Three Wishes
For mezzo-soprano and piano
The Three Wishes song cycle revolves around an outside perspective on the decline and subsequent loss of someone diagnosed with a terminal disease. The three wishes are three things that could be longed for during the different stages of a grieving process.
The wish in “I thought that it would rain today” is for relief from pain. The text likens the chronic pain experienced by palliative patients to the unbearable summer heat and pleads for the relief that only the night (or death) can bring. The relentless piano, angular vocal line, and minor key in the first half of the song contrast the flowing, gentle melodies and the major key that evokes the comfort of the night.
The wish in “When your stars fall like raindrops” is for connection. This song begins with the speaker seeing a sign in the sky from a deceased loved one. As the signs from above slowly dwindle, the speaker hopes that their loved one is still with them, even when they do not see a reminder of them in the sky. At the beginning of the song, the piano is particularly active. Its motion is gradually reduced as the song continues, paralleling how the falling stars disappear.
The wish in “Dancing up there” is for acceptance. In this song, the speaker envisions a place where they and their loved one are content. They have realized that a connection can still be maintained between them, even though they are separated. The piano line begins as a waltz, but the frequent meter changes between 3/4 and 6/8 time keep the music moving forward. The interplay between the voice and the piano is a reflection of the interaction between the speaker and their loved one.
For inquiries about this song cycle, please contact me
Three Wishes
Gina Friedrich
1. I thought that it would rain today
I thought that it would rain today, but the clouds have left the sky.
The earth would weep for water if she had tears to cry.
The heat is unrelenting; it brings us to our knees.
The wind is gasping for breath, too tired to shake the trees.
We can’t find salvation when even the shadows have fled.
So, like the mighty sunflowers, we hang our weary heads.
I wish that I could guard you from the pain that’s yet to come.
How can I stand against the storm when I can’t shield you from the sun?
With dew, I would anoint you; let it soothe your teary eyes.
But you can’t find relief in a river that runs dry.
Hold on, the evening rises; a breath of wind breaks through.
Rest in the arms of twilight and slip into the new.
2. When your stars fall like raindrops to meet me
When your stars fall like raindrops to meet me,
I won’t wish, for it will not come true.
For if I were to wish on the stars as they dance,
I’d wish you were here watching them too.
But when stardust is no longer falling,
when I gaze at the skies all alone
at all of the stars that appear in the night,
I hope you’re the light guiding me home.
When the heavens are shrouded in shadow,
when the stars do not vanquish the dark,
when nothing remains, to the Father I pray:
may your image remain in my heart.
3. Dancing up there
I’m dancing with daisies tucked into my hair.
the wind and I waltz as you watch from up there.
Your feet in the clouds and mine wet with dew,
we’ll sway with the leaves at this concert for two.
Our music will echo the humming of bees;
the crickets will sing with a tune from the trees.
I’ll send forth a bird to carry my song,
and our voices joined will awaken the dawn.
As light fills the valley, the dark starts to shine.
The fog fades away as the heavens align.
The earth and the sky will gather in prayer,
‘cause I’m dancing down here and you’re dancing up there.
Gina Friedrich 