The soldier's father read the poem on BBC radio in 1995 in remembrance of his son, who had left the poem among his personal effects in an envelope addressed 'To all my loved ones'. : 426 A common reading at funerals and remembrance ceremonies, the poem was introduced to many in the United Kingdom when it was read by the father of a soldier killed by a bomb in Northern Ireland. After hearing John Wayne's reading, script writer John Carpenter featured the poem in the 1979 television film Better Late Than Never. John Wayne read the poem 'from an unspecified source' on Decemat the memorial service for film director Howard Hawks. Each line is in iambic tetrameter, except for lines five and seven, the fifth having an extra syllable, the seventh, two extra. The poem is twelve lines long, rhyming in couplets. : 427–8 Original version īelow is the version published in The Gypsy of December 1934 (page 16), under the title 'Immortality' and followed by the author's name and location: 'CLARE HARNER, Topeka, Kan.' : 424 The indentation and line breaks are as given there. However, Pauline Phillips and her daughter Jeanne Phillips, writing as Abigail van Buren, repeatedly confessed to their readers that they could not confirm who had written the popular poem. In her obituary, she asserted that her authorship was 'undisputed' and confirmed by Dear Abby. She was first wrongly cited as the author of the poem in 1983. : 423 The most notable claimant was Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905–2004), who often handed out xeroxed copies of the poem with her name attached. The poem is often attributed to anonymous or incorrect sources, such as the Hopi and Navajo tribes. They moved to San Francisco where she continued to work as a journalist for Fairchild Fashion Media. She married a Marine named David Lyon, and appended his last name to hers. Several of her other poems were published and anthologized. Harner earned a degree in journalism at Kansas State University. It was soon reprinted in the Kansas City Times and the Kansas City Bar Bulletin. Harner's poem quickly gained traction as a eulogy and was read at funerals in Kansas and Missouri. It was written shortly after the sudden death of her brother. Kansas native Clare Harner (1909–1977) first published 'Immortality' in the December 1934 issue of poetry magazine The Gypsy.

Often now used is a slight variant: 'Do not stand at my grave and weep'. ' Do not stand by my grave and weep' is the first line and popular title of the bereavement poem ' Immortality', written by Clare Harner in 1934. Watch the world go by in silence Deep in the night in silence Time going by so slow I think about the morning And it warns my heart Because tonight I'm going back to the one i love And by tomorrow with the dawn I'll be there And he'll be beside me Sunlight, oh, sunlight Bring me the love I'll need to guide me Shining deep inside of me Sunlight, oh, sunlight Show me the way I look at the stars and i pray for morning Counting the hours till morning Thinking about his smile His sweet smile I'm standing on a promise of a brand new day I couldn't face another night staying home alone I know he needs me just as much as i need him So, baby, I'm coming home Sunlight, oh, sunlight Bring me the love I'll need to guide me Shining deep inside of me Sunlight, oh, sunlight Show me the way Ooh ohhhhh, yeah And I won't let him I won't let him let me go, no no no No more running from his side I'm gonna stay right by his side He's my laughter, my lover, my life He's my sunlight Sunlight, oh, sunlight Show me the way to a brighter day Sunlight, oh, sunlight Bring me the love I'll need to guide me Shining deep inside of me Sunlight, oh, sunlight Show me the way to a brighter day Oh, sunlight, oh, sunlight Bring me the love I'll need to guide me Shining deep inside of me Sunlight, oh, sunlight Show me the way.The poem on a gravestone at St Peter’s church, Wapley, England I know he needs me just as much as i need him I couldn't face another night staying home alone I'm standing on a promise of a brand new day I look at the stars and i pray for morning Because tonight I'm going back to the one i loveĪnd by tomorrow with the dawn I'll be there

Sunlight lyrics