Happy Ending
Everything ends badly, that's why it ends.
I was at a funeral a few weeks ago, laying to rest a guy I hardly knew. I'd met John a few times in Val d'Isère but sadly to my detriment never really got to know him properly.
So I was standing at the back of the church, which itself is a testament to the type of person that John was, that he'd had an impact on so many lives that the church was overflowing, when the coffin was carried in and the song Happy Ending by Mika was piped through the speakers.
I'd never heard contemporary music at a funeral before - the closest was at the last one I went to, for my Godmother Maeve, where her son Toby played the guitar and sang a song, I can't remember which one. The only thing I remember of that occasion was arriving late and hiding at the back, only to be spotted by my uncle Tony, who inserted some impromptu paragraphs into his eulogy about how Maeve had looked after Ben and I after my mother died. He was good at off-the-cuff, but then again he was phenomenally clever.
Sadly I never got to go to Tony's funeral because my family didn't give enough of a shit to invite Ben or I, which seems a shame as he was Godfather to both of us. Fortunately we got to go and see him in the hospice when he was dying of cancer so we got to say our goodbye in person.
But we both found ourselves at John Vanns's funeral, listening to a wonderful eulogy from his brother, Pete. Whilst there were tears all around me I could only smile at Pete's heartfelt words about his younger brother and when it came to sing a rousing rendition of Jerusalem I put my all into it - and I could hear my brother's tenor voice from the other side of the church. The rest of the day was spent in celebration of Jamboy's life.
I found myself at work a week later, listening to music whilst trying to get something or other done when I heard a familiar song through my headphones. It has Happy Ending and I was immediately transported back to that moment that the coffin was carried into the church. Initially I was angry that a song I enjoyed listening to could cause me to remember such a sad occasion, but then I realised that the message was one of happiness and hope.
Forever, now, when I hear that song I'll always be reminded of a few moments in time: an outpouring of grief, a great speech, and a wonderful turn out of people who's lives were made richer by a guy called John Vanns. I just hope that I'll have made such a great impression on the world when I disappear from it forever.
So I was standing at the back of the church, which itself is a testament to the type of person that John was, that he'd had an impact on so many lives that the church was overflowing, when the coffin was carried in and the song Happy Ending by Mika was piped through the speakers.
I'd never heard contemporary music at a funeral before - the closest was at the last one I went to, for my Godmother Maeve, where her son Toby played the guitar and sang a song, I can't remember which one. The only thing I remember of that occasion was arriving late and hiding at the back, only to be spotted by my uncle Tony, who inserted some impromptu paragraphs into his eulogy about how Maeve had looked after Ben and I after my mother died. He was good at off-the-cuff, but then again he was phenomenally clever.
Sadly I never got to go to Tony's funeral because my family didn't give enough of a shit to invite Ben or I, which seems a shame as he was Godfather to both of us. Fortunately we got to go and see him in the hospice when he was dying of cancer so we got to say our goodbye in person.
But we both found ourselves at John Vanns's funeral, listening to a wonderful eulogy from his brother, Pete. Whilst there were tears all around me I could only smile at Pete's heartfelt words about his younger brother and when it came to sing a rousing rendition of Jerusalem I put my all into it - and I could hear my brother's tenor voice from the other side of the church. The rest of the day was spent in celebration of Jamboy's life.
I found myself at work a week later, listening to music whilst trying to get something or other done when I heard a familiar song through my headphones. It has Happy Ending and I was immediately transported back to that moment that the coffin was carried into the church. Initially I was angry that a song I enjoyed listening to could cause me to remember such a sad occasion, but then I realised that the message was one of happiness and hope.
Forever, now, when I hear that song I'll always be reminded of a few moments in time: an outpouring of grief, a great speech, and a wonderful turn out of people who's lives were made richer by a guy called John Vanns. I just hope that I'll have made such a great impression on the world when I disappear from it forever.