James McCandless of Chicago wrote this musical family snapshot. It's on his CD "Sea of Freedom"

MEMORIAL DAY

Grandma got after my cousin and me,
Scolding, yet smiling, shaking her head.
"Don't you throw rocks down the well anymore,
But I suppose boys will be boys," she said.
Joyce and Callista were cooking the food,
Chicken and spuds and roasted ears.
Poor little Margie got stung by a bee,
So we gave her some ice-cream to soothe her tears.


CHORUS: Grandpa played a hornpipe on the old violin
And Babe played accordion.
As the sun went down on Memorial Day
At the family reunion.

Don built a lean-to by the side of a tree,
Mother took pictures, made everyone smile.
Archie pitched horseshoes with an Indian kid
And the clanging of ringers echoed for miles.
My uncles got into political talk,
The cold war and stuff I knew nothing about.
Dad walked me down to the fish hatchery
And he lifted me up to look at the trout.

(chorus)

Up in the mountains above the timberline,
A trickle of water comes out of the ground.
From this humble beginning it goes on to be
The mightiest river that ever ran down.

(chorus)

As the sun went down on Memorial Day
At the family reunion.

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HTML line breaks added. -JoeClone 29-Dec-00