Singing them on their way
Posted by Tim Clark It’s our belief that the sound of unaccompanied natural voice singing, in three- or four-part harmony, can create a space for strong emotion; can console and comfort, can embody and say things we can’t say in prose or poetry alone. We sing in English and Welsh, with a scattering of Spanish, Gaelic, […]
Caitlin Moran offers posthumous advice to her daughter
Here’s one we missed earlier: journalist Caitlin Moran’s draft last letter to her daughter published in The Times in July of last year (remember 2013?). You can find the entire article (£) here. My daughter is about to turn 13 and I’ve been smoking a lot recently, and so – in the wee small hours, […]
Why live music is best at funerals
Posted by Richard Rawlinson A follow up to Charles’s lyrical piece about the inadequacy of music at funerals. With recorded music at funerals, people tend to sit down, listen, tap a foot, perhaps, and, if it’s really working its magic, meaningfully relate the music to the memory of the dead person. Whether pop lyrics or piano […]
Let’s face the music and yawn
Poor Ed Miliband. Challenged on Desert Island Discs to name the record he’d take, if he could only take one, he abjectly nominated Robbie Williams’ Angels. Derision was universal and prompted David Cameron to make that quip about ‘loving Engels instead’. It prompted Janice Turner to observe in The Times: Music is rather overrated in my view, […]
Farewell, T-Model Ford
From the obituary in The Times (£): Blues musician whose whiskey-fuelled guitar playing, raw lyrics and risqué repartee made him the toast of the Mississippi Delta It was difficult to distinguish between reality and legend in the life of T-Model Ford. Like many of the great bluesmen, his ability to self-mythologise and his delight in […]
No Way
Over in the Philippines, karaoke is a popular pastime. According to the New York Times, after a hard day’s work, there’s nothing a weary person likes more than to find a bar, glug a beer and belt out a classic or two. This is not a matter of audience indifference. You’ve got to be good […]
Tea and Sympathy
One of the most wonderful things about being a celebrant is being introduced to music and artists we’ve never heard before. Tea and Sympathy by Janis Ian I don’t want to ride the milk train anymore I’ll go to bed at nine and waken with the dawn And lunch at half past noon and dinner […]
Red River Valley
From this valley they say you are going We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile For they say you are taking the sunshine That has brightened our pathways awhile CHORUS: Come and sit by my side, if you love me Do not hasten to bid me adieu Just remember the Red River Valley […]
Bright eyes
Posted by Vale Remember Watership Down? The best selling childrens book about a band of rabbits? Adams, the author, gives the warrens he writes about social structures and a strong lapin culture. There are even myths and legends. Even a rabbit version of the Grim Reaper himself who appears to rabbits as ‘the Black Rabbit […]
I Will Be Blessed — Ben Howard
Oh my ghost came by Said who do you love the most Who you wanna call before you dieOh my ghost came by here Said who do you love the most Who you gonna sing to ‘fore you’re goneOh hey heaven is the place we know Heaven is the arms that hold us Long before […]
