Madeline Miller's Song

Recently Madeline wrote a song for and about her Uncle Todd. Madeline and I played it for everyone at Easter at Aunt Marsha's house. Well...after a lot of legal battles, we finally obtained the rights to publish the lyrics here on our website.

Don’t Die Away
by Madeline Miller

I sit there, by his deathbed;
His eyes closed in sleep.
But then, he opens them,
And begins to speak.

He said, “Now Baby Girl, you know,
It’s time for me to go.
My life is almost gone,
And it’s time to move on!”

And I said noooo,
Don’t let go,
Noooo,
Don’t leave me alone,
Noooo,
Stay with me one last day,
Noooo,
Please, don’t die away.

His voice was hoarse and husky,
His body, oh-so weak
I grabbed his hand, squeezed it hard,
And then began to weep.

I knew his time was ticking,
That his life was almost gone,
but I didn’t want to forget,
And I don’t want to move on!

Chorus

At that moment, the nurse came in,
She pulled me out of the room.
I screamed and tugged, but my uncle
Said, “Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon.”

As the car sailed along the road,
Fast as an eagle’s flapping wings,
I bit my lip, And to raise my hopes,
I began to sing.

Chorus

The next morning, I sat,
Awaiting on my bed,
All my thoughts of him,
Swirling in my head

All of us waited patiently,
Listening for the phone,
Wishing, oh a-wishing,
For our uncle to come home.

The phone rang,
And we all jumped,
It rang and rang again,
But we were to afraid,
What would they say?

Finally, oh finally,
My father said “It’s time.”
And as my father’s face changed,
My mama began to cry.

Oh my sister and my brother,
They didn’t understand a thing,
And to make my hopes rise,
I began to sing.

Chorus

My father walked to me,
And held me in an embrace,
I let all the tears come,
I know he felt my pain.

Although we had our moments,
Right then, we felt the same,
We knew that my uncle,
Had died and gone away.

To this day,
I still think,
Will we ever be together?
Will we hold hands tight,
And be with each other forever?
Or is this the end?
Will I ever see you again?

Will I ever see you again?


Madeline, what a great song. Can't wait to play it with you again at the Relay!