This is from Johnny B. He says that it should be sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island. It puts a whole new light on the poem that I have always thought a little too grim. You have to repeat the last line of each verse soto voce to get the full Gilligan effect.
Thanks John!
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, be passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.
Were toward eternity!
I remember hearing other poems that can be sung to popular tunes. Does anyone remember one?
Tippet: Pendant streamer from the hood or from the arm; also a shoulder cape.
Tulle: a fine mesh fabric used for veils