Farewell to You, My Brother (Farewell to Nova Scotia)

Jack: Desmond, you've done enough. You wanna do something? Go home and be with your wife and son.
Desmond: What about you, Jack?
Jack: I'll see you in another life, brother.
- The End

Farewell to Nova Scotia is one of the most achingly melancholy songs I have ever heard.  It came to mind again after a recent Facebook conversation with my friend Gail, and though I knew the song through the Irish Rovers, when I stumbled upon a live performance by Gordon Lightfoot from 1972, I was utterly mesmerized by the exquisitely elegiac quality of both his voice and face.  It then lodged itself firmly in my brain, and when I'm in filking mode, that means it's about to become my next victim.  I thought this moment was appropriately mournful, with just the right hint of beauty.

Farewell to You, My Brother

You doused the light, and I'm impressed.
You did your job; now it's time to flee.
We're almost at the end of our quest,
So go, and leave the rest to me.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Believe me, Desmond, I understand.
You grieve to leave - to let me go.
But life never seems to work out the way we planned,
And it's better to accept what you can't control.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

A doctor's pledge is to first do no harm.
I won't survive; I have to stay.
So farewell, farewell.  I'll take you by the arm
And then Hurley's gonna raise you to the bright light of day.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

It took three years, but I passed Jacob's test.
I found my faith, and I am blessed.
When I met you, I'd failed so terribly,
But you helped me 'lift it up,' and now at last, I'm free.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

The Hidden Hatch (The Rattlin' Bog, Traditional)

One of the most intriguing mysteries LOST handed us was the question of what was in the hatch that John and Boone found hidden in the jungle. In season two, we got our answer. I imagine this song, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' version of The Rattlin' Bog, as a dialogue between the viewers and head writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and I like how the structure of the song drops one piece of the puzzle at a time, just like the show. I also like how, at least as I see it, at the heart of the hatch is Love, especially if we can see the hatch as a metaphor for the show.

The Hidden Hatch

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: Well, in that hatch,
There is a hall, a long hall, a spooky hall.
Hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And down the hall,
There is a room, a large room, a gloomy room.
Room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And in that room,
There is a Scot, a crazed Scot, a lonely Scot.
Scot in the room
And the room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And by that Scot,
There is some booze, some strong booze, some bottled booze.
Booze by the Scot
And the Scot in the room
And the room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And by the booze,
There is a book, an old book, a Dickens book.
Book by the booze
And the booze by the Scot
And the Scot in the room
And the room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And in that book,
There is a note, a short note, a secret note.
Note in the book
And the book by the booze
And the booze by the Scot
And the Scot in the room
And the room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: And in that note
Are words of love, of true love, of constant love.
Love in the note
And the note in the book
And the book by the booze
And the booze by the Scot
And the Scot in the room
And the room down the hall
And the hall in the hatch
And the hatch out in the jungle-o.

Viewers: What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?
What’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o?

Darlton: That’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o.
That’s in the hidden hatch,
The hatch out in the jungle-o!