Playing another funeral...

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by slewis

Lost my brother-in-law just a few weeks back to pancreatic cancer, after a hard-fought (and victorious, we thought) fight with it. It resurrected pretty suddenly and took him pretty quickly. I was pretty close to him, and he was a really great guy. My niece asked me to play at his memorial next month -- playing/singing George Strait's "I Saw God Today," which was apparently his favorite song. I can't imagine a more tear-jerking selection. I've played at a few memorials before, including one for a good friend's young son, but this one's gonna be especially tough... I guess I just have to focus on the song and not think of him while I'm playing it.

Sorry for your loss
I tried to play this at my Moms funeral but could not make it all the way through



There's a long and winding river
from the darkness to the dawn
it will carry and deliver you
when you walk on
No one here can say for certain
what lies in the great beyond
you'll pass through that parted curtain
when you walk on
you may grasp at the illusion
the confusion of your mind
but soon you will remember
to surrender one more time
You may fade out the doorway
Fly away above the throne
those who stay carry your story
a little glory lingers on
though the world you leave behind you
will become a distant song
every soul you loved will find you
when you walk on
when you walk on

[FLRon]

Very sorry for your loss. Being in the ministry I have a lot of experience with funerals. Just yesterday in fact I helped officiate the funeral for one of the finest men I’ve ever known. My wife played and sang two songs on the piano that she had just a few days to learn. Funerals are never easy for anyone, so I try to put it all in perspective by remembering that if anything I say or do brings even a small amount of comfort to the family, it was a good day.

[slewis]

Originally Posted by woodbox

Hey Sean,
tough gig for sure. But, you’re a pro, you’ll handle it. When I’ve had to fill a similar role, I simply closed my eyes and focused on the song, not the collective energy of the room. At another.. where I had been close to the person.. I looked out ABOVE the crowd.. avoiding eye contact with anyone.
All was fine till I was distracted by a sob coming from the sister in the front row.
Instinctively, I looked at her, and lost it. What happened next was magic-
Because I had practiced, my fingers kept moving, so I looked at all the folks in the room and said: “Okay, you’re gonna have to help me now.”
And they started singing it with me. I say singing, but it was more a whisper, and the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. It was the hardest, and the best, music I’ve ever been part of. And I’m certain you will do just fine Sean.

You’re very kind; thank you. This song isn’t a daunting one, fortunately, and practice is going well. Great story of yours too; I’m sure you’ll never forget that experience.
(We met a few years back, in Sumner, right?)

[slewis]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Sorry for your loss
I tried to play this at my Moms funeral but could not make it all the way through



There's a long and winding river
from the darkness to the dawn
it will carry and deliver you
when you walk on
No one here can say for certain
what lies in the great beyond
you'll pass through that parted curtain
when you walk on
you may grasp at the illusion
the confusion of your mind
but soon you will remember
to surrender one more time
You may fade out the doorway
Fly away above the throne
those who stay carry your story
a little glory lingers on
though the world you leave behind you
will become a distant song
every soul you loved will find you
when you walk on
when you walk on

Those are some very emotional lyrics, Kev — I get it!

[slewis]

Originally Posted by FLRon

Very sorry for your loss. Being in the ministry I have a lot of experience with funerals. Just yesterday in fact I helped officiate the funeral for one of the finest men I’ve ever known. My wife played and sang two songs on the piano that she had just a few days to learn. Funerals are never easy for anyone, so I try to put it all in perspective by remembering that if anything I say or do brings even a small amount of comfort to the family, it was a good day.

That’s a great point! Thank you.

[slewis]

Well it's done. The service was yesterday and I didn't do quite as well as hoped and planned, but I did OK.
A week ago, my niece said she wanted me to do two songs, and I could pick whatever other George Strait song I thought would be good. I told her I'd give it a shot, and I went with If You Ain't Lovin', You Ain't Livin' -- I nice little 1-4-5 positive humorous song that not only was very appropriate lyrically, but was easy to work up on guitar. The first song, I Saw God Today, went a little rough -- I was blanking out on a few of the chorus chords, after relentless rehearsing for a few weeks. The emotion of the event got to me, I guess -- I'm not new at all to playing in front of a lot of people. But overall it was not too noticeable and I got a lot of nice comments. Then I played the second song and it went just fine.
As much as I've performed, I guess stepping up to the mic and seeing all those people who are there to remember the same loved person, many I hadn't seen in 30-40 years, can hit you in an unexpected way. It sure did me. But the effort and sentiment was clearly appreciated by all as far as I could tell and it was an honor to be asked.