"... He said no one would cry, or grieve, it was truly a celebration of the boy's life. Billy said that, if he went too early, that is how he would want it to be..."
- Eva Ball
Happy 25th Billy!
A couple years ago, a group called Plain White Tees released a song called "Hey There Delilah" to the delight of teenage girls everywhere -- and John. When he played the song for us in our Boston apartment, we weren't quite sure if he was serious. In the ensuing months, Kathleen started leaving voicemails on John's phone to the song's tune. I believe the very first of these messages included the lyric "it's so hard to be a white guy."
The following Christmas, on our way to Cambridge, we wrote lyrics for the rest of the song. The song was then recorded during the infamous Billy Cabin Sessions of 2008. It aired for the first time at the Palinski dinner table on Christmas Day, as a gift for John.
While it should be obvious where the inspiration came for this piece (white men and their struggles) I think it is clear that Billy's sense of humor humour permeates the whole thing. What better way to celebrate Bill's birthday than record the video with all his people?
If you took any photos this year, please send them to Ned or Kat.
Epitaph
When I die
Give what's left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry,
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you.
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give to me.
I want to leave you something,
Something better
Than words
Or sounds.
Look for me
In the people I've known
Or loved,
And if you cannot give me away,
At least let me live on your eyes
And not on your mind.
You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands,
By letting
Bodies touch bodies,
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free.
Love doesn't die,
People do.
So, when all that's left of me
Is love,
Give me away.