Ballads for the loss of a loved one?

Subject: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:16 PM

I've drawn a blank when trying to come up with the names of a few ballads that address the loss of a loved one (a lover, in contrast to parent, child, etc., though pining for a lost child might also convey the complexity and pathos I'm looking for). Anyone have any suggestions?

SRS

Subject: Lyr Add: RIDE ON (Jimmy MacCarthy)
From: GUEST,Colin Manning
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:27 PM

Are you only talking about death, or loss in a more general sense ? If the more general sense is what you mean, there is a very powerful and beautiful song by a man called Jimmy MacCarthy from Cork in Ireland, called "Ride On" (made famous by the Irish singer Christy Moore). The lyrics and melody are very powerful, and in the song the singer is describing the feeling of loss of his lover, who cannot love him any more because of his political/violent beliefs: Words are (first passage shows the chord pattern, it is the same throughout, including chorous and you should sing it slowly):

--
[Am]
True you ride the finest horse
[F]
I have ever seen
[G]
Standing sixteen one or two
[Am]
With eyes so wild and green
And you ride that horse so well
With hands light to the touch
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to

CHOROUS

Ride On
See You
I could never go with you, no matter how I wanted to

As you ride into the night
With hands light to the touch
Rub your claws along my gut
One last time
I turn to face the empty space
Where you used to lie
And look for the spark that lights the dard
Through a teardrop in your eye

CHOROUS
--

Regards,

Colin

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:35 PM

andy irvine's west coast of clare is wonderful

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: michaelr
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:42 PM

Singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman wrote a whole album's worth of songs dealing with her grief and recovery after the death of her husband. ("Sand and Water"< Reprise, 1997) It's a bit tough to listen to the entire CD, but several of the songs are just gorgeous.

Chers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Genie
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:52 PM

Stilly, I PM'd you a song I wrote that might work for what you're seeking. Then again, maybe not.

If I think of other songs, I'll post them here.

Genie

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 09:04 PM

Thank you, Genie. I suppose there are many forms of loss that must seem just as permanent as death to the one grieving, but I was speaking of death. The only song I could think of was "The Unquiet Grave," and that isn't what I had in mind.

SRS

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 09:17 PM

i have one you might check out...it is called silent voices....just a sec and i will dig up a link for you...

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 09:23 PM

ok here ya go:

Silent Voices

Subject: Lyr Add: I AM STRETCHED ON YOUR GRAVE (O'Connor)
From: michaelr
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 09:30 PM

There's this, by Sinead O'Connor:

I AM STRETCHED ON YOUR GRAVE (King/O'Connor)

I am stretched on your grave and will lie there forever
If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree, my brightness, it's time we were together
For I smell of the earth and am worn by the weather

When my family thinks that I'm safe in my bed
From night until morning I am stretched at your head
Calling out to the air with tears hot and wild
My grief for the girl that I loved as a child

Do you remember the night we were lost
In the shade of the blackthorn and the chill of the frost
Thanks be to Jesus we did what was right
And your maidenhead still is your pillar of light

The priests and the friars approach me in dread
Because I still love you, my love, and you're dead
I still would be your shelter through rain and through storm
And with you in your cold grave I cannot sleep warm

So I'm stretched on your grave and will lie there forever
If your hands were in mine I'd be sure we'd not sever
My apple tree, my brightness, it's time we were together
For I smell of the earth and am worn by the weather

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: michaelr
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 10:04 PM

Here's the Beth Nielsen Chapman song "Sand and Water".

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 10:19 PM

"Sand and Water" and "Silent Voices" are very good matches for what I'm looking for. Thank you, all!

Yet another reminder of what a great resource this is.

SRS

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:10 PM

Maggie ... I hope this helps: The Parting Glass. CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:13 PM

Maggie, me again. Also, take a careful read of the first verse of "RED RIVER VALLEY" or maybe you do it as a chorus. It not only speaks to things, but it helps people participate. bob (from this valley they say you are going)

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:20 PM

Maggie ... also check out "Who Will Sing For Me?" Your Dad and I heard that together for the first time when Sally Ashford sang it in a quiet corner of Folklife in the 70's, somewhere.

Offtime singing with my friends
When deaths dark form I see
...... Bob (again) ((I'm sure that Jean knows it))

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:32 PM

Do a search of the DT using @death @love & that'll bring you up quite a few. Barry

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:42 PM

Thanks, Bob, and Barry. I've been searching on each suggestion as they come along if not included in the post, and the categories on the bottom of the digitrad files have been interesting. Bob, that last thought in "Parting Glass" is exquisite.

SRS

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 23 Aug 02 - 11:51 PM

Yes indeed! The last verse is exquisite indeed. And I would add "elegant!" You are the rare person that recognises it ... but I am not surprised. There is another mostly unkown verse, I'll e-mail it to you. HUGS, Bob

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Will R
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 01:30 AM

The song "The Leaving of Nancy" is an excellent ballad in this regard. Also the song "Raglan Road" is equally if not superior.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Will R
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 01:40 AM

I also like the song "Peggy Gordon". Will

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Will R
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 02:16 AM

Black is the color of my true loves hair is another great ballad. Also "Nancy Spain" and "The Lakes of Ponchartrain" are very good ballads Will

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Kaleea
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 02:54 AM

Anytime I'm looking for a song about something sad, I look to the Irish ballads (especially since I'm half Irish!) , such as "Maggie" mentioned in an above post. There's "Kathleen Mavoureen," "The Harp That Once Stood In Tara's Halls," "The Last Rose of Summer, and the tear producer of all time, "Danny Boy." And if you want a different ethnic origin, "Via Con Dios." Since you specified ballads, I won't even mention all the beautiful arias from operas in which the true love dies, ( have heard some of them sung at funerals) and the one left behind painfully languishes (with full orchestration) over the,uh, . . . shall we say, dearly departed, as he/she sings the really big aria of that opera, during which the one left alive realizes that he/she loved the other--very much like the "opera" cartoon with Elmer Fudd & that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny, where Elmer goes wabbit hunting & shoots that wascally wabbit, & then carries Bugs up the 13 zillion steps (bugs sits up in Elmer's arms long enough to tell us "what'd ya expect, Doc, everybody knows that somebody's gotta go in the end of an opera!)to the top of Valhalla, while singing to melodies of Wagner's greatest hits from "The Ring." [note; the latter was not to make light of the subject at hand, merely to bring a chuckle to those of us who need one!]

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,van lingle
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 07:25 AM

Bee's Wing by Richard Thompson is a fairly recent one that's quite sad and beautiful and I second West Coast of Clare, one of my favorites.vl

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: debils
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 07:39 AM

i have at home a very deep meaningful song that always make me cry it's called "The Death of Parker" it is song by Parker's widow very touching it's about an 1797 naval mutiny at the Nore it is on a cd called dead maids land it is available from the wren trust okehampton devon england i believe they have a web site the song was collected from a stone mason in july 1893 and was added to the songs of the west by Sabine Baring-Gould

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 07:41 AM

Maggie, you might also check out some of the verses of "The Joys Of Love." And, dig out your copy of the first record that Cynthia Gooding recorded. I can't recall the ballad title, but it absouluty speaks to this topic. It's only four lines and, as a dimly recall, the liner notes mentioned that it was the 'oldest' ballad known. This was recorded in the mid fifties. Perhaps some other mudcatter can help with this title. I'll ask Don about this song.CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 08:38 AM

I have a song in mind, but it's not currently available on line. If you'll PM me with your e-mail address, I'll send you an mp3 of it.

Stephen L. Rich

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Hecate
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 10:56 AM

Carrick Fergus is pretty nostalgic/depressing. That might suit.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 12:37 PM

Thanks, all. Your answers have been wonderfully succinct. You've detected that I'm not looking for a therapy session with this request--what I seek are song lines that poetically encapsulate love and loss to use as epigrams throughout a memorial essay I need to write for publication about this summer's death of a dear friend. I've been able to take your suggestions and go to the Digitrad or to the links people provide and read through the words. Without ranking them as to their level of emotional impact for me, here is a short list that I've come up with. I see several other suggestions posted overnight since I started this thread, and I'll look them up after I send this. (Pardon any dyslexic typos in here--I played with the html to make this easy to follow, but sometimes html does anything but make text easy!)

On the radio last week I heard a song (that originally gave me this idea) by a local Fort Worth songwriter. It had a line about "We're all flesh and blood living in a spirit world." This aligns with my friend's beliefs.

From "Parting Glass" the wonderful last lines:

"But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be with you all.

Genie has a wonderful line in her "Candles Were Made for Burning:"

"We see the truth by the light we're given"
that can be used in several ways.

The pain of loss is almost too personal for (my) words throughout "Do You Think That I Do Not Know;"

Chapman's "Sand and Water" I think expresses what so many have felt at the loss of this friend. Here is the third verse that Elton John uses:

All alone I heal this heart of sorrow
I can only live this day
Flesh and bone in my life's bursting toward tomorrow
And the love you send my heart still finds its way.

(This man was a teacher, so this rings true for many people.)

Amergin's "Silent Voices" is entirely appropriate, especially the chorus:

The coyotes wailed as they told their tales
Of the life upon the range;
I looked around as the flames died down
And the skies began to change.
The mists arose and I watched them go
And my heart grew pale with woe
With a tearful cry I bade goodbye
To the voices I'll hear no more.

I think I have enough to work with now. I'll continue to look up suggestions. Heartfelt thanks to you all!

Maggie (doesn't need quotes--that is my name--but SRS is faster to type)

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 01:48 PM

Thanks for posting the results. I'm sure this will help others from time to time. Bob

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 02:56 PM

"Ashes On The Sea" - Utah Phillips tribute to Woody Guthrie.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Genie
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 03:19 PM

Here's a link to Bill Staines's <a href="http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=23642#271285?threadid=23642"> Crossing The Water</a>.

Here are excerpts:

CHORUS:
 We are crossing the water our whole life through,
 We are making a passage that is straight and true.
 Every heart is a vessel, every dream is a light,
 Shining through the darkness of the blackest night.

 For there is no shallow water, and naught but love to keep
 Us safely from the dangers and the devils of the deep,
 Yet with every breath within us, we search forever more,
 To find some peaceful harbor on that far off shore.
 
CHORUS

 For some it is a glory, for some it is a game,
 For some it is a story filled with emptiness and pain.
 But as rising winds in chorus, we search for steady ground.
 There is only that before us.  There can be no turning 'round.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Bobert
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 05:36 PM

I know I may be jumping in a tad late here but there was a song about death in general bu the Pozo Seco Singers. Of course, I can't rememebr the name of the song but do rememeber a little of it;

"Johnnie, run to the window... Daddy's comin' accross the meadonw... What's that he's holding in his hand..." is how it started and ir goes on to tell of the father bringing the boy a dead bird and what his father tells him about death. Real pretty ballad, as were a lot of the Pozo Seco Singers songs.

I had the displeasure of composing as song for my late wife, at her request while she was dieing of cancer 5 years ago. I called it "Dancing With the Angels" and will share the chorus here with you:

"Heaven sent and Heaven bound... Yeah, tonight she's dancing high... Dancing witht the Angels... In the stary southern sky..."

If, from the chorus, you have any interest in the song, PM me, Maggie.

Bobert

Subject: Lyr Add: ABSENT FRIENDS (Keith Hancock)
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 07:21 PM

Keith Hancock wrote "Absent Friends" - I understand it was as a tribute to his father, but it serves for anyone you've been fond of:-

ABSENT FRIENDS -  Keith Hancock

I always found when you were around
You'd help me through sorrow, you'd ease all my fears
For you always had time for troubles of mine
A shoulder to cry on, a listening ear

Chorus:

Time heals wounds they say
Time takes the pain away
I wonder why it never happened for me
It's years since you went away
I miss you night and day
Why you had to go is a mystery to me

The things that you'd do, the pictures of you
Are printed for life on the back of my mind
You were always so sure, your ways were so pure
Through faults and the bad times a loved one stayed blind

What seemed important then becomes trivial when
Fate deals the card that forces your hand
And the places we've been, together we've seen
No more in the future, no more in the plan

It's all very strange, but when you went I changed
It just seemed to happen as day turned to day
And I don't understand, is it part of a plan
Can one person grow as another one fades

Kitty

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Deckman
Date: 24 Aug 02 - 11:56 PM

What a thread this is turning into. There are some very powerful and wonderful songs here. Bob

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 12:44 AM

This was a very helpful thread. I'm reviving it just long enough to say that I wrote the essay I was working on, and used the last four lines of "Parting Glass" as an epigram.

It began:

Smoke and Mirrors
for Louis Owens

But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be with you all.
                        "Parting Glass," traditional Irish song


The exquisite conclusion to "Parting Glass" is one of several moving expressions of sorrow I contemplated in my attempt to understand a dear friend's suicide. Louis didn't gently rise from the table and go on his way. He stood abruptly, knocking over the table and chairs of his companions, then left the room with his face fixed in a mask of pain. Joy is not with us all, but I begin to understand what happened. In liberating himself of what pained him, Louis let go of many people, and in some cases, liberated them as well. . . .



SRS

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 04:00 PM

Cold blows the wind oer my loves grave
A few small drops of rain
I never had but one true love
And in greenwood she lies slain.

I'll do as much for my true love
As any young man may
I'll sit and mourn all on her grave
For a twelve month and a day.

I can't remember any more of this, which I think is a version of The unquiet grave. I've always found it very touching, and can relate to the emotions that it expresses.

Failte....Giok

Subject: Lyr Add: AFTER YOU'RE GONE (Iris DeMent)
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 04:18 PM

Iris Dement's 'There'll Be Laughter, Even After, You've GOne' is a fine song, from Infamous Angel cd

AFTER YOU'RE GONE (Iris DeMent)
(c) 1992 Songs of Iris/Forerunner Music, Inc. ASCAP

There'll be laughter even after you're gone
I'll find reasons to face that empty dawn
'cause I've memorized each line in your face
and not even death can ever erase the story they tell to me

I'll miss you, oh how I'll miss you
I'll dream of you and I'll cry a million tears
but the sorrow will pass and the one thing that will last
is the love that you've given to me

There'll be laughter even after you're gone
I'll find reason and I'll face that empty dawn
'cause I've memorized each line in your face
and not even death could ever erase the story they tell to me

Subject: Lyr Add: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW (M Gordon, H Warren)
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 04:25 PM

and a song I can't sing without crying -

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW
- written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren
- from the film "Hello 'Frisco, Hello"


You'll never know just how much I miss you
You'll never know just how much I care
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
A million or more times?

You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now

(You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer)
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now

You'll never know if you don't know now

hit song by Rosie Clooney in 1954, Sinatra sang it with other verse added:

"You'll Never Know"
Writer(s): Gordon/Warren


Darling, I'm so blue without you
I think about you the live-long day
When you ask me if I'm lonely
Then I only have this to say

You'll never know just how much I miss you
You'll never know just how much I care
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
A million or more times?

You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my ev'ry prayer
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now

You'll never know just how much I miss you
You'll never know just how much I care
You said good-bye, no stars in the sky refuse to shine
Take it from me, it's no fun to be alone
With moonlight and memories

You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my ev'ry prayer
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 07:00 PM

I love the tune to Child Ballad #214, in the DT here as "Dewey Dens of Yarrow," and at the Contemplator site here as "Rare Willie."

Then of course there's "Barbara Allen" in the DT here.

But my favorite (even though it's lost love and not death) is "I Once Loved a Lass" (The False Bride) documented by Malcolm here.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 07:04 PM

Correction! Rare Willie is Child #215.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 07:24 PM

I wrote Wings Of Song a while back.

Subject: Lyr Add: I'LL BE SEEING YOU
From: Mudlark
Date: 09 Oct 02 - 09:39 PM

And the sense of loss if very prevalent in a lot of WW2 songs, like

I'LL BE SEEING YOU
words by Irving Kahal, music by Sammy Fain, ©1938,

Cathedral bells were tolling and our hearts sang on;
Was it the spell of Paris or the April dawn?
Who knows if we shall meet again?
But when the morning chimes ring sweet again...

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces all day through
In that small cafe, the park across the way
The children's carousel, the chestnut tree, the wishing well.

I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
i'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 12:14 AM

There are some great songs here!

SRS

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Rex
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 02:23 PM

Well, there's the Civil War song, "The Vacant Chair".

Rex

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,jaze
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 08:39 PM

There's a sad and beautiful ballad called "I Know You By Heart" on Eva Cassidy's Songbird cd. While I think it it actually about a lost love, it reminds me so much of my lost daughter. It is the only song I can think of that literally reduced me to tears on hearing it. It really conveys the "Loss" of one loved. James

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Bert
Date: 10 Oct 02 - 09:05 PM

here's one

Subject: Lyr Add: LOCH LOMOND
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 06:44 AM

How about my alternative version to the scottish song 'Loch Lomond'I
wrote the Jacobite version a couple of years ago.

By yon bonny banks and yon bonny braes,
where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
where me and my true love were ever wont to go,
on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond

I well recall the day that my love he marched away,
and I followed in the baggage train behind him,
wi' Charlie Stuarts men oh we croosed both hill and glen,
and we left the bonny loch far behind us.

But oh the road was hard for a poor young lass to bear,
and the battles that we won they hardly cheered us,
till my love he sent me home never more wi' him to roam,
to seek the bonny cottage by loch lomond,

chorus:
He said' "You take the high road and I'll take the low road and
I'll be in scotland afore ye, and we'll hear the pipes in tune
as we dance beneath the moon, by the bonny bonny banks of loch lomond

The church bells they rang and the small birds they sang,
and the rain it poured down upon the gloamin'
as with manys the highland yell, upon the bloody ground they fell
and the musket shots rang out around them.

There's purple in the heather and there's gold among the trees,
and blue in the sky round loch lomond,
but my heart's black as stone, since I'm left here all alone,
to watch the silver moon rise in the gloamin'

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Baillie
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 06:49 AM

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Baillie
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 06:51 AM

...Sorry folks! forgot to put me name on that song 'Loch Lomond', I wrote the new version a couple of years ago! it came to me one autumn day driving home under a blue october sky with golden trees all around! ah the romance of it all!!!

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,harvey andrews
Date: 11 Oct 02 - 07:09 AM

The Journey

It's the journey isn't it
That's why we're here
It's the where we go in the time we've got
It's the course we steer
It's the journey isn't it
The joy we make
The dream we chase
The hope we hold
The chance we take
On the journey

It's the journey isn't it
The words we say
The things we do to clear a path
To make our way
It's the journey isn't it
The way we try
The way we win, the way we lose
The reason why
Is the journey

And it's so hard to make it alone
It's desert sand, it's stormy seas,it's broken stone
So when you came to me to walk along
You made the stone a garden
Made the sea a song
For the journey

It's the journey isn't it
Short and unplanned
From dark to light, from light to dark
So here's my hand
It's for the journey isn't it
All else above
For good or ill
For now...until
There's only love
Love's the journey

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Genie
Date: 31 Oct 04 - 09:36 AM

Refreshing this thread, as someone very dear to me is very near the end of her earthly journey. She and I do believe the spirit (energy) continues in some way, but the "other side" is still a great unknown. I know there are lots of songs about "Heaven" in the traditional sense and about ghosts, and some about reincarnation, but I'm interested in songs that deal with "crossing over" in ways other than those traditions. Especially interested in songs written by folks facing the death of loved ones.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: GUEST,Toenails john
Date: 31 Oct 04 - 12:18 PM

Although it may not be exactly what you are looking for, A song wich conveys personal loss of a loved one, in a wider scope would be Phil Coulters song he wrote for his disabled son, scorn not his simplicity recorded by Luke Kelly. Always touches a spot on most people to hear of a persons incapability to govern the future of a loved one.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Joe_F
Date: 31 Oct 04 - 09:12 PM

"I wish you were here" (Malvina Reynolds)

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 02:37 AM

Genie, look for a PM from me. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Cats at Work
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 06:01 AM

I sing a wonderful ballad that Jon Heslop wrote for me to sing in 'Unsung Heroes'. In WW1 the mighty 300 year old oak trees at Heligan were cut down and taken to build / repair boats. Heligan as the Earth Mother, spirit of the garden, sings the 'Lament for the Oaks' in which she likens them to her brothers, sons and lovers. It never fails to draw tears and I had to really sing through it before I could do it in the show. If you pm me I can send you the words and dots if you want them.

Subject: RE: Ballads for the loss of a loved one?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Nov 04 - 10:25 AM

There are songs and poems that have "niche" audiences, such as the Eugene Field poem "Little Boy Blue" that has been put to music (my Dad used to sing it, but I don't know if he is the one who set it to music). It represents more the pain of loss than the crossing over, except that it portrays the child before and after death. The poem below comes from this site.

Little Boy Blue
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
   But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
   And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
   And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
   Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
   "And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
   He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
   Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
   But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
   Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
   The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
   In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
   Since he kissed them and put them there.