Music expresses an endless amount of human emotion. It soothes those dealing with grief and serves as a soundtrack to life and death. We use music to inspire, mourn, remember, signify and symbolize the life of another as we cope with death. We use it to heal and to express rage and love. Some music is straightforward, while other is more subtle or subliminal — sometimes, we can’t quite point to the specific feeling music touches.
But we all know a particular song or composition that speaks precisely to an emotion in us. This Grateful Dead funeral-appropriate song, “Brokedown Palace,” speaks to the many emotions in all of us.
Goin home, goin home by the waterside I will rest my bones Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul
Goin to plant a weeping willow
On the banks green edge it will grow grow growSing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go – the river roll roll rollFare you well, fare you well I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul
You can find the rest of the lyrics here.
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