The Dance of the Already Dead

The Dark Season is sweeping down upon us, so here’s a spot of dark work I will be recording soon.

“Life’s the parade of the dying
It’s the dance of the already dead.
We’re dancing away every moment
To the music that plays in our heads…”

As many of you know, I grew up on a working farm. We raised hay, tobacco, cattle, and horses; we had a small barn full. I grew up riding, working cattle, building and maintaining fences. We also helped my paternal grandfather work his larger farm, and larger herd of cattle. My grandfather and my father had 160 acres leased on the Holston river. They had more cattle there, and we put over ten thousand (10,000) bales of hay every year to feed the horses and cattle and to sell.

We worked our asses off. No subtlety here. It was sweaty, hard, hard work.

I helped until I was old enough to leave… I was lazy and foolish and I was playing music in local bars. No more horses or cattle for me. I just wanted to enjoy my life. I have, mostly. I’m writing about this part of my life because I want you to understand I didn’t learn about cowboys from the movies. My heart was there. If you’ve ever heard Willie Nelson’s song , “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” that was the story and dream of my youth.

I recently watched an old movie, a western. The actor portraying the dashing cowboy hero was a true horseman. He didn’t much care for rules, needless laws, or needless progress. His life was crashing.

Two scenes in that film made me cry, weeping like a baby. Stupid movie. In the first scene he arrives at the bedside of his only true love, too late. She has already passed the veil. He sits mourning beside her body all night. In the second of these two heartbreaking scenes the camera captures him on his horse staring across the graveyard fence at her grave. He lingers before riding away.

I wrote the beginning/chorus of this song at three in the mornng a week ago, after waking from a bizzare dream. For some reason those scenes popped into my head and became this song, true Dark Americana with a western tilt.

click to watch Louis sing the song (on YouTube)

The Dance of the Already Dead, lyrics

(Chorus) Life’s the parade of the dying
It’s the dance of the already dead.
We’re dancing away every moment
To the music that plays in our heads…

1 A cowboy rode to visit his true love
He didn’t know she was already gone
He knelt by her grave softly crying.
Through his teardrops he sang this sad song.
chorus

2 The town watched him ride to the desert
Not a single sad word, there was said.
He disappeared for nearly five years.
The townsfolk all thought he was dead.
chorus

He walked back into town drunken and down
Swearing at all he would meet.
Then he threw down his hat and he threw down his gun
He began then to dance in the street.
chorus

“Dance of the Already Dead” by Louis Garou, (c) 2024

This brings me back to memories, some sweet, some bittersweet. Memories of family, of friends, of horses, dogs, wolves, and a cat. All have passed on beyond the tattered veil, but living still in my memory.

A memory of a young boy up before daylight tending to horses every morning before school. Climbing to reach up into the barnloft to turn on the lights. He was afraid he would be grabbed by the werewolf that certainly hid there.

He was correct about one thing; there was a werewolf in the barn.

Blessed Samhain Y’all.

For more information about Louis, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to Louis’ sites on the web, check out Louis’s author page here on Pagan Song.

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