Nightingale

I built my house beside the wood

So I could hear you singing

And it was sweet and it was good

And love was all beginning

Fare thee well my nightingale

‘Twas long ago I found you

Now all your songs of beauty fail

The forest closes ‘round you

The sun goes down behind a veil

‘Tis now that you would call me

So rest in peace my nightingale

Beneath your branch of holly

Fare thee well my nightingale

I lived but to be near you

Tho‘ you are singing somewhere still

I can no longer hear you

Co-written by Anjani Thomas, this song, included on Dear Heather (2004), is a beautiful lament for the loss of … – that what is lost is unspecified (love? youth? capability?) only enhances the poetic effectiveness of this song. It is dedicated to the singer and actor Carl Anderson (1945-2004).