songs bot death, dying, burial

Litharge

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Nov 5, 2009
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In a thread about sky burial I mentioned a song by the Cowboy Junkies. Here are the lyrics. What do you think?

"Those Final Feet"

Place my body on the funeral pyre,
Cut it loose to float downstream
Leave it frozen on a mountain top,
Suspend it high to be picked clean

You said never to grow old,
But you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
And then you sank your teeth into those final feet

Last night I dreamt of owls at my window
I knew that time was winding down
Turned to tell you of my premonition,
Changed my mind and lay back down

You said never to grow old,
But you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
And then you sank your teeth into those final feet

No sense wasting the time you got,
You got to walk down every road
No sense pretending that you're what you're not,
When you got to shoulder every load

You said never to grow old,
But you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
And then you sank your teeth into those final feet

Cut it loose, cut it loose, cut it loose

You said never to grow old,
But you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
And then you sank your teeth into those final feet​

This song reminds me of my grandfather. On my 9th birthday, when he was in his 70s, he told me that he probably wouldn't live to see me turn 10. He told me "never grow old," and repeated it often over the years (but forgot to tell me how). Well, he lived to be well into his 90s; obviously he didn't follow his own advice, and he grew really old. (Dying of extreme old age is not the easiest way to go. It was long and hard, and an ordeal for the whole family.) Alas, I was in grad school on the other side of the country when he passed (and in the midst of mid-terms), so I was not able to attend his funeral.
 
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