessarily adding a bunch of songs that remind me of Beron, Eris, Lucien, or any other Autumn-aligned characters. If you haven't read the books, this series may be a little confusing for you, but my remedy for that is obviously to read them or to just enjoy the playlists for what they are.
Below is a sampling of my Autumn Court Playlist, which as always is way too long to be compressed into a single post. You can check out the full list by following me on Apple Music @audioaesthetics. Disclaimer: I do not own any character or property listed below, I'm just a huge fan and love to make playlists for my favorite fandoms.
Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys ft. Nicki Minaj (written by B. Squire, J. Bhasker, O. Maraj, S. Remi, A. Augello-Cook)
Featured on Keys's 2012 album Girl On Fire, this song's title plays into the power most associated with the Autumn Court: fire. I've always loved the fact that fire isn't just an external force, but an internal one for people as well. Just like the heat of a fire can keep us alive in the bitter cold, a fire inside of us can keep us going even when we feel like we have nothing left to give.
She's just a girl and she's on fire/Hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway/She's livin' in a world and it's on fire/Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away/Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh/She got both feet on the ground and she's burnin' it down/Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh/She got her head in the clouds and she's not backin' down/This girl is on fire/This girl is on fire/She's walkin' on fire/This girl is on fire
Love It When You Hate Me by Avril Lavigne ft. blackbear (written by A. Lavigne, D. Smith, J. Feldmann, M. Musto)
Featured on Lavigne's 2022 album Love Sux, this banger should probably be the false anthem of the Night Court (more on them in a future post) but the actual real life anthem of the Autumn Court. Their power hungry urges and lust for power don't leave a lot of room for close personal relationships, and with few exceptions we haven't seen them care much what others think of their outward demeanor. You could almost say it feeds their fire, but that would be a fairly silly pun, wouldn't it?
I'm a lush, and I'm drunk again off another crush/Don't rush, just take your time, don't feel too much/And how 'bout you just take some blame, I always take all the pain/You should just forget my name/And I ignore all the warning signs/Fall for you every time/Don't call me baby, I love it when you hate me/I know it's crazy, I love it when you hate me/The highs, the lows, the yes', the no's, you're so hot when you get cold/Don't call me baby, I love it when you hate me
OverHeated by Billie Eilish (written by F. O'Connell, B. O'Connell)
Featured on Eilish's 2021 album Happier Than Ever, this song definitely gives off the IDGAF vibes the Autumn Court values. Especially seeing themselves above others, it's easy to see nobility from this court walking around with this playing as background music. Plus, if you can't control your fire, what else could happen to your body and your mind besides overheating?
I don't really even know how it happened/I started talking, they started laughing/I don't really even know how it happened/I started watching them photographing/I don't really how it happened/Instead of stopping, they still were flashing/I started walking, gave no reaction, no reaction/I’m overheated, can't be defeated/Can't be deleted, can't un-believe it/I’m overheated, can't be defeated/Can't be deleted, can't be repeated/I’m overheated/I’m overheated
Burn by Carrie Underwood (written by H. Lindsey, C. Underwood, A. Gorley, D. Garcia)
Featured on Underwood's 2022 album Denim & Rhinestones, the fire theme continues to burn ever brighter. There's also some traditional Autumn-esque tropes in the lyrics that humans in particular should recognize in the form of flannel shirts and campfires. It's a good little love song that brings up images of being with your partner on a chilly Fall night, and this tends to be my favorite time of year so that works just fine for me.
Sittin' there wrapped up tight in your flannel button-up with your arms around me/Watchin' those flames dance high where nobody could find us, oh, but you sure found me/Yeah, we were lightin' that fire, heatin' up the sky like a July rocket/No, we never got tired, we'd stay up all night and watch it/Burn like whiskey in my glass even though it's sittin' on ice/It's always gonna burn little too hot real fast like when you were mine, yeah/That's the thing about your memory, it's keeping me warm, but it's killing me every time I think about you now/Even though our love died out, it's always gonna burn, burn, burn
Angel on Fire by Halsey (written by G. Kurstin, A. Frangipane)
Featured on Halsey's 2017 album hopeless fountain kingdom, we're back again with the references to fire. There's also some standoffishness in these lyrics, which the Autumn Court also is notorious for in the extreme, especially when it comes to those the ruling class sees as weak, insignificant, or lesser-than. This song admittedly makes me think of the Autumn Lady and how she probably feels being trapped in her particular situation, and I do hope we get to learn more about her in later stories.
I woke up to another mess in the living room, broken bottles all around my feet/They came again in the night under crescent moon, didn't wake me in my sleep/‘Cause they talk and drink and laugh 'bout things and fall in love in my backyard/I hide and cower in the corner, conversations getting hard/‘Cause nobody seems to ask about me anymore/And nobody seems to care about anything I think/And nobody seems to recognize me in the crowd/In the background, screaming, "Everybody, look at me”/And I'm fading away, you know I used to be on fire/And I'm fading away, you know I used to be on fire/I’m standing in the ashes of who I used to be/And I'm fading away, you know I used to be on fire/You know I used to be on fire/You know I used to be on fire, fire
Heat by Kelly Clarkson (written by A. Davidson, S. Davidson, M. Pollack, J. Karpov, M. Schultz)
Featured on Clarkson's 2017 album Meaning Of Life, the citizens of Autumn are well-known for being passionate, hence the heat. They're fairly straightforward about what they want as long as it's power, and are very passionate about the lengths they'll go to in order to obtain it. It's also not surprising to have a heated discussion with someone from Autumn... ok that point may have been a bit of a reach but this song slaps.
I'm stumbling through the darkness/There ain't no sign of a spark here/I’m used to feeling that fire/You watered down that desire/I put my work in, day in, day out/Baby, I deserve it, don't let me down/You used to make me feel like a diamond/Now it don't even seem like you're trying/So give me one good reason that I should need you/Whoa, come turn this around, whoa, no, no, don't let us down/I need more heat from ya, baby, make me feel weak for ya, babe/Whoa, and I feel alive, whoa, like my heart's in the wild/I need more heat from ya, baby, make me feel weak for ya, babe
Fire Escape by Miranda Lambert (written by H. Lindsey, L. Rose, L. McKenna, M. Lambert)
Featured on Lambert's 2019 album Wildcard, here comes the fire again. This one to me gives Under The Mountain vibes, but I'm not sure who from the Autumn Court besides our favorite defector Lucien would've actually felt this way down there. That being said, we love a good song that talks about escaping our out of control lives for even just a little while.
We'll smoke like a couple in the 1960’s/Lit up like a pair of Woodstock hippies/Lookin' down on a town where it don't seem wrong/To be a bonfire blaze where it don't belong/Meet me on the fire escape, meet me on the fire escape/Don't let me wait, I wanna start up this flame/Meet me on the fire escape, meet me on the fire escape/When the building's burning, baby, we're to blame
Jump on into the Fire by Radio Company (written by S. Carlson, J. Ackles)
Featured on Radio Company's 2021 album Vol. 2, this soft rock song describes one of the most tried and true methods for experiencing any culture: jump on in. Now, unless you're fireproof, jumping into a physical fire is clearly ill advised, but I think we all know this is a metaphorical phrase at this point. Don't hesitate to jump into the warm-colored, cool-weathered, beautiful but dangerous atmosphere that is the Autumn Court.
Loaded up, locked it in, staring down that line/Illuminated, noises faded 'til the shot went off inside/Out of mind, done lost the time, any minute it'll be a go/Knowing any moment/You gotta jump on into the fire/Jump on into the fire/You gotta jump on into the fire/Jump on into the fire
evermore by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Iver (written by J. Vernon, T. Swift, W. Bowery)
Featured on Swift's 2020 album evermore, this song and honestly this entire album are universally accepted by Swifities to be, as the kids would say, Autumn-coded. From the shoutout to the month of November to the descriptions of fireplaces and cold weather, the imagery is definitely all there. For many, seasonal depression can begin to set in during the Fall months, and while this song is for sure melancholy there's something cathartic and healing in it as well.
Gray November, I’ve been down since July/Motion capture put me in a bad light/I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone trying to find the one where I went wrong/Writing letters addressed to the fire/And I was catching my breath/Staring out an open window, catching my death/And I couldn't be sure/I had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore
Something in the Orange (Z&E's Version) by Zach Bryan (written by Z. Bryan)
Featured on Bryan's 2022 album American Heartbreak, we're pulling from the Autumnal color palette with this one. It's the season where, unless you live in Texas, the leaves change color from their normal green to beautiful, fiery shades of orange, red, and yellow. While this song is about a very different type of orange, it has a melancholy tone to it that can also fit into the changing of the seasons from summer to fall.
It'll be fine by dusk light I'm telling you, baby/These things eat at your bones and drive your young mind crazy/But when you place your head between my collar and jaw/I don't know much, but there's no weight at all/And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don’t/‘Cause if I say, "I miss you," I know that you won’t/But I miss you in the mornings when I see the sun/Something in the orange tells me we're not done/To you I'm just a man, to me you're all I am, where the hell am I supposed to go/I poisoned myself again, something in the orange tells me you're never coming home/If you leave today, I'll just stare at the way the orange touches all things around/The grass, trees, and dew, how I just hate you, please turn those headlights around
I hope you found some fun new music to check out today whether you align with Autumn or not, or even if you neither know or care what I'm talking about. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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