Goodbye to my Uncles, farewell to my Aunts
Prairie Home Companion/Garrison Keillor
Tune: Unknown, but familiar.


Good-bye to my uncles, farewell to my aunts,
One after the other, they went to lie down.
In the green pastures, beside the still waters,
and----make----no----sound.

Their arms that held me, for so many years,
their beautiful voices, no longer I hear.
They're in Jesus' arms, and he's talking to them,
in the rapturous New Jerusalem.

I know they're at peace, in a land of delight,
but I miss---them---to-night------
I miss that lost world, that can never return,
where the kerosene lamps and the wood fires burn.
The woods and the sheds are home to me,
and the outhouse is gloo----my.

The horses nicker, when we brush their coats,
we feed them some corn and a bucket of oats.
The smell of their sweat, and the wood of the barn,
on a hot summer day, on a mid-western farm.

The magical woods and the innocent sky,
I bid---them----goodbye.

Good-bye Eleanor, Aunt Franny, and Joe.
Good-bye Uncle Jim and Elsie and Dawn.
One after the other, you went to lie down,
and now----are-----gone.

You'll always be present, in my memory,
and who is this little girl, walking towards me?
She calls me Uncle, I smile at her,
I wish she'd known mine, what sweet men you were.
But she takes my hand, and I know what to do
I'll try----to----be----you

We'll walk in the meadow, and look at the trees,
I'll point out the birds as you taught them to me.
We'll sit side by side, with a book in between,
She'll point to a word, and I'll say what it means.
And when she is sleeping, the day is too long,
I'll sing----her-----your-----song

segue into Nearer Thy God to Me


Lookee there, could cut and paste just like the rest of ye! Would still love an ABC of the tune, if any out there know it. I guess with having so much death in my world lately, this song really touches me. Thanks, all.

--- Line breaks <br> added ---
---Jeff (PA)---