“Look for Me in Rainbows” by Vicki Brown

Vicki Brown was a vocalist from the United Kingdom who gained popularity during the 1970s. During her musical career, she sang with a number of contemporary groups, including The Breakaways and the aptly named Brown’s Home Brew, which she formed with her then-husband, Joe Brown.

After she and Brown split, Vicki joined a number of bands before finally setting down with the New London Chorale, a choir that performed contemporary versions of classical music. Shortly after its inception, the New London Chorale became extremely popular in the Netherlands, where Brown soon gained fame as a solo vocalist.

Although not well-known in either the United States nor the United Kingdom, Vicki Brown’s beautiful “Look for Me in Rainbows” is a popular funeral song among the Dutch. And it’s certainly easy to see why. The lyrics are simple yet deeply moving: a tribute both to the anguish of saying goodbye and the enduring power of love. Sung in Brown’s lilting soprano, the song begins:

“Time for me to go now, I won’t say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky.

In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,

Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.”

It’s unclear when Brown wrote the song. But she recorded it in 1990, just one year before her death from breast cancer in June, 1991. Although we can’t be certain, it seems to me that she probably knew her life was coming to an end, and wrote “Look for Me in Rainbows” as a farewell to her fans and the people she loved.

In closing, she sings:

“Every waking moment, and all your whole life through

Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.

Just wish me to be near you, And I’ll be there with you.”

What a beautiful way to say goodbye!

Read the full lyrics of the song “Look for Me in Rainbows” here. You can also watch Brown perform it in the video below.