My Father's Body
Soulful Reflections on Loss and Legacy
Lyrics
My father's body lies beneath the snow
Reflecting on the physical resting place of the speaker's father beneath the snow.
High on a hill in Holmes County, Ohio
The location of the father's grave on a hill in Holmes County, Ohio.
From there you can look out across the fields
Describing the view from the father's resting place, observing fields.
A farmer guides his horses home as day to darkness bends
Depicting a scene where a farmer guides horses home as daylight transitions to darkness.
And finally yields
Symbolizing the end of the day, surrendering to darkness.
Dad's gravestone holds the words Be Still My Soul
The inscription on the father's gravestone, quoting the hymn "Be Still My Soul."
A song we sang together long ago
Recalling a shared musical moment with the father when they sang the mentioned hymn.
And there were times we even shared one hymnbook
Recounting times of shared hymn singing, possibly expressing a close bond.
His right hand and my left hand side-by-side holding pages
Physical closeness emphasized by the description of hands side-by-side holding a hymnbook.
Of music
Continuation of the shared musical experience between the speaker and their father.
But now his hands hold nothing but the earth
The father's hands now holding only the earth, signifying death and physical departure.
Hands that held me moments after my birth
Reflecting on the hands that once held the speaker at their birth.
And so we must all finally surrender
Expressing the inevitability of surrendering and letting go of cherished things.
As we release our grip upon whatever we hold dear
Highlighting the universal experience of releasing attachments and the difficulty in doing so.
And call familiar
Emphasizing the challenge of letting go of what is familiar and dear.
My father's body lies beneath the snow
Reiteration of the father's physical location beneath the snow, emphasizing finality.
And I'm still learning how to let him go
Expressing the ongoing process of learning to let go of the father's memory.
I've come to know him better since he's gone
Acknowledging a deeper understanding of the father after his passing.
And often wondered if or how I could've been a different
Pondering on the possibility of being a different and better son while the father was alive.
Better son
Reflecting on the speaker's role as a son and the desire for improvement.
My father's body lies beneath the snow
Reiteration of the father's physical resting place beneath the snow.
Sometimes on Christmas Eve that's where I go
Sharing a personal tradition of visiting the father's grave on Christmas Eve.
I hear faint Christmas bells from far away
Hearing distant Christmas bells and associating them with unexpressed emotions.
Ring out all the unspoken words I've never found within myself
Symbolizing the resonance of unspoken words that linger within the speaker.
To say
Expressing the difficulty in finding words to convey inner feelings and emotions.
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