Songs of Bereavement

Yikes, Lucinda Williams is all about loss.....

I Envy The Wind

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I envy the wind that whispers in your ear
that howls through the winter, that freezes your fingers
that moves through your hair and cracks your lips
that chills you to the bone, I envy the wind

I envy the rain that falls on your face
that wets your eyelashes and dampens your skin
and touches your tounge and soaks through your shirt
and drips down your back, I envy the rain

I envy the sun that brightens your summer
that warms your body and holds you in her heat
that makes your days longer and makes you hot
and makes you sweat, I envy the sun

I envy the wind, I envy the rain
I envy the sun, I envy the wind

Hidden Angel

He had a reason to get back to Lake Charles
He used to talk about it
He'd just go on & on
He always said Louisiana
Was where he felt at home

He was born in Nacodoches
That's in east Texas
Down towards the border
He used to tell everybody
He was from Lake Charles

Hidden angel whisper in your ear
Hold you close
Wipe away your fear
In that long, last moment

We used to drive to Lafayette and Baton Rouge
In a yellow El Camino
Listening to Howlin' Wolf
We used to stop in Lake Charles
Cause that was the place he loved.

Have you gone about as far as you can go
Down the Louisiana highway
Across Lake Poncetrain
Now your soul is in Lake Charles
No matter what they say

Hidden angel whisper in your ear
Hold you close
Wipe away your fear
In that long, last moment

Sweet old world

See what you lost when you left this world?
This sweet old world.
What you lost when you left this world,
This sweet old world.

The breath from your own lips;
The touch of fingertips;
A sweet and tender kiss;
The sound of a midnight train;
Wearing someone's ring;
Someone calling your name.
Somebody so warm cradled in your arm.
Didn't you think you were worth anything?

See what you lost when you left this world?
This sweet old world.
What you lost when you left this world,
This sweet old world.

Millions of us in love;
P:romises made good;
Your own flesh and blood;
Looking for some truth;
Dancing with no shoes;
The beat, the rhythm, the blues;
The pounding of your heart's drum together with another one.
Didn't you think anyone loved you?

See what you lost when you left this world?
This sweet old world.
What you lost when you left this world,
This sweet old world.

See what you lost when you left this world?
This sweet old world.
What you lost when you left this world,
This sweet old world.

I'll stop, I post most of the lyrics from several albums of hers that I know. Here's a link to more of her lyrics:
Lucinda Williams Lyrics

Great lyrics. I have never heard the one about Lake Charles (Hidden Angel), although the Pacifica station I listen to plays quite a bit of her music.

Artist: Sarah McLachlan
Album: Mirrorball
Title: I Will Remember You




I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard



But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories


Reminds me of my grandmother and her Alzheimer's...

Lorna

And then there's Neil Young:

THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE
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I caught you knockin' at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.

I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done.

I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk-blood to keep from running out.

I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a settin' sun.

Edgar - she's got songs about a friend who shot himself, a lot of heart breaking songs about a troubled brother, etc

I think she and Neil Young are touring this year. Too bad I don't still live down south, the closest they'll get to me is NYC.

God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday

Them that's got shall get
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the cild that's got his own
That's got his own

Yes the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don't ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Money you've got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you're gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own

Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
He just worry 'bout nothin'
Cause he's got his own

I Am A Rock- Simon & Garfunkel

A winter's day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,
But I've heard the words before;
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

Dust in Wind - lyrics

Artist: Kansas

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

[Now] Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.

Well, when I feel sorrow for the friends of mine that did not return from the war in Afghanistan in '80s (I have several sad anniversaries every year), I use to listen the Mozart's "Requiem".

Two I can think of right off the top: Patsy Cline and Smokey Robinson.

Sweet dreams of you
Every night I go through
Why can't I forget you
Start living life anew
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

People say I'm the life of the party cause I tell a joke or two
I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile but it's out of place
If you look closely it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Long Time Man
(Bereavement with a twist, I suppose)
From the album "Your Funeral My Trial"

Written by Tim Rose

Yeah, they came to take me away
Said I'd be sitting here for the rest of my life
But I don't really care - I shot my wife
And brother, I can't even remember the reason why

Oh, it makes a long time man feel bad
Yeah, it makes a long time man feel bad
Well I ain't had no love since I don't know when
It sure makes a long time man feel bad

We was down in Jacksonville
A cold winter night
My baby and I, we began to fight
I heated up, and I grabbed my gun
I get so cold on those nights down south

She was laying in a pool right there on the kitchen floor
She looked up at me and began to smile
Her gasping words: "Baby, I love you"
Then she closed those baby blue eyes

(chorus, and variations)

Sometimes I hear you call my name in the dead of the night

I ain't had those arms around me
I ain't had those lips, those lips, around me

It sure makes a long time man feel bad
So bad


Dead Can Dance
Toward the Within [live] (1994)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
(Traditional Irish tune rendered beautifully by DCD)

I sat within the valley green
I sat me with my true love.
My sad heart strove the two between
The old love and the new love.
The old for her the new
That made me think on Ireland dearly.
While the soft wind blew down the glade
and shook the golden barley.

T'was hard the woeful words to frame
To break the ties that bound us.
But harder still to bear the shame
of foreign chains around us.
And so I said the mountain glen
I'll meet at morning early.
And I'll join the bold united men
While soft winds shook the barley.

T'was sad I kissed away her tears
My fond arm round her flinging.
When a foe man's shot burst on our ears
From out the wild woods ringing.
A bullet pierced my true love's side
In life's young spring so early.
And on my breast in blood she died
While soft winds shook the barley.

But blood for blood without remorse
I've ta'en at oulart hollow.
I've lain my true love's clay like corpse
Where I full soon must follow.
Around her grave I've wandered drear
Noon, night, and morning early.
With breaking heart when e'er I hear
The wind that shakes the barley.

More Smokey...

There you were
Beautiful
The power of love was written on your face
You led me on
With untrue kisses
You held me captive with your false embrace
Quicker than I could bat an eye
You were telling me goodbye
Just a minute ago your love was here
All of a sudden it seemed to disappear
Sweetness was only heartache camoflouged
The love I saw in you was just a mirage

You Win Again

The news is out all over town
That you've been seen out runnin' 'round
I know that I should leave but then
I just can't (pronounced cain't) go - You win again

This heart of mine could never see
What everybody knew but me
Just trustin' you was my great sin
What can I do - You win again


by Hank Williams as sung by Jerry Lee Lewis

"Fire And Rain"

Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susan the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way

Been walkin' my mind to an easy time
My back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things to come
Sweet dreams and fine machines in pieces on the ground

Oh I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you baby, one more time again
Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things comin' my way this time around
Thought I'd see, thought I'd see you...


James Taylor

Seasons of My Heart

The seasons come, the seasons go
Get a little sunshine rain and snow
Just the way that it was planned to be
But there's no seasons in my heart
While you play the leading part
Cause the flowers will bloom eternally

Your leaving will bring autumn sorrow
And my tears like withered leaves shall fall
But spring could bring some glad tomorrow
Darling we could be happy after all


George Jones and Darrell Edwards

He Stopped Loving Her Today

He said I'll love you til I die
She told him You'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on the wall
Went half crazy now and then
But he still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
But I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

You know she came saw him one last time
And we were all wondering if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

B. Braddock/C. Putman