The Sweet Bye And Bye

I gotta admit, I’ve always been fascinated by the way they do funerals in New Orleans. After the funeral, they escort the dead bloke to the boneyard with brass bands and second-line dancers following the hearse. They call these parades jazz funerals.

The way it goes is you have a band like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band outside the church waiting for the casket to be loaded into a big black bomber of a hearse. Then the band leads a solemn procession to the cemetery with a slow, sorrowful tune. At some point during or after the burial, the band kicks into a higher tempo, eventually leading a parade that spills out onto the street. Mourners become revelers and everyone is dancing—even people in the neighborhood that didn’t know the poor bastard.

 

In New Orleans, these jazz funerals are a life force in the city. And it says everything about their attitude toward the living and the honor they give to the dead. People sing their sorrows and dance their memories to the departed souls. I’m telling ya, we should be doing this stuff. I gotta think it really helps with the loss and sure as hell inspires people to keep on going, baby. I always say when you go out, go out in style. It lets ‘em know you were here. And as old Gabby Hayes always said, “Ain’t nobody got outta here alive yet.”

Keep your dukes up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6est8Zn0UuM


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