The Parting

Here it is! The performance piece for my Civil War jacket. The story is about a war widow, coming to terms with losing her husband, a union soldier. I'll post actual photos of the jacket when I can, but for now... Here is the work that I will be performing... Live... Tomorrow. Eep. I've never just sung in front of people before, so I'm a little nervous and terrified. Story of my life regarding every piece I'll be showing for my class and having critiqued. A lot of death related works (i.e. All of them). 

For those curious, the song I'm singing is The Parting Glass. I heard it because of The Walking Dead, and decided to research it. It is a traditional Irish folk song, sung at the parting of ways (for example, the end of a night when friends are going home). I changed the lyrics a little bit, to add more weight. The lyrics are normally as such:

Oh of all the money that e'er I had

I spent it in good company

And of all the harm that e'er I've done

Alas it was to none but me

And I've done for want of wit

To mem'ry now I can't recall

So fill to me the parting glass

Good night and joy to be to you all

Of all the comrade e'er I had

They are sorry for my going away

And of all the sweethearts e'er I had

They would wish me just one day to stay

So when it came upon my lot

That I should rise and you should not

I'll gently rise and I'll softly call

Good night and joy be to you all

The lyrics vary from place to place, depending on where you find them. In my version that I sang, I changed it to

Of all the comrades e'er you  had

They are sorry for your going away

And of all the sweethearts e'er you had

They would wish you just one day to stay

I figured that a dead soldier would have sad comrades, and even if he only had one sweetheart, that would be all the sweethearts he ever had. Towards the end, I fade off and don't end the last line, so it becomes Good night and joy be to you... 

Fun fact: In this video, I actually did start crying, or at least tearing up. I might cry tomorrow. I just have a lot of weight planted in this piece, and shockingly,  if you place yourself in the boots of a war bride, only imagine that your significant other is the dead soldier... That is a sure way of making yourself tear up. Even without that, I just become really emotional thinking about the dead soldiers of the Civil War. Especially since a great deal would never make it home upon death. I feel like I have this odd connection to the Civil War, and connections constantly crop up, which adds weight to how I feel when I'm directly involved with putting myself in the place of a mourning widow. Or anything or anyone from that time. I'm very likely to cry completely tomorrow. I suppose that I'll see how it goes!