This song has been stuck in my head for a few weeks now. I love it, everything about it - the lead singer's voice, the harmonies, the words. Just the joyfulness of it. It speaks true to me.
The first time I saw the video, it made me tear up.
"Dance in the Graveyard" by Delta Rae
When I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards
Gloria, like some other name we kept on calling ya and waiting for change
But I belong to all of your mysteries
And all of us, we’re meant for the fire, but we keep rising up and walking the wires
So when we go below don’t lose us in mourning
’Cause when I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards
Oh my love, don’t cry when I’m gone
I will lift you up, the air in your lungs
And when you reach for me, we’ll dance in the darkness
And we will walk beyond
Our daughters and sons, they will carry on
Like when we were young, and we will stand beside and breathe in their new life
’Cause when I die
I don’t want to rest in peace
I want to dance in joy
I want to dance in the graveyards, the graveyards
And while I’m alive
I don’t want to be alone
Mourning the ones who came before
I want to dance with them some more
Let’s dance in the graveyards
Way back in August 2012, one of our neighbors hosted their annual "End of Summer/Back to School" picnic. It's a great event, with everyone in the court bringing food and drink to share and all the kids playing together while the grown-ups hang out and chat. There were bunches of streamers and balloons tied to the canopy that someone had set up to cover the food tables, adding to the party-like atmosphere.
Sometime during the evening, someone gave Clara one of the balloons and she happily walked around with it tied to her wrist. As happens with kids and balloons, it came off her wrist and floated away into the night. Clara was heartbroken, and sobbed for longer than losing a balloon requires (in my mind).
That night, my mom called to chat with me and Clara cried into the phone, telling her Grandma Em about the loss of her yellow balloon and how she was so very sad. The next day, my cousin texted me this picture (which I have no idea how to make smaller - sorry!):
It seems the balloon floated all the way to Grandma Em's house in Pennsylvania, and one of the angels from her garden caught it and promised to hold it until Clara came to visit. Clara worried that the angel would lose it, but Grandma Em promised her the angel would take very good care of it.
Clara mentioned her yellow balloon and the angel a few times over the months, which surprised me - it was, after all (to me), just a balloon.
Fast forward to Christmas, and I was talking with mom about our plans to visit her. Clara asked if the angel still had her balloon, and Grandma Em assured her it was safe in the garden angel's hands. When we pulled up to her house, Clara hopped out of the car and ran to the back yard and there she saw it:
Her balloon, safe in the hands of the angel.
I think the smile says it all.
This silly balloon made her so very happy. She carried it around with her the rest of the time we were in Pennsylvania.
Slept with it...
Ate with it...
The helium eventually leaked out, as it does, but Clara kept the balloon. It's in her box of treasures, those bits and things kids collect that mean something to them. And she randomly tells people that her Grandma Em's garden angel caught her balloon and kept it safe until she could get it back.
