Apologies if this should have been in MPSIMS, but the music-related topic seemed apropos for CS.
A little background
My precious dog, a Lab mix almost 10 years old, has been diagnosed with bone cancer - the most aggressive kind. We have been told she only has 6 months at the most, and given the way she is walking now (or not walking as the case may be), I think that is somewhat optimistic. We suspect that her time left will be measured in weeks, not months. She is currently on a very strong painkiller (hydrocodone), and our utmost concern is her comfort and well being in the time she has left.
The question for this thread
So we are going to have a friend of ours put together a video montage of our dog’s life, set to music. It will most likely be mostly stills, a-la a “slide show”, and may also include some video. We want to set this imagery to music, probably just one or two songs, totaling no more than 5-10 minutes. I have been looking through my CD collection, but so far nothing has jumped out at me. So now I am throwing the question to the Teeming Millions - what song(s) or artists do you think would work well here? I don’t want something maudlin, but at the same time, I also don’t want a snappy upbeat tune either.
There’s an old folk song called “Old Blue” that the Byrds did a good version of:
Old Blue
Traditional, Arranged and Adapted by Roger McGuinn
"Well I had an old dog and his name was Blue
Yes, I had an old dog and his name was Blue
Well I had an old dog and his name was Blue
Bet ya five dollars he’s a good dog too
Old Blue chased a possum up a holler (hollow) limb
Blue chased a possum up a holler limb
Blue chased a possum up a holler limb
The possum growled, Blue whined at him
Bye bye Blue
You good dog you
Bye bye Blue
You good dog you
When old Blue died he died so hard
He shook the ground in my back yard
We lowered him down with a golden chain
And every link we called his name
Bye bye Blue You good dog you
Bye bye Blue
You good dog you
My old Blue he was a good old hound
You’d hear him hollering miles around
When I get to Heaven first thing I’ll do
I’ll grab my horn and call for Blue
Bye bye Blue
You good dog you
Bye bye Blue
You good dog you"
And there’s also Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles” with this verse:
“He danced for those at minstrel shows & county fairs,
throughout the south
He spoke with tears of 15 years how his dog and him traveled about.
His dog up and died, up and died, after 20 years he still grieves.”
Oh, number one has GOT to be Stephen Foster’s “Old Dog Tray” (1853), which I first saw sung by Beauregarde, the sentimental bloodhound in “Pogo.”
The morn of life is past,
And evening comes at last;
It brings me a dream of a once happy day,
Of merry forms I’ve seen
Upon the village green,
Sporting with my old dog Tray.
Chorus:
Old dog Tray’s ever faithful,
Grief cannot drive him away,
He’s gentle, he is kind;
I’ll never, never find
A better friend than old dog Tray.
The forms I call’d my own
Have vanished one by one,
The lov’d ones, the dear ones have all passed away;
Their happy smiles have flown,
Their gentle voices gone;
I’ve nothing left but old dog Tray.
[Chorus]
When thoughts recall the past
His eyes are on me cast;
I know that he feels what my breaking heart would say:
Although he cannot speak
I’ll vainly, vainly seek
A better friend than old dog Tray.
I’ve only heard this through someone who knows the Butthole Surfers, but the unusually melodic and sentimental “Jingle of a Dog’s Collar” from Electric Larryland is purportedly about the band’s faithful companion, which happened to be named Englebert Humperdink. I think Englebert kicked off just before the album was recorded.
I’ve asked an appropriate question at the double-secret Butthole Surfers Nebbish Ranch. Should you actually care, and I doubt anyone will, I’ll supply a more definitive answer.