Tell me this creepy music is for real

Cafe Society
1

This story will initially sound like it is out of place in Cafe Society, but this is the right forum - bear with me until I come to my question.

In July my mother suffered a massive brainstem hemorrhage with no hope of recovery. She was kept on life support until I could arrive to say goodbye, after which they disconnected her and she passed away a few hours later (or rather her body did - I was assured that for all practical purposes she was already dead, having virtually no higher brain function).

I assume that what I encountered when I arrived at her hospital room in the neuro-trauma unit was typical, and that anyone reading this who has visited/cared for someone in a similar state has heard something similar: There was soft, kind of new-agey “woo”-ish music, very gentle and soothing, playing in the room.

As I was sitting there, a male voice said through the music speakers, softly but distinctly, “I haven’t told you everything I have to tell you yet. Everything I tell you is true.” Unfortunately I was alone in the room at the time so no one else heard it.

I assume that this was some sort of spoken part of the music. In fact, I seem to recall that there is even a word to describe the use of some kind of declaration during a musical piece. (Doesn’t Leonard Bernstein’s Mass have something like that in it?)

Also, those words (which I don’t remember precisely - the above is an accurate paraphrase) sound exactly like something you would expect to find in a piece of religious music - like where an angel has come down from the heavens to impart a message.

My question is - is anyone familiar with the concept, or better yet does anyone recognize these words as part of a musical piece that might be played in a hospital?

I don’t believe in ghosts or supernatural stuff. Also, had my mother somehow been able to speak through the speakers, I suspect her words for me would have been a lot nastier :slight_smile:

Nonetheless, I am just a wee bit weirded out by the whole experience, as you can imagine. I know it was just a coincidence, but I’d love to verify where that unexpected spoken bit came from. Also, if I could get an exact reference, I would write to the hospital and suggest that they not play that particular piece in such circumstances. Those words are just WAAYYYY too wierd for someone sitting with a brain-dead relative :eek::eek::eek:

2

Sorry for your loss. I have no explanation or idea for the music, but I can certainly understand why you are trying to learn more.

Best of luck with your search and again, my condolences.

3

I’m wee bit weirded out just hearing about it.
My condolences.

4

Sounds similar to Pink Floyd’s Great Gig in the Sky, though the spoken word bits in it are quite different from your remembrance. Probably some other song with a similar style.

Sorry for your loss.

5

I tried googling:
“new age” everything tell true
and
“trip-hop” everything tell true
without really discovering anything about the music.

Sorry about your loss, CairoCarol.

6

My condolences. That sounds a bit like something from Timothy Leary’s “Beyond Life”, a record he made in preparation for his own death. Could someone have possibly been playing that?

7

Thats what I was thinking, someone in an adjoining room playing it just barely loud enough for you to hear it?

8

Is the TL recording music, or all speech? If there is music, maybe that’s what they were playing. I’m sure the words came from the same place the music did - there was a speaker(s) behind the equipment.

They actually had a TV monitor that showed the names of the pieces that were being played. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice this until much later.

9

(Sorry for double-posting - I was at the office before and now I’m home and could check out the Timothy Leary video myself).

I think it’s a possibility. I can’t bear to watch the whole thing (they lost me at “one of the greatest minds of our time” or was it “of all time”) but the dreamy music at the beginning and even the sound of Timothy Leary’s voice sounds about right.

10

So sorry for your loss.

Have you asked the nurse’s station about what is played in their unit? It wouldn’t be out of line to call someone in the hospital administration’s office and ask. You could get the list of the stations that play on the TV and even contact them. I’ve done LOTS of hospital time as a visitor, and sometimes there is an in-house information channel. Do let us know what you find out.

11

That’s a good idea although a little inconvenient at the moment (I live in Jakarta; the hospital where my mother died is in Des Moines, Iowa). I may follow up in December when I will be back in the area - if I do, and I learn anything interesting, I will resurrect this thread.

Thanks to all who expressed condolences.

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CairoCarol - My sincere condolences. I lost my mother in exactly the same way.

I really doubt that a Des Moines hospital would be playing a recording by Timothy Leary. They weren’t playing any music in the (Catholic) Neuro ICU unit my mother was in.

StG