In Every Lovely Thing
Holly Erskine sings In Every Lovely Thing, a song of condolence for all who have lost a loved one, written by Tim Erskine, who also plays all the instruments in this recording made in 2003, which we are officially releasing for the very first time.
In Every Lovely Thing
3:44
Song notes
I stumbled across a greeting card many years ago with a popular version of this poem, took it home and immediately set it to music. The original poem, however, does not make a complete song lyric, in my opinion, so I worked a bit on the second stanza, got stuck, and put the song on the back burner. There it sat for years until Holly's aunt passed away in the Spring of 2003. Holly's mother sent her an email saying that this poem was her aunt's favorite, and does she know where she could find the complete poem for her memorial service?
Upon reading the original words attributed to Mary Frye, I found the line I am in each lovely thing, which is omitted in the traditional version. This, along with Holly's tremendous encouragement and feedback, allowed me to finally finish these lyrics and record the song in time for her aunt's memorial service.
I recorded the guitar, piano and string parts working alone for a few hours, then invited Holly over to sing the vocal. Holly, or more properly, Dr. Holly Phaneuf Erskine, is a college chemistry professor (see her great chemistry site at herbsdemystified.com), and co-producer of The Emissary movie, and started out as a music major on scholarship. This was the first high-quality recording of her fantastic voice, and I hope it moves you as deeply as it has the others who have heard it.
––Tim Erskine
In Every Lovely Thing
(Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep)
words and music by Tim Erskine,
from an original poem attributed to Mary E. Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there – I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am diamond glints on snow
I am sunlight on the grain
I am gentle April rain
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there – I did not die
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there – I do not sleep
I’m in the wild flowers’ bloom
I am in a quiet room
I am graceful birds in flight
I am star shine at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there – I did not die
I did not die...
All the World breathes as one with life
In the clouds of space and countless stars of every hue
And I am still alive here everywhere
In every lovely thing surrounding you
In every lovely thing inside of you
In every lovely thing
Holly Phaneuf Erskine - Vocals
T.E. – Acoustic Guitar, Piano and Synthesizer
© 2003 Timothy J. Erskine. All Rights Reserved.
Changes to Original Poem
The changes and additions I made to the original and traditional versions of the poem are shown below in lavender.
––Tim
In Every Lovely Thing
(Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep)
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there – I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am [the] diamond glints on snow
I am [the] sunlight on the [ripened] grain
I am [the] gentle April rain
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there – I did not die
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there – I do not sleep
I’m in the wild flowers’ [that] bloom
I am in a quiet room
I am graceful birds in [circling] flight
I am [the] star shine at [of the] night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there – I did not die
I did not die...
All the World breathes as one with life
In the clouds of space and countless stars of every hue
And I am still alive here everywhere
In every lovely thing surrounding you
In every lovely thing inside of you
In every lovely thing
© 2003 Timothy J. Erskine. All Rights Reserved.
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