The Songs they Sang

A friend of mine passed on last night. The fact that he was forty years older then me only added to our friendship. He was at both of my weddings, all three of the Brit Milahs and two of the Bar-Mitzvahs of my sons. He was in my home countless times – and I can still hear his voice through the invisible curtain that separates the living from the ones who have passed on. The words he used, the songs he sung – if you listen closely you can still here him singing. People die every day. They spend their lives on this earth, they make an impact, some stronger then others and they move on.

In a simpler form you can equate it to a graduation from High School. You never asked to go to school – you were basically put in the chair and told to learn. The first day of school the child cries but after a while they get into a routine and the sadness gives way to a feeling of independence. You develop a separate existence in the school – new friends, new words and tunes to sing. Time marches on – with a speed you can only appreciate once its passed. By the time you are a “Senior” in High School you are ready to leave – to be freed from the classroom and to learn on your own. The graduation begins and the music soon fades – a lot of goodbyes, exchanges of phone numbers, hugs and tears. The seniors graduate and move on. New roads, lyrics and tunes once foreign to them now take on a sense of urgency in songs sung to make this world a better place to live.

You build your voice and you sing your songs – some make a larger impact with their voices then others – but in the end its the words you chose to sing that make the impact. Love songs, protest songs, songs of hope and songs of desires for a better world to live in. The halls are filled with the sounds of life – crying, laughing, dancing and singing. The halls are filled with throngs of people all trying to find a space of their own. When one voice is silenced another comes in wailing. People die, hopefully at an old age with a remarkable life behind them.

People die, but their songs will live on and on through the hearts and souls they touched with their voices. If you listen closely – you can still hear them singing – with lyrics and tunes that will live on forever.