Shine on my love

Music was one the of the most important things in Chris' life and I worried about picking just the right music for his memorial service. I invited two of his closest friends over to our apartment to help me choose pieces from his vast and eclectic collection. That evening was mostly spent talking - sharing our loss, our laughter, and our love for Chris.

In the end, the music played at Chris' service was really chosen by Chris himself. The summer we first starting going out, he prepared a compilation CD for me but also wrote up "liner notes" to accompany it. The notes included a paragraph or so on each selection, why he loved it and why he chose it for me. The notes also included the lyrics to each song.

Two of the pieces I chose for his memorial service were on that CD: Siciliana, Sonata BWV 1031 2nd Movement, by J.S. Bach and Across the Universe, by the Beatles. The third piece, Shine by Daniel Lanois, was a close runner-up for our first dance at our wedding. I chose to play it at Chris' memorial service because it is so beautiful - filled with light and love and hope - and says so much about how we felt about each other. Now, its words also serve as a light in this darkness. Chris' shine will show us all the way forward...

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Shine by Daniel Lanois

I have wandered far and wide
All the way from Paris to Mexico
'Til I was gone and didn't know

In the end the thing that keeps me walking
Is your shine, your shine in the morning, your shine in the distance,
Your shine inside the laughter and the ghosts

They have spoken of the river forever bending inside the fever
Of the saints that walk all night with no domain

In the end the thing that keeps them walking is your shine
Your shine when they wear no coat, your shine when the feelings low
Your shine when it's too late to turn around

I have frozen up my dreams, thinking I was all alone
Fighting every minute for each turning stone
I have reached the rocket speed
I have touched the ground that feeds
Scaling fences, looking for the healing sun

In the end the thing that keeps me walking is your shine
Your shine in transmissions, your shine in decisions,
Your shine when I labor to the new day,
It's your shine, your shine, your shine, shine, shine on
.