THE LAST LIVING WAKE
Music and songs, tales of laughter, sadness and joy
Old friends and family together for one last time
For you tonight my son, this land’s last living wake
Before tomorrow a ship to Nova Scotia you will take
And when you are gone, I know I will never see you again, my beloved son
Like the others gone before you, a living ghost you will become
Remembered only in spirit, another departed one
Forced by circumstance to leave this land of your birth
For the chance of a better life in some far off new land
And we all know this is something our community can not for long withstand
Music, stories, laughter and songs fill the room
I smile but my heart is breaking, I feel nothing but gloom
Am I the only one to see standing there in the corner an angel of sorrows
As I pray to her to look over you for all your coming tomorrows
You are the last one to go my son, the last one to stay
But the life that you once knew has simply vanished, gone away
You are the last of our young, the last of our strong
Who will look after us all, the old folks now that you are all gone
Who will tend these lands without the strength of your young hands
Or repair the fishing nets, go out in the boats with all of our hopes
Nova Scotia they say is a place so distant, so far away
That you will not see land again for many a day
And I pray that when you safely reach this new land to stay
That you always remember this land and the folks that you left behind today
And I know that you are leaving here with a heavy heart
But there’s nothing left for you here now, no future, you need a new start
The last living wake that we will ever hold here
Another to join the living ghosts, never again for us to hold and to touch
Now only alive in our fading memories of those that we love so much
"The Last Living Wake" Copyright © Tom King 2022
Old friends and family together for one last time
For you tonight my son, this land’s last living wake
Before tomorrow a ship to Nova Scotia you will take
And when you are gone, I know I will never see you again, my beloved son
Like the others gone before you, a living ghost you will become
Remembered only in spirit, another departed one
Forced by circumstance to leave this land of your birth
For the chance of a better life in some far off new land
And we all know this is something our community can not for long withstand
Music, stories, laughter and songs fill the room
I smile but my heart is breaking, I feel nothing but gloom
Am I the only one to see standing there in the corner an angel of sorrows
As I pray to her to look over you for all your coming tomorrows
You are the last one to go my son, the last one to stay
But the life that you once knew has simply vanished, gone away
You are the last of our young, the last of our strong
Who will look after us all, the old folks now that you are all gone
Who will tend these lands without the strength of your young hands
Or repair the fishing nets, go out in the boats with all of our hopes
Nova Scotia they say is a place so distant, so far away
That you will not see land again for many a day
And I pray that when you safely reach this new land to stay
That you always remember this land and the folks that you left behind today
And I know that you are leaving here with a heavy heart
But there’s nothing left for you here now, no future, you need a new start
The last living wake that we will ever hold here
Another to join the living ghosts, never again for us to hold and to touch
Now only alive in our fading memories of those that we love so much
"The Last Living Wake" Copyright © Tom King 2022
NOTE. The Last Living Wake is part of a larger story arc about The Highland Clearances of the mid 19th century in Scotland. In this small village, the last of the young and strong men is leaving the land of his birth in the hope of a new life in a new land. To all who know him, family and friends, this night is the last time that they will probably ever see him in their lives. This is a wake for the living as they leave the land to become a living ghost now alive in their memories only...one of the "living departed" ones.