Between Dylan Thomas and John Denver
Before writing this essay, I googled what haunts me about Dylan Thomas and John Denver. Google doesn’t have any parallels. Therefore, this article addresses the haunting similarities between Thomas and Denver.
Starting with Dylan Thomas. Of the many writings, the poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is one of his best-loved.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Thomas wrote his poem for four poetic reasons. Dylan disses three types of people who think they know about death but don’t. The fourth type of person is old, but still contributes to life. So, to them, he writes, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
The group contains people like his father. It is Dylan Thomas’ tribute to his father, who had just died. Six years later, Thomas dies at 39. That is haunting.
John Denver wrote On the Wings of a Dream in 1983 for exactly the same reason as Thomas’ poem about Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. Denver’s father had died the year prior.
Yesterday, I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own
And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone?
Is this life just a path to the place
That we all have come from
Does the heart know the way?
And if not, can it ever be found?
In a smile or a tear or a prayer
Or a sigh or a song
And if so, then I sing for my father
And in truth you must know I would rather
He were here by my side
We could fly on the wings of a dream
To a place where the spirit would find us
And the joy and surrender would bind us
We are one anyway
Anyway, we are more than we seem
There are those who will lead us
Protect us each step of the way
From beginning to end
For each moment forever, each day
Such a gift has been given
It can never be taken away
Though the body in passing must leave us
There is one who remains to receive us
There are those in this life
Who are friends from our heavenly home
So I listen to the voices inside me
For I know they are there just to guide me
And my faith will proclaim, it is so
We are never alone
From the life to the light
From the dark of the night to the dawn
He is so in my heart
He is here, he could never be gone
Though the singer is silent
There still is the truth of the song
In the song
Yesterday, I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own
And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone?
Oh, why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone?
Most know Denver for being a prolific songwriter, having written 200 songs. However, he was also a pilot, and he was testing an experimental aircraft, the Long EZ N555JD, which he built.
However, Denver crashed into the Monterey Bay and died near Pacific Grove, CA. That was about a dozen years after he wrote On the Wings of A Dream. The following are the last three stanzas. Talk about haunting.
Yesterday, I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own
And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone?
Oh, why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone?
Unlike Dylan Thomas and John Denver, I have danced with death twice. I had the good fortune of leading death on the dancefloor of my life. My dances taught me a lesson about life. Everyone knows they will die sometime. Dancing with death, and you grasp that reality in your gut. You become more into living due to that experience than those who haven’t.
One other parallel between Denver and me. I was born on January 20, 1943, and John Denver was born on December 31, 1943.
Visit the On Seeing the Light page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Connecting the Dots page to read more about this topic.
Visit the “I’m Alive!” page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Dreaming Dreams page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Darkest Before Dawn page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Best and Worst of Times page to read more about this topic.
Visit the The Last Lecture page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Dancing With Death page to read more about this topic.
Visit the My Hauntings page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Living a Life Well Lived page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Gilgamesh page to read more about this topic.
Visit the Mentors and Me page to read more about this topic.
08/04/25