Today, I’m performing for a memorial service for seven lads from this area. It’s sponsored by the local chapter of the Blue Star MOthers. I’ve selected and practiced my songs, and I hope I can perform them without breaking down in emotion. One song especially touched me, “The Last Day of May,” written by Michael Troy. Here are the lyrics:
The Last Day of May by Michael Troy
On the hillside of tears
Stones stand like soldiers
All at attention, all in a row
Frozen in time, youthful in pictures
Too brave to stay, too young to go
Here’s to the boys,
Who all went before me
No honor or glory, could ever repay
The lives that you spent
Just tears in showers,
and hands full of flowers
On the last day in May.
Chorus
Though the valley of death,
did swallow them whole
God let no soul, die in vain
When the boundaries of peace,
get out of control
Let the Angel of Mercy, hold close their names.
There’s a house, with a wall
With all of the pictures, of all of the children
All of them grown
There’s a woman in the house
Who raised all the children
Who could never sleep easy, till all where at home
Here’s to the mothers,
who paid the ultimate price
Made to live out their lives, in grief all the years
Here’s to the fathers, who comfort their wife
With nothing to offer, but buckets of tears
Chorus
In fields of green pastures
They lie by still water
All at attention, all in a row
Though flesh turns to dust, souls are forever
They restored the order, our cups overflow
Chorus
You can see and hear my friend Jed Marum (from whom I learned the song) perform this moving song here:
Book & Program News
After the memorial service, I’ll be traveling to spend the night with my parents and tomorrow, I’ll present programs at Bells, TX ISD, then a book signing at Books-A-Million in Sherman, TX. Wednesday is up in the air (probably spent with my parents and spent writing) and Thursday I’ll be the speaker for a luncheon of the Caddo Parish librarians. Then perhaps I’ll be at Rosemont, the first Mississippi home of Jefferson Davis! Busy week ahead!