Sunday, August 9, 2009

Ride a white swan...

Rich knew what he wanted for his Celebration. We'd talked about these things at 4am, like friends and couples do. Sitting in my back garden on base, having a beer and putting the world to rights, we talked about a lot of things.

He would be chatting to Lee, or Caroline, drinking Badgers Golden Glory, or another summer ale. The boys would be smoking, the twins asleep in the pushchair and the AC in bed upstairs, with the windows open so I'd hear him if he yelled.

I would be gardening, barefoot in the dusk light, skirt kilted up around my waist, and I would look up to see him watching me, just watching. He loved me then, he said later, he just didn't know it, because he'd never felt it that way before.

Often, we'd all still be there at midnight, just sharing and talking. Just being together. Being friends, being the people we wanted to be but hadn't been allowed to be, because others had wanted us to fit their mold.

And songs came up, and he wanted this.

All the songs we had at his Cremation and Celebration meant something to he and I, but this one will have made him laugh to know we played it in a church.....

Ride a white swan, TRex (click the link to see it on Youtube!)


Ride it on out like a bird in the sky ways
Ride it on out like if you were a bird
Fly it all out like an eagle in a sunbeam
Ride it on out like if you were a bird

Wear a tall hat like a druid in the old days
Wear a tall hat and a tatooed gown

Ride a white swan like the people of the Beltane
Wear your hair long, babe you can't go wrong

Catch a bright star and a place it on your fore-head
Say a few spells and baby, there you go
Take a black cat and sit it on your shoulder
And in the morning you'll know all you know, oh

Wear a tall hat like a druid in the old days
Wear a tall hat and a tatooed gown
Ride a white swan like the people of the Beltane
Wear your hair long, babe you can't go wrong

Da-da-di-di-da, da-da-di-di-da ....