Dancing in the graveyard
It’s currently my favorite song, Dance in the Graveyard. If you don’t know it, here’s the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPOM0...
It’s by a country group called Delta Rae (I don’t usually like country music that much, but their harmonies are fantastic) and from the very first moment I heard it, I could identify. It made me laugh. It made me smile. From the upbeat catchy tune to the beautiful words and lovely imagery and, most importantly, the message.
“When I die I don’t want to rest in peace,
I want to dance in joy,
I want to dance in the graveyard.
While I’m alive,
I don’t want to be alone,
mourning the ones who came before,
I want to dance with them some more.
Come dance in the graveyard.”
You might think it’s about the zombie apocalypse, and in the video, they do dress as zombies, but there’s a deeper meaning to it. One that touches me.
They’re not mourning those who die, but celebrating them. But I don’t think it’s just the people who die who are the ones being danced with. I don’t take the song that literally, although you can.
I look at it more broadly. When I fail, I may sit and cry for a few moments, but then I get up and look at what I did and learn from it. I don’t mourn, I celebrate. I don’t sit down and quit, I get up and dance in
the graveyard. I make the best of what’s happened and celebrate whatever successes I can.
I celebrate my hopes and dreams. I celebrate all the good things around me. I’ll get up and dance in that graveyard.
That’s me. I am, as they say, a “glass half-full kind of person”. What about you? What about your characters?
What do they do when life is lousy (and it will be in your book)? Do they dance in the graveyard? Do they celebrate what they have? Do they work harder to make things right, or joyful? If they are a true hero, that’s what they should do.
Heroes don’t quit. Heroes don’t mourn for long. They do something about it. They learn and grow and change and change others. They not only dance in the graveyard, but they pull others in to dance with them.
If you watch the video of the song, in the beginning the lead singer sends up a flair into the night sky which draws people to the graveyard to meet those who they’ve lost and dance with him. He makes things better for many people. He brings joy.
Your hero should do the same, in their own way. They need to solve that crime, or protect those who need protecting. They need to make whatever is wrong right and bring joy, or even just resolution, to others around them.
Think of your hero. Think of what kind of person they are. Where do they find joy? Where do they find happiness? How do they deal with hard times? Do they dance in the graveyard?
Do you?
