WALSAURUS

Creatures of Grief & Loss

Lyrics

Bury me beneath the willow

My heart is sad and I am lonely

For the only one I love

When shall I see her oh no never

’Til we meet in heaven above

Oh bury me beneath the willow

Yes, Under the weeping willow tree

So she may know where I am sleeping

And perhaps she’ll weep for me

They told me that she did not love me

I could not believe it was true

Until the Angels softly whispered

She has proven untrue to you

Oh bury me beneath the willow

Yes, Under the weeping willow tree

So she may know where I am sleeping

And perhaps she’ll weep for me

Tomorrow was to be our wedding day

But, oh lord where can she be

She’s out courting with another

And she cares no more for me

Oh bury me beneath the willow

Yes, Under the weeping willow tree

So she may know where I am sleeping

And perhaps she’ll weep for me

I ‘ll bury thee beneath the willow,

beneath the weeping willow tree,

so I will know where you'll be/he is sleeping

and perhaps I will weep for thee

[Traditional]

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And Never stops at all

And sweetest in the gale is heart;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And Never stops at all

I’ve heart it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

it asked a crumb of me.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And Never stops at all

[Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)]

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not dead 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 mornings 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.

[Clare Harner (1909-1979)]

Mercy

We ask for mercy

We collided

and you fell

Some form of justice

Fragile you Under your bike

As a father What do you know

That the earth is flat

That there is a God

That the Creation is magnificent

We ask for mercy

A certain death will come

And at that moment

I will think of your eyes

Your brown eyes

It is me Father’s back slightly arched

Head’s up dad!

How you walked beside me

You wave me goodbye

Do not be afraid

Have no fear

We ask for mercy

[Original from Frank Boeijen]

Because I could not stop for death

He kindly stopped for me

The carriage held but just ourselves

And immortality

We slowly drove

He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too

For his civility

We passed the school,

Where children strove

At recess in the Ring

We passed the fields of gazing grain

We passed the setting sun

We paused before a house that seemed

A swelling of the ground

The roof was scarcely visible

The cornice in the ground

Since then ’tis centuries and yet

Feels shorter than the day

I first surmised the horses heads

Were toward eternity

Because I could not stop for death

He kindly stopped for me

The carriage held but just ourselves

And immortality

[Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)]

Stop all the clocks

Stop!

Stop All the Clocks

Cut off the telephone

Prevent the dog from barking

With a juicy bone

Silence the pianos

And with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin

Let the mourners come

Let aeroplanes circle

Moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky

the message he’s dead

Put crepe bows

round the white necks from public doves

Let the traffic police men

Wear black cotton gloves

He was my north

My south, my east, my west

My Working Week

My Sunday rest

My noon, my midnight

My talk, my song;

I thought that love last for ever

I was wrong

The stars are not wanted now:

Put out every one

Pack up the moon

And dismantle the sun

Pour away the ocean

And sweep up the wood

For nothing now can

Ever come to any good

[Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973)]

Time has told me

You're a rare, rare find

A troubled cure

For a troubled mind

And time has told me not to ask for more

For someday our ocean will find its shore

So, I'll leave the ways that are making me be

What I really don't want to be

Leave the ways that are making me love

What I really don't want to love

Time has told me

You came with the dawn

A soul with no footprint

A rose with no thorn

Your tears they tell me

There's really no way

Of ending your troubles

With things you can say

And time will tell you

To stay by my side

To keep on trying

'Til there's no more to hide

So leave the ways that are making you be

What you really don't want to be

Leave the ways that are making you love

What you really don't want to love

Time has told me

You're a rare, rare find

A troubled cure

For a troubled mind

And time has told me not to ask for more

For some day our ocean will find its shore

[Nick Drake (1948-1974)]

Alone

Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone

I came up with one thing

And I don’t believe I’m wrong

That nobody

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone,

all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires

With money they can’t use

Their wives run round like banshees

Their children sing the blues

They’ve got expensive doctors

To cure their hearts of stone.

But nobody

No, nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone,

all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely

I'll tell you what I know

Storm clouds are gathering

The wind is gonna blow

The race of man is suffering

And I can hear the moan

'Cause nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone,

all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

[Maya Angelou (1928-2014)]

One for sorrow

Devil Devil I defy thee

Devil Devil I defy thee

One’s for sorrow

Two’s for joy

Three’s for a girl

And four’s for a boy

Five’s for silver

Six for gold

Seven’s for a secret never told

Devil Devil I defy thee

Devil Devil I defy thee

Eight for a wish

Nine for a kiss

Ten a surprise you should be careful not to miss

Eleven for health

Twelve for wealth

Thirteen beware it’s the devil himself

Fourteen for endless love

Devil Devil I defy thee

Devil Devil I defy thee

Fifteen for a dove

Sixteen for the chime of a bell

Seventeen for the last words

Eighteen to be safe from hell

Nineteen for the angels

Twenty for the ferryman

Twenty one for the end

Devil Devil I defy thee

Devil Devil I defy thee