I read Cathy from Curious as a Cathy post for MMMM. She said it’s a free choice week and she chose to write about her younger brother who died before his time. Cathy’s post inspired me to write one for my Sister Mary who died also before her time. I hope you don’t mind Cathy.
My beautiful sister Mary and I about thirty years ago.
If only I’d made more time To travel to your door If only we’d lived closer Or I’d known what I know now, before. If only I had told you how much I really care If only I could touch you, If only you were still here.
My dear and beautiful second eldest sister died in October 2015 . She was a nursing sister all her working life and she touched so many lives. She died a horrible and painful death due to a drug resistant bug.
Last moments
The machines murmured and slowly stopped their pings As her soul, finally at peace, found it’s wings. After months of pain and strain She was free again. I hope you are with your true love and dancing to a sweet refrain. God Bless you sister dear I miss you so, yet still feel you near. Your going left a scar I see you everyehere like a burning star.
Today is Sunday, time for Song Lyric Sunday. Our host Jim Adam’s prompt this week September 27, 2020 – Brother/Sibling/Sister.
I have chosen Come Dancing by the Kinks.
“Come Dancing” is a 1982 song written by Ray Davies and performed by British rock group the Kinks on their 1983 album State of Confusion. The song was inspired by Davies’ memories of his older sister, Rene, who died of a heart attack while dancing at a dance hall. The lyrics, sung from the perspective of an “East Endbarrow boy,” are about the boy’s sister going on dates at a local Palais dance hall. When first released as a single in United Kingdom in November 1982, “Come Dancing” failed to chart. Although Arista Records founder Clive Davis had reservations about releasing the single in the United States due to the English subject matter of dance halls, the track saw an American single release in April 1983. “Come Dancing” reached number six on the Hot 100, becoming the band’s highest US charting single in over a decade and tying with “Tired of Waiting for You” as the band’s highest charting single ever. This success was achieved largely with the help of a promotional music video directed by Julien Temple that saw frequent airing on MTV. As a result of its American success, the single was re-released in Britain. Unlike its first release, the single became a top 20 British hit, reaching number 12.
“Come Dancing” is a tribute to the Davies brothers’ older sister Rene. Living in Canada with her reportedly abusive husband, the 31-year-old Rene was visiting her parental home in Fortis Green at the time of Ray Davies’ thirteenth birthday—21 June 1957—on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he had tried to persuade his parents to buy him. That evening, Rene, who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom.
Ray Davis said “Rene had died dancing in a ballroom in London in the arms of a stranger. … Coming back from Canada where she’d emigrated [from the U.K.] to die, really, and again, being a source of inspiration. … She gave me my first guitar, which was quite a great parting gift.”
Lyrics
They put a parking lot on a piece of land When the supermarket used to stand Before that they put up a bowling alley On the site that used to be the local pally That’s where the big bands used to come and play My sister went there on a Saturday Come dancing All her boyfriends used to come and call Why not come dancing, it’s only natural Another Saturday, another date She would be ready but she’s always make him wait In the hallway, in anticipation He didn’t know the night would end up in frustration He’d end up blowing all his wages for the week All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek Come dancing That’s how they did it when I was just a kid And when they said come dancing My sister always did My sister should have come in a midnight And my mom would always sit up and wait It always ended up in a big row When my sister used to get home late Out of my window I can see them in the moonlight Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate The day they knocked down the pally My sister stood and cried The day they knocked down the pally Part of my childhood died, just died Now I’m grown up and playing in a band And there’s a car park where the pally used to stand My sister’s married and she lives on an estate Her daughters go out, now it’s her turn to wait She knows they get away with things she never could But if I asked her I wonder if she would Come dancing Come on sister, have yourself a ball Don’t be afraid to come dancing It’s only natural Come dancing Just like the pally on a Saturday And all her friends will come dancing Where the big bands used to play
In late 1982 I heard this song by the Kinks, I was expecting our youngest son, he was born 1983. I have always loved the Kinks. I remember thinking at the time I would love to go dancing… Anyway small piece of information when our youngest graduated Ray Davis, of the Kinks was a guest speaker at the ceremony. How’s that for a coincidence?
Thinking of all those in need of compassion, at this time thinking of my brother in law lost in the grip of demantia and my sister coping but struggling.
Welcome to my “Heartland Echoes,” where I aim to share my poems with the world, along with my survival story and autobiography of childhood abuse, motivational quotes, and much more. Through my words, I hope to inspire others to share their own stories and experiences. Each poem is a piece of my heart and soul, along with a story of a traumatic past, crafted with inspiration, Hope, faith, love and passion. I believe that by sharing our art and emotions, I’ll be able to connect with others on a deeper level and create a sense of community.
willowdot21 
