I've been working on this song, on and off, for over two years. But try as I might, I just couldn't get it to come together. Then, the other day, I decided to use the scansion of the Irish proverb that inspired it: Is buaine focal ná toice an tsaoil" (A word is more enduring than worldly wealth).

And then, as I thought about it, I realized there was a whole cluster of proverbs that all stemmed from related ideas, I decided to use each of them for different verses, rather than over-extending a single proverb.

The other proverbs are:
The four least useful things: a headache, a bitter mouth, a worried mind, and an empty pocket.

A good word never broke a tooth.

Fame is more enduring than life.

And finally, Mudcatter George Seto shared this one: "An end will come on the world, but music & love will last."

Enduring Tresausre

This coin in my purse, I will soon trade away;
I'll not shed a tear when the time comes to part.
The words that you've spoken are with me to stay:
A treasure, enduring, to keep in my heart.

What use is there, tell me, to a bitter tongue?
What use is there, tell me, to a worried mind?
A word that is gentle will never go wrong.
No harm ever came from a word that is kind.

The life of a man, it is never too long:
From cradle to grave in the blink of an eye.
But we will remember, through story and song.
Our good and our evil will echo through time.

The shiniest pennies will all turn to dust
And glittering palaces tumble and fall
The words that we banter will never be lost   
Our love and our music will outlast it all.

To hear what this tune sounds like, copy the bold text below, paste it into the text window of the ABC Convert-o-Matic, and click [submit]. That will bring up a page where you can click to hear a simple midi.

(If, for some odd reason, you computer fails to cooperate, try turning off your pop-up blockers. I've heard rumors that that can help).


X:1
T: Enduring Treasure
C: CapriUni (Ann Magill)
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
Q: 1/4=110
K:Bb
z D B,2 B,B,|D2 DD C2|B,C B,3 D|
D2 DD F2|FF E2 EE|D3 D G2|
GG F2 FF|E2 EE D2-|D D B,2 B,B,|
D2 DD C2|B,C B,4|]