Nearly Knowledgeable

  ‘Where I go, I carry my dead with me…’ Mike West- No Grave ‘No Grave’ By Mike West may be one of the most impactful songs I have ever listened to. It resonated with me deeply, as I listened to it on repeat, basking in the revelation that there could be a language for my own grief, which now seems like an age old. The song implores the listener to consider the intricacies of grief, and the way in which we enact remembrance. I am deeply interested in the folklore and varying beliefs surrounding death, including funeral customs and death omens, but West simplifies it, to the powerful act of remembering. The line I have quoted above is particularly pertinent and it stayed with me long after the song had finished.   ‘Where I go, I carry my dead with me’ I’ve always believed deeply in the presence of our ancestors in our lives. They are tangible, accessible even. Our dead, whoever they may be are not gone. They walk beside us; their continued presence is in tandem with our own. W