When I'm gone don't bury me
I will not lie under this town
I will not lie where I can't see
Please don't put me underground
If the day is sunny, let my father say some words
If the night is starry, let my mother tell you all her stories
Oh my sister will bake a cake and on it she'll write something funny
Go down to the city square and give the artists all my money.
And as for all that is inside; you can give to medicine
As for all my bones and hide; just find a fire to put them in
If the day is sunny, let my father say some words
If the night is starry, let my mother tell you all her stories
Oh my sister will bake a cake and on it she'll write something funny
Go down to the city square and give the artists all my money.
Though I may be relatively young,
I hope in the final moments I hear every song I've ever sung, at once.
When I'm gone don't weep and moan
Where I'm going is a pleasant stay
I'll visit my grandfather's home
Drink gin with Billy Holiday
If the day is sunny let my father say some words
If the night is starry, let my mother tell you all her stories
Oh my sister will bake a cake and on it she'll write something funny
Go down to the city square and give the artists all my money
When I'm gone don't bury me
I will not lie under this dirty town
I will not lie where I can't see
Please don't put me underground
No, please don't put me underground.
To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget
~Arundhati Roy