Cheers to the Evanai!

[Above you will find my thoroughly inadequate rendition of this song. Below you will see my shorthand system of notation for melodies & chords. Numbers reference the steps of the diatonic major scale where the Roman numeral I is for the root & alterations are signified by ɓ or #. Eighth note durations are indicated by ' with sixteenth durations indicated by x & sustained notes by a long dash. Measures are separated by |. Anything in italics that is not a part of the actual song are stage directions or explanatory notes. I hope you enjoy.]

(verse 1)

D G A7

5 | I’ 2 3’ I’ ‘ | 2’ 7 6’ 5’

They sent me here on a cold November,

D G A7

‘ | ‘’ 2 3’ I’’| 5 ‘ ‘ ‘’’

‘n wingless flight & trackless express,

D G A7

I | ‘’ 2 3’ I’’ | 2’ 7 6’ 5’

No passage back, I’m here fo-re-ver,

D G D

‘ | I’ 2 3’ I’’|6’ I ‘—

With you, me mates, to e -va - nesce!

(verse 2)

Yet found I here me chums aplenty,

Pals ye are & heaven sent,

Open wilds & sky abo’ me,

Here I gladly pitch my tent!

(verse 3)

“Ah, me friend, I hardly knew ye,

Now it seems I know ya less,

With this very passin’ hour,

It ‘ppears ye do but evanesce.

(verse 4)

And so, my friends, don’t leave me sober,

I should not impose ‘pon thee,

If the morrow finds my yonder,

Have another pint on me!

(verse 5)

‘Course, by then ye won’t remember,

Who I was or e’er I be,

Raise your glass & drink it an’way,

Tell the barkeep, it’s on me!

~~~~~

This is a tavern song I wrote for “Chapter 3: Let There be Fog (Tavern Time)”. The theme of the song centers around one of my favorite words & primary themes in much of my writing including this story: evanescence, the tendency of all eventually to fade from memory, even those few whose memories we most treasure collectively as a people. For most, that fading happens relatively quickly. All one needs do is go to a cemetery & note how long it takes before it becomes clear that few if any visit the graves. There is a part of me that grieves such evanescence. But I also find reason to celebrate it, for it suggests to me that most of us do the things we do with little concern for recognition or remembrance. We do it because it is right, because it needs to be done, whether anyone else ever notices or not. Making such choices on an everyday basis is the very essence of the Greek word "agape", what we in the church like to refer to as godly love, a care & love that is chosen even when there is no reward for it, even when it is costly or unpleasant. Such an understanding of what neighbors, friends & strangers choose day after day fills my heart with an abundance beyond all reckoning.

If you wish to read the chapters in order, you will find them here:

https://vocal.media/chapters/the-whole-wd4os0t5y

https://vocal.media/chapters/chapter-2-aegenwulf

https://vocal.media/chapters/chapter-3-let-there-be-fog

https://vocal.media/chapters/chapter-4-misty-water-color-dreamscapes