I posted a link to the following video on Twitter and was met with a deafening silence, so I'm trying again here. It's slightly too long and in the UK (on the full YouTube site), there's an advert featuring a man whose face is becoming increasingly new punchable with each new showing, but it's still worth watching.
I think I might have this song at my funeral:
So you want them to sing a hymn to genetically modified seed at your funeral?
ReplyDeleteGawd! Don't say that, Steerforth! I don't care how bad a week you've been having, or how great the song is, you're much much too young to be thinking about music for your funeral.
ReplyDeleteKeep your eye on the horizon -- the sun will shine again.
In the meantime, please know that your friends in Blogland really do care about you and are thinking about you and wishing you well.
I know I am.
xoxoxo Canadian Chickadee aka Carol
Such a carefree vibe. Maybe you should also insist upon a Hindu/Hawaiian theme. Mourners will be saying "I never knew he had this camp side". There's a real innocence to this, helps you believe the world is fun and people are good.
ReplyDeleteMy blog chum Clare Simmonds sends some great mix cd's, I've been enjoying this chirpy number while I decorate the house (maybe something about not understanding the lyrics)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hiqcGNuGlo&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Anon - Why not? I could get Monsanto to foot the bill.
ReplyDeleteCarol - I didn't mean to sound morbid - I've thought about what music I'd have at my funeral since I was in my teens!
Thanks for the good wishes, which are much appreciated.
Lucy - Anyone who went to my 30th birthday party wouldn't be at all surprised - I was dressed as Jon Pertwee's Doctor Who, dancing to Burt Bacharach. It was a joint party with an old friend who unfortunately dressed up as Jimmy Saville. It was a good night. You can get away with frilly shirts in Richmond.
The YouTube link makes me wish I could have a second life as a musician in Brazil.
Well, I think that was fantastic. I want the dancing at my funeral.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Steerforth, I won't comment on that name as yet as I wanted to suggest to you - tentatively, as a recent adherent to your blog - that, if you haven't already done, perhaps you could consider some alternatives for OCD, such as EMDR or even, with the "right" therapist, straightforward hypnotherapy. There are others that could be lumped in the the above, so to speak - and I speak as a therapist myself - but I mention these as they have a fairly rational and perhaps even "scientific" basis for application that may satisfy your son's cynicism.
ReplyDeleteYou have my deep sympathy in this. I also have a son who was almost inaccessible as a functioning human being from about age 17 until recently (supposedly paranoid schizophenic). Won't go into it here except to say that yes, though it's painful, you can get through it, but feeling powerless is a bummer of a place to stay, as you display here. So I do hope you find something that gives you your power back, regularly, often. Other than wine!
On another note - have you been following me??? I used to live in Richmond, then Hove actually, then nearly lived in Lewes, still have connections to Brighton.
And I have my funeral music chosen and listed for whoever to DJ. No talking allowed, dancing encouraged - if possible to Bach Fugue, C major - but certainly to Springsteen. What else have you chosen, if any, so far? I think you should go for at least 30 minutes, maybe 45, depending on where, of course, as they may turf you out of some funereal places pretty damn quick. I'd choose a (small) mountaintop myself, maybe a Munro, there's the challenge to the mourners to consider. Maybe just a wake at the bottom.
What do you think? Sorry - I seem to have forgotten to be tentative.
Art - It's certainly better to go with a Bollywood-style send-off.
ReplyDeleteHello Pandora. I think quite a few people have left Richmond for Brighton and Lewes (although most of the people I know here seem to come from Stoke Newington). Someone who lives around the corner used to go to Richmond College with me, so it sometimes feels like a home from home.
We've tried hypnotherapy, with no discernible effect, but I'll give EMDR a go - it worked for me. I try to remain open-minded about alternative therapies, as some employ methods that are later vindicated by research. But I'm also aware that each failed strategy chips away at my son's faith in things ever changing.
It must have been awful for you to witness your son drift away to a dark, remote place. I'm glad to read that it looks as if there has been a recent improvement.
Re: funeral music, I'd have a bit of Vaughan Williams (possibly the adagio of his 2nd string quartet) and, at the end, the theme tune to 'White Horses'. The coffin would be cardboard. Flowers would be banned - I'd rather have the money donated to SightSavers. We did that for my dad's funeral and managed to fund about 60 cataract operations.
My friends and I used to have a game where we'd try to think of the most (in)appropriate songs to play at our funeral. My cousin won that game on the first try by choosing "If You Don't Know Me By Now."
ReplyDelete"Shola jo bhadke" is pretty good too.
If only you would Tweet in the middle of the night, I might not miss all your Tweets #timezoneproblems (hope you like the Twitter reference of a hashtag in a comment)
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to plan her funeral music, but when she turned 90 decided she would rather have the funeral while she could still enjoy it. So last year on her birthday we hired a band and a caterer, guests brought flowers, and we all had speeches, and a singalong to the brass band. Even photo displays and a Darth Vader birthday cake.
ReplyDeleteThe occasion was really good fun and we all enjoyed it, especially the not-quite-deceased. She thinks she might do it again, next time in fancy dress!
When I need a musical pick me up I try a little Carmen Miranda on YouTube. You can't beat her diction, or her Wearable Art costumes.
Kári - I'm also quite tempted by Arthur Brown's "Fire! I'm on Fire!", as the coffin moves into the furnace. If I'm buried, the Jam's 'Going Underground' would be another good choice.
ReplyDeleteZoe - That's the trouble with Twitter - they disappear into the ether. I've seen several good bloggers give up writing posts in favour of tweeting, which seems a pity. I'll try and tweet either first thing in the morning or last thing at night, but never in the afternoon.
Daleaway - What a superb idea! I'd do it for my mother, but I know that she'd rather go to a Wimpy bar.
I agree about Carmen Miranda. I also enjoy Ronnie Aldrich and His Two Pianos, for something that's infectiously uplifting in a cheesy way.
RE: other musical choices:
ReplyDeleteHow about "Come on, Baby, Light my Fire"?
Excellent choice!
ReplyDeleteWell, perhaps not for oneself but for somebody you're glad to say goodbye to, how about 'Blaze Away' for a cheery, martial touch??that
ReplyDeletei can vizualize a huge pyre of second-hand books on beachy head ... but we'll have to leave you in the fridge until new year's eve
ReplyDelete