Sunday, March 11, 2007

Macabre

Have you ever heard a song and just said to yourself, or to anyone around you, "I want this song to be played at my funeral!"

Probably not. But I have. And probably with that same exclamation.

There's something amazingly beautiful about Jeff Buckley's rendition of "Corpus Christi Carol" that brings tears to the eyes, and an image of a lost loved one. A beautiful summation of a life.

Here are the lyrics:

He bear her off, he bear her down
He bear her into an orchard ground

Lu li lu lay lu li lu lay
The falcon hath bourne my mate away

And in this orchard there was a hold
That was hanged with purple and gold
And in that hold there was a bed
And it was hanged with gold so red

Lu li lu lay lu li lu lay
The falcon hath bourne my mate away

And on this bed there lyeth a knight
His wound is bleeding day and night
By his bedside kneeleth a maid
And she weepeth both night and day

Lu li lu lay lu li lu lay
The falcon hath bourne my mate away

By his bedside standeth a stone
Corpus christi written thereon


I just love the image of the falcon. Who's your falcon?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've sung this...it is beautiful and haunting.