Gale Garnett was likely thinking about something else when she wrote the lyrics to “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”; however, I believe the lyrics are a powerful meditation in a different context.
The refrain (generally) is:
“We’ll sing in the sunshine, we’ll laugh every day, and we’ll sing in the sunshine, and be on our way.”
The last verse refrain combo:
“And when our year has ended, and I have gone away, you’ll often speak about me, and this is what you’ll say: ‘We sang in the sunshine, we laughed every day, we sang in the sunshine, then [we] went on our way.’”
My dad likes to sing this song. And as we were singing it in the car, I was reminded that life is about singing and laughing with those we love, and then it’s about going on our way.
Just like life, every moment must end. It’s not only what we did in that moment that count, it’s also how that moment imprinted itself on our story.
For now, I’ll take what moments I can to sing in the sunshine and laugh in the rain with my parents. And one day, like you and I, they will be on their way.
