We had to say goodbye to our little gray cat Emily today. We think she was about 20 years old, but we’re not sure, because she adopted us just over nine years ago, appearing in our back yard to steal our puppy’s food. She had a lot of problems, resulting from having nearly starved on her own without front claws, and having possibly been abused. She was missing half her teeth when she found us, and we think she suffered the cat version of PTSD. But over time she warmed up to all of us and became an integral part of our family. We like to think we were able to give her a nice retirement here, after all her troubles. She helped us say goodbye to another dear cat friend, Merlin, in 2000, and today we said goodbye to her.
I’ll miss her purrs, her silky, silver-gray fur, and the gentle tap of her paw when she wakened me in the mornings.
Just a few nights ago, The Lord of the Rings trilogy played on television again. We didn’t watch, because I intended to watch our DVDs again soon, but we caught the tail end of Return of the King, and the final song.
For days that song has stayed in my mind, popping into consciousness at odd moments. Today it did again, and I wondered about it, because I couldn’t recall the singer’s name, the name of the song, or the lyrics. The music just kept haunting me. So I looked it up, and remembered as soon as I sat down to do a search that it was Into the West. Annie Lennox sang it for the film. I love this song. Right now it’s helping me say goodbye to Emily. I learned that it was partially inspired by the death of young New Zealand filmmaker, Cameron Duncan, and first performed in public at his funeral. That makes it seem even more appropriate as Emily’s song of passage.
Safe journey, little friend.
The song is available as part of the soundtrack from the film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [SOUNDTRACK]
1.
My sincere condolences. Our Sabrina will be 18 this fall and I try not to think about her own journey not being far away. She has been with me through many changes in my life, through the best and worst times. I try not to be overly sentimental about animals but it is a terrible blow when one of our friends leaves us. Touching piece.
Comment by Eric Mayer — August 31, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
2.
I’m sorry. I know that day is coming for me as well. And yes, that is a most beautiful song. I have it on CD in my car.
Comment by Creechman — September 1, 2007 @ 1:49 am
3.
My sympathy is with you. One of the reasons I don’t have any pets anymore is because it just got too hard to handle their deaths. You can indeed take comfort in having made her life so much better when she showed up on your doorstep.
Comment by susan — September 1, 2007 @ 6:04 am
4.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts.
Comment by Barbara — September 2, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
5.
Sending hugs and comforting thoughts your way, dear friend. xoxo
Comment by Reenie — September 4, 2007 @ 6:41 am
6.
yeah, I love Annie, especially when she sang for Coppola’s Dracula. I checked at http://music-city.org, but I could’nt find in what album that song ws. Anyone a clue?
Comment by Annie Lennox fan — October 30, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
7.
Annie Lennox fan — Here’s an Amazon link: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [SOUNDTRACK]. There are several versions of the soundtrack recording available, some including all three movies’ soundtracks in one set, and a new collector’s edition due out soon. I’m not sure whether she ever recorded it separately from the movie soundtrack. Thanks for asking. I’ll add the link to the blog post as well.
Comment by Barbara — October 30, 2007 @ 2:25 pm