Ever since hearing a song, some years ago, I have wondered about the last line of the lyrics. On the cassette tape, “A Rogues Gallery of Songs for 12-String” (guitar) by Gordon Bok, 1983, Bok sings the song “Blackbird,” (not the same one sung by The Beatles. The last verse of the song says:

“I’m gonna sleep in a lonely bed / with white and whiter linen spread / with a cold gray stone at my foot and head / and merck pharmacy.”

For years I have sought an explanation for the words, “pennies on my eyes.” I wonder if the words reveal a practice that is steeped in some folk tradition. I’d love to know. If you happen to have that answer, please write to me at: pat at quiltersmuse dot com. Thanks!

Pat

Update: Well, an answer has already been sent by Arlene McLeish. Thank you, Arlene! She states:

Hello Pat,

In answer to your question, my understanding is that this is a tradition dating back to the Ancient Greeks. It was believed that once they were dead, they would need to pay Charon, the boatman, to row them across the river Styx (which divides the real world from the underworld in Greek mythology). If they couldn’t pay the passage then they wouldn’t be able to cross over into the underworld and would remain in a sort of suspended animation…so their nearest and dearest would provide them with sufficient funds by placing the pennies on the eyes.

However, I would also hazard a guess that it’s also a useful way of getting the eyes to shut once the person has died.

Arlene

Those gifted people who call themselves songwriters seem to have come up with a song for every occasion. On my Facebook page, I often post links to YouTube songs that have been within my musical awareness over the years. Just now, I remembered a Country-Western song called, “Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” by Steve Wariner. The song recalls the memory of an eight year old of his grandmother who had just died. He was wishing that she could be there to celebrate his birthday, but he just knew that there were holes in the floor of heaven and she was watching over him. In the many years I have heard this song, it always leaves me with tears streaming down my face, and that is the case today.

“In The Arms of the Angel” by Sarah McLaughlin, is another tune that is haunting for both its melody and its words – words with which most people could connect: “There’s always a reason to feel not good enough and it’s hard at the end of the day,” and “Everywhere you turn, there’s vultures and thieves at your back,” and “It’s easier to believe.” The song is also featured on YouTube. I’ve probably worn out the recording, listening to it so many times in the last day or so.

Folk songs always have universal meanings. They speak of war, of soldier’s returning maimed or not returning at all. They speak of Nature, as in the migration of Canadian Geese. They recall historical events like the sinking of the Titanic. They can be very patriotic. They recall LOVE, and being a star-crossed lover, a single woman, or someone who murders in the name of love spurned.

Any song can turn our heads or change our mood. Gospel songs can be lively and full of belief with a capital “B.” Other songs instruct: “Teach your children well … Feed them on your dreams.” When my father was being cared for at home, as he lay dying of cancer, my mother could often be heard singing, “Send in the Clowns” (usually sung by Judy Collins). It did seem to be an absurd situation that the man was just short of retirement when he was struck with the deadly disease, so crazy that if clowns showed up, it would be appropriate.

Songs with memorable lyrics stick around. “This Land is Your Land,” by Woody Guthrie will never go away. “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie provided a sense of levity at a time the country needed to laugh. “Camp Granada” will be remembered for its outrageous and totally funny lyrics.

I love music, in general, and did, after all, earn an “A” in a university class, “Music Appreciation,” that considered the classic works of Debussy, Bartok, Mozart and others. So, I consider myself “exposed” to the greats. When it comes down to my musical preferences now, more often than not, I like music with words. Lyrics teach, they celebrate, and they give us insight into the universal human condition. They can bring back a period of time, like the Civil War era, or World War II, or an early part of our own lives.

These days, when I think of a song, I like to access it on YouTube, to see if the tune is available. I can get a quick music “fix” and that is like giving a dog a bone, (nothing inferential intended).

Patricia Cummings