Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep
Moving poetry and music can certainly help us when dealing with death and coping with bereavement. Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep is one of the most famous poems associated with grief and with funerals. It has been set to music by many people and has often been sung beautifully.
The original poem is believed to have been written in the 1930′s by Mary Elizabeth Frye, a florist from Baltimore, who is not known for any of her other work. The famous words are set out below.
Many more beautiful poems for funerals and remembrance can be found in an anthology which is also called Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep and is available for immediate download.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
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Songs About Death
Music can be a powerful force for our emotions. As grief comes upon us, we need something to hold onto so that we can feel our grief and mourn, but we do not want to drown in the misery that can come upon us. Songs about death and mourning can sometimes help us. Here is one of my favourites that strikes a good balance.
Seasons in The Sun
Seasons in The Sun has always been a favourite song of mine, probably even before I understood the words properly. The song is of a story told by someone who knows that he is going to die. This is his way of saying farewell to his friends and his relatives. Songs about death can sometimes be rather morbid, but this song has a charm of its own. The singer talks about the joy and fun of the life he has enjoyed with those close to him. After the acute grief of death and a period of mourning, we can begin to think about the person we have lost in the context of happy memories.
The song was most famously sung in 1973 by Terry Jacks, who had international success with it, but the Irish boy band Westlife sang a version in 1999 which was a Christmas number one hit in the UK.
The lyrics are below:
Goodbye to you my trusted friend
we’ve known each other since we were nine or ten
together we’ve climbed hills and trees
learned of love and ABCs
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees
Goodbye my friend it’s hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky
now that the spring is in the air
pretty girls are everywhere
think of me and I’ll be there
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun
but the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time
Goodbye papa please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
you tried to teach me right from wrong
too much wine and too much song
wonder how I got alone
Goodbye papa it’s hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky
now that the spring is in the air
little children everywhere
when you see them I’ll be there
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun
but the wine and the song
like the seasons have all gone
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun
but the wine and the song
like the seasons have all gone
Goodbye, Michelle, my little one.
You gave me love and helped me find the sun.
And every time that I was down
you would always come around
and get my feet back on the ground.
Goodbye, Michelle, it’s hard to die
when all the bird are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
With the flowers ev’rywhere.
I wish that we could both be there.
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun.
But the stars we could reach
were just starfishs on the beach
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun.
But the stars we could reach
were just starfish on the beach
We had joy, we had fun,
we had seasons in the sun
but the wine and the song
like the seasons have all gone
all our lives we had fun
we had seasons in the sun
but the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time
Terry Jacks – Seasons in The Sun
Released 1973
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