Friday, September 23, 2005

Music to live and die by

A recent blog entry by one of my "must-reads" mentioned the words that one wants on their gravestone. I have never thought about the words I want to be remembered by, or for that matter the songs to play at my funeral. Do you want something melancholy or a rollicking good tune to have people humming and smiling?

What I do know is how one song can speak to you at the right time. That amazing coincidence of hearing something in the words and it just reaches in and grabs your heart-strings. A few months ago I began talking to a gentleman online. OK, nothing new there, but during our conversations, a rapport was struck. Needless to say, I quite like him. But putting that all to one side, he changed my life in one fundamental way by introducing me to a couple of songs.

These songs, one in particular, are simple tunes, but with words so amazing that they seem to touch my very soul. In a moment of pure schmaltz, we began typing the words of the song out on MSN to each other, taking it in turn to quote the next line. (Everyone can now return from their vomitoriums.) This song, "Nothing Rhymed", now has the dubious honour of being the most-played song on my iPod.

And here is a snippet to whet your appetites....

When I'm drinking my Bonaparte Shandy
Eating more than enough apple pies
Will I glance at my screen and see real human beings starve to death
Right in front of my eyes

Nothing old, nothing new, nothing ventured
Nothing gained, nothing still-born or lost,
Nothing further than proof nothing wilder than youth
Nothing physically, recklessly, hopelessly blind
Nothing I couldn't say
Nothing why 'cos today
Nothing rhymed


A little depressing maybe, but then again, the next song down the list on my iPod is Mozart's Lacrimosa. Beautiful lilting violins, like the dripping of tears.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus,
lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus:
Huic ergo parce Deus,
Pie Jesu, Jesu Domine,

dona eis requiem,
dona eis, dona eis requiem.
Amen.


You think there is a common theme going on here?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of preparing "ones farewell"; as a young 20s girl I always wanted the AC/DC hit "highway to hell" to be the lasting theme as I parted this mortal earth. But I guess as time has mellowed me (or i've grown up)I've decided it's probably not the tune to farewell me, maybe I might just show some DVD footage of our latest trailer trash dance troupe!!