This week Jim Adams our talented host for Song Lyric Sunday has said that this week’s prompt is : November 17, 2019 – Did/Didn’t/Do/Don’t/Does/Doesn’t.
This week Jim’s prompt for us set me in mind of my dear friend Karen who died of cancer of the osphagus. We were close friends, I was not long out if hospital having broken my back badly , for the second time, when I got the news from Karen that she was ill.
The reason I have chosen Don’t stop me now by Queen will become apparent at the end of this post.
Don’t Stop Me Now” is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1978 album Jazz and released as a single in 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes (Alpes-Maritimes), France, and is the twelfth track on the album. More information here.
I hope no one minds me making this so personal but this is Karen’s song.
To Karen
Karen
I rang her every day for over a year,
I begged to come see her but she would not let me near.
We laughed with each other but more often we cried.
I wanted to be with with her but her fears, this to me denied.
I begged her to fight it she told me she was tired
I nagged and bullied she said I was fired!
Things never got better she slipped from my grasp
I tried hard to see her but she still refused, so I did as she asked.
Then finally the day came and I got the call
At last I got to visit , not that she knew at all.
I talked of blue skies and beaches and clouds
I did not whisper I told her out loud.
She was struggling for breath then I caught her eye in a moment of clarity
I told her I loved her she flashed at me “no pity!”
Her hands were dirty her nails were lined black
Her pain and the squalor are the memories that keep coming back.
I spent four days in her company
I could not believe what I had to see.
I hated her suffering as she breathed her last,
Sadly these horrid memories stuck in my mind, the ones which I cannot get past.
It was a foggy freezing December day
When we all met at the Crematorium our goodbyes to say.
To a larger than life, loud colourful girl
Who with a flash of her eyes could set our working day in a whirl.
I sat there sobbing but she had to have the last word
“Get a grip you silly cow” were the words that I heard.
Then as her coffin disappeared for her final bow
She went out with a flourish to Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.
Female, wife, full time mother and Grandmother. I am not as happy go lucky as I used to be but I am still bubbling along on simmer! I have three handsome sons all grown and flown.The youngest married with a beautiful wife and two sons of his own. Eleven years ago I was working, running a home, driving and socializing then bang in a split second all that was gone. I had an accident at home. I broke my back, not for the first time, I had broken it 10 years previously as well. Unfortunately this time I had broken it really badly and it was truly messed up so I had to have two operations. I was told before each operation that the outcome could mean I spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. Still as some guy once wrote "I am still standing " yes "better than I ever was " not quite but with the help of a walking stick and as long as I do not stand or sit in one position for too long, I am still standing! Update I no longer use the walking stick . I had lots of friends before the accident but when things like this happen, you loose most of them. Their lives move on and mine stood still and so they left me behind ...I know that is just the way life is but it hurt and always will. Then I looked around and saw those who were still there for me, these friends are the roses in my garden they need to be tended well. They are the diamonds in the dust, I will of been married 50yrs plus this year . Pain and boredom are my enemies now, I have to find different ways to approach life, use my pain befriend it almost...yer right , well that is what they tell me at the pain clinic ROFLMAO ...... if only I could! I have found an outlet for my fears, frustrations and night terrors . I have started writing poetry if that name can be applied to my writing. I hope I do not come over as a moaning winger. I hope I am past all that. I also hope that you might see how the poetry is moving from very dark through the grey and
hopefully in to light ??
I need to update this a little here. I have worked very hard over the years since my accident, I go to the gym regularly, I have a Pilates class and a core class once a week . The guys at the gym and my Pilates teacher cajoled, teased, bullied and encouraged me to abandon my walking stick! :) My back is no longer straight it is C shaped because of the injury and I have lost two and a half inches in height but my Pilates and Core teachers have helped me to stand up as straight and as strongly as possible. Pain and depression are still hanging on my arm but I have weapons to use against them and if I say so myself I cope well.
I have made lots of new friends, real diamonds. I am also very grateful for all the support and help I have encountered here on Wordpress. Hugs and welcome to everyone who visits.
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70 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: 17/11/19. Don’t.”
I’m good sis, currently trapped on the sofa with a cat sat on top of me!
I didn’t get to write my Spidey post last night as I was so tired from answering comments about the cover yesterday!
But I need to write it now… Though my lap is occupied… 🤣
Cats?!!! 🐈 🐈 🐈
He got off, long enough for me to write, now he’s miaowing to get back up! Showing a lot of love this morning 😜
Awe! Bless animals are so clever 💜💜
I know… Thing is, really need to get up to go to the loo, and have my brekkie, but he’s out of it now 🤣 I’d feel bad waking him up!
Really, that’s a great excuse to stay there Sis result🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
But, if only I had my book and a nice hot cuppa…🤣
Get hubby to get you both 💜💜💜💜
The rest are all still asleep 🤣
Really wake them up?!!!
He got up! Been to the loo, git my kindle, tea and brekkie now, so I’m ready for him 🤣
There is a wonderful parody version of DON’T STOP ME NOW going around.
And I think of this one and also I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE
as well as all the great arena hits and ballads Queen and Freddie Mercury [Deacon and May too] were famous for.
Appreciate your poem about Karen and her pitiless ways.
“Get a grip you silly cow” – that is indicative of a British stoicism which at its finest survived wars and other atrocities. And it is often well-applied to everyday life and its adversities.
[I would have been called a silly cow too often as I suspect you might have Willow].
And yes, the pain and the squalor.
Lots of love does have an element of pity – especially the love we sing about and write about.
And I think of Michaelangelo and the Renaissance artists who Queen do often approach in majesty and grandeur and depth and reach.
Thank you Adelaide, you saw right through to the point of my post. Karen was herself to the end, I just hope that her mind was free of her poor body before she died. She is gone but never forgotten. As for Queen well they are just the best group ever💜
My younger self had friends who reviewed BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS and one more big song for their music talks.
And one of my classmates was going to be so triggered and unrelaxed [some of the sport chants were so rough and tough].
And minds and bodies – they do not often run free. It is like Lyra and her daemon and how P went to find a life away from her in THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH – if you know or want to know your Pullman [and other readers of this blog may very well].
Amazing song. Thank you for sharing a very personal memory. ❤
So sorry for your loss. Afa the song, I had never heard it until they used it at the end of the recent film about the band. I was never a fan before I saw that movie, now I love them
A wonderful choice for so many reasons. I am sorry for your loss Willow. I lost my best friend to breast cancer, though she fought it for two years and I have a wonderful memory and pictures, of eating melting ice cream as her hair was growing back after chemo.
I saw my friend once in hospital and once in the hospice. In between we visited her at home and she came to visit us so I have some happy memories. The best is playing darts in her kitchen before she was ill. We’d end up going for double runner bean for double one as we were both useless and the veg rack was underneath the dartboard.
Willow… you have brought me back to my friend Brenda, who died on Christmas Day 2012. She would not let me visit her, either. No matter how often I begged. You think you are part of an inner circle and this is the testament to how much you were not.
And then, quite by accident, I heard her very distinct voice in a store. She was with her sister (who has basically the same voice) – it was the last time I got to see her. We hugged, we chatted…
She and Mick are singing “Free Fallin'” with Tom Petty for sure.
However, this Queen song is fantastic, too 😉
That’s beautiful and perhaps Karen has found them too, with a glass of wine or gin in one hand and a cigarette in the other. By the time I was allowed to go I spent the last four days of her life with …. Sad days so I fixedly remember the better times. Hugs for you and Brenda 💜💜💜
Brenda it would have been a beer in one hand and a cigarette (what killed her) in the other.
I guess it was a gift she tried to give me to not see her wasting away. (At least if I tell myself that, I feel less excluded.)
I think we were not so much excluded as spared . I hate to say it was awful to see her so neglected, I can’t get the memories out of my head even all these years after. 💜💜💜 Those damn cigarettes killed Karen too.💜💜
That is a better way of saying it.
I have but lovely memories of Brenda and she is not the only one who has expired thanks to those cancer sticks… 🧡🧡🧡🧡
Yes I hate them, I visited Karen in hospital several months before she died and her bed was empty. I asked the nurse where she was and was told she was outside,downstairs smoking…
What the F###💜
Once they are at the end, there is no point in quitting…
Yes I suppose so but it cut me to the quick 💜
I am sure it did. It would have me, too…
All the ones I know quit, after diagnosis – too late.
Not Karen stubborn to the last 💜
She was and will not be the last.
Sadly not💜
Willow, your poems are difficult to read as I could feel your pain from every direction. Your friend who was so full of life, to go as she did… Your song choice adds a special poignance, with Freddy’s early passing as well {{{HUGS}}}
Sorry for the loss of your friend. Wish we didn’t have to say good-bye so soon, and I hope the good memories outweigh the sad ones. Lovely tribute, and the song is perfect. ❤
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willowdot21 
Hugs, Sis 🥰💜🙏🏽🤗
Thank you Sis 💜💜 How are you today 💜
I’m good sis, currently trapped on the sofa with a cat sat on top of me!
I didn’t get to write my Spidey post last night as I was so tired from answering comments about the cover yesterday!
But I need to write it now… Though my lap is occupied… 🤣
Cats?!!! 🐈 🐈 🐈
He got off, long enough for me to write, now he’s miaowing to get back up! Showing a lot of love this morning 😜
Awe! Bless animals are so clever 💜💜
I know… Thing is, really need to get up to go to the loo, and have my brekkie, but he’s out of it now 🤣 I’d feel bad waking him up!
Really, that’s a great excuse to stay there Sis result🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
But, if only I had my book and a nice hot cuppa…🤣
Get hubby to get you both 💜💜💜💜
The rest are all still asleep 🤣
Really wake them up?!!!
He got up! Been to the loo, git my kindle, tea and brekkie now, so I’m ready for him 🤣
Excellent 💜🌹 do have a good day 💜💜
You too, Sis 💜💜💜
Thank you 💜
And maybe a bedpan 🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
Hugs
WOW!
There is a wonderful parody version of DON’T STOP ME NOW going around.
And I think of this one and also I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE
as well as all the great arena hits and ballads Queen and Freddie Mercury [Deacon and May too] were famous for.
Appreciate your poem about Karen and her pitiless ways.
“Get a grip you silly cow” – that is indicative of a British stoicism which at its finest survived wars and other atrocities. And it is often well-applied to everyday life and its adversities.
[I would have been called a silly cow too often as I suspect you might have Willow].
And yes, the pain and the squalor.
Lots of love does have an element of pity – especially the love we sing about and write about.
And I think of Michaelangelo and the Renaissance artists who Queen do often approach in majesty and grandeur and depth and reach.
Thank you Adelaide, you saw right through to the point of my post. Karen was herself to the end, I just hope that her mind was free of her poor body before she died. She is gone but never forgotten. As for Queen well they are just the best group ever💜
Queen are definitely in my pantheon.
My younger self had friends who reviewed BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS and one more big song for their music talks.
And one of my classmates was going to be so triggered and unrelaxed [some of the sport chants were so rough and tough].
And minds and bodies – they do not often run free. It is like Lyra and her daemon and how P went to find a life away from her in THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH – if you know or want to know your Pullman [and other readers of this blog may very well].
Amazing song. Thank you for sharing a very personal memory. ❤
Thank you for reading 💜
So sorry for your loss. Afa the song, I had never heard it until they used it at the end of the recent film about the band. I was never a fan before I saw that movie, now I love them
I was and am their biggest fan 💜💜
A wonderful choice for so many reasons. I am sorry for your loss Willow. I lost my best friend to breast cancer, though she fought it for two years and I have a wonderful memory and pictures, of eating melting ice cream as her hair was growing back after chemo.
Lol it lovely having these memories isn’t it…. I do wish those last bad memories would stop coming back 💜
I saw my friend once in hospital and once in the hospice. In between we visited her at home and she came to visit us so I have some happy memories. The best is playing darts in her kitchen before she was ill. We’d end up going for double runner bean for double one as we were both useless and the veg rack was underneath the dartboard.
Lol lovely memories , I the veg scoring darts 💜💜
she was a wonderful person.
I am sure she was 💜
A beautiful tribute. Sending you lots of love.
Thank you Maggie , she was special 💜
There was a time I played this song up and down constantly!
It’s a brilliant song isn’t it 💜💜
Totally! I used to blast it in my car during the warm season, windows down, roof top open … yay!
Woohoo 💜
😄😎💖
I loved the song and the video and I am sorry to hear about your friend who was taken too soon.
Yes she did die too soon but she did live life to the full 💜💜💜
Wonderful, fantastic Queen. One of my favorite bands and I never get tired of hearing their music. A great share today. Thanks! 🥰
Thank you glad you liked it 💜💜
Willow… you have brought me back to my friend Brenda, who died on Christmas Day 2012. She would not let me visit her, either. No matter how often I begged. You think you are part of an inner circle and this is the testament to how much you were not.
And then, quite by accident, I heard her very distinct voice in a store. She was with her sister (who has basically the same voice) – it was the last time I got to see her. We hugged, we chatted…
She and Mick are singing “Free Fallin'” with Tom Petty for sure.
However, this Queen song is fantastic, too 😉
That’s beautiful and perhaps Karen has found them too, with a glass of wine or gin in one hand and a cigarette in the other. By the time I was allowed to go I spent the last four days of her life with …. Sad days so I fixedly remember the better times. Hugs for you and Brenda 💜💜💜
Brenda it would have been a beer in one hand and a cigarette (what killed her) in the other.
I guess it was a gift she tried to give me to not see her wasting away. (At least if I tell myself that, I feel less excluded.)
I think we were not so much excluded as spared . I hate to say it was awful to see her so neglected, I can’t get the memories out of my head even all these years after. 💜💜💜 Those damn cigarettes killed Karen too.💜💜
That is a better way of saying it.
I have but lovely memories of Brenda and she is not the only one who has expired thanks to those cancer sticks… 🧡🧡🧡🧡
Yes I hate them, I visited Karen in hospital several months before she died and her bed was empty. I asked the nurse where she was and was told she was outside,downstairs smoking…
What the F###💜
Once they are at the end, there is no point in quitting…
Yes I suppose so but it cut me to the quick 💜
I am sure it did. It would have me, too…
All the ones I know quit, after diagnosis – too late.
Not Karen stubborn to the last 💜
She was and will not be the last.
Sadly not💜
Willow, your poems are difficult to read as I could feel your pain from every direction. Your friend who was so full of life, to go as she did… Your song choice adds a special poignance, with Freddy’s early passing as well {{{HUGS}}}
It’s all true and even though years have passed the pain is still raw 💜
😦 so sorry to hear it
That’s life 🌹💜
Great tribute to your friend. It’s never easy. Love this Queen song.
No never easy, thank you 💜
Sorry for the loss of your friend. Wish we didn’t have to say good-bye so soon, and I hope the good memories outweigh the sad ones. Lovely tribute, and the song is perfect. ❤
The good do out weigh the bad, though sadly the bad are so bad 💜
❤ ❤
I’m so very sorry for your loss. What a moving tribute to your friend. Now this will be Karen’s song to me too. Classic Queen ❤
Thank you Jilly she was a special lady 💜🌹
Love this song choice…and your tribute. (HUGZ)
Thank you Felicia 💜💜
At the preschool where I work at, the graduating kids last year danced the Just Dance dance. But, all the kids love to dance to this song too!
They are both fun songs 💜