On and On

Words and music by Kari Thomas Kovick
© 2007 Kari Thomas Kovick

Kari wrote this song when she was creating a fundraising CD for two little boys in her community who were diagnosed with brain cancer. Children from her community classes learned and recorded songs with her to support the families of these two boys. In the middle of the project, one of the boys died. He was only three and a half years old. Kari was devastated and didn’t know how to talk to her students about it. “On and On” came to her as a gift at a time when she least expected her creativity to appear.

It is hard to find songs about death that are simple enough to share with children. Kari hopes that this one can be helpful. The American Sign Language for the words “life,” “death,” “forever,” and “always” are very beautiful and fit the song perfectly. As in the verses below, the song can be adapted for various age groups and situations. Kari also uses this song in a school garden education program as part of a lesson on the life cycle.