“Safe home,
sweet light, no longer of this world
On
wings, safe and sound you are carried
No
longer casting shadows, no longer counting days
You are
love and you are loved always”
My friend Laura Smith wrote “Sweet Home, Sweet Light” as a farewell song to a brother and an old
friend after losing both around the same time in July 2012. Last night, I was deeply saddened to learn, via an
email from Ross MacDonald, that Laura “passed
away peacefully in her home surrounded by love, joy, music and compassion from
her family of friends in Mahone Bay,” and immediately went to her album Everything is Moving to find comfort in her voice, her music, and particularly in the
words of that poignant and beautiful song. Laura was 11 days shy of her 68th
birthday.
This news was not unexpected. Just a couple of
months ago, Laura was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and elected to
receive palliative care at home. With the support of friends and fans from near
and far, she was able to spend her final weeks peacefully reading so many
messages from those who loved her. On February 15, she spoke so bravely on the
phone with Chris White on CKCU’s Canadian Spaces about her “life
challenging” situation. But, still, this news was hard.
In the 1990s, Laura’s recordings were staples on
the Folk Roots/Folk Branches radio show I hosted on CKUT in Montreal. Her
reimagined version of the traditional “My Bonny” was one of the most requested
songs on the show. I met Laura for the first time in 1997 when she was my guest
on the show. It took only one conversation to form a bond of friendship with
her. After I moved to Ottawa, I was honoured, in 2013 and 2015, that Laura
asked me to MC both of her concerts at the National Arts Centre.
 |
| Chris White, Laura Smith & Mike Regenstreif at the National Arts Centre (2013) |
Laura overcame a number of difficult struggles in
her life – struggles that she faced with much grace and dignity. Although she
has left this earthly life, she will live on in the beautiful, elegant and
timeless songs she left behind.
“Safe home,
sweet heart, no longer beating here
Your
life is but a whisper to my sorrow
But
time does not confine you now, my spirits I must raise
You are
love and you are loved always
You are
love, you are love, you are loved always
Safe home,
sweet light, no longer shining here
Though
your joy is now a beacon for the weary
Never
more to shed a tear, never more to feel alone
You are
love and you are loved, you’re home
You are
love and you are loved, you’re home…home…
Home”
Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif
And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
–Mike Regenstreif
