Well, this is way off herbalism and I thought I'd give you all a rest!

Do you know where the military “taps” that we hear at funerals for those who at one time served in the military, came from or what the words are? Many people don't, and I would like to share with you what I read , about twenty years ago, in a local newspaper ,written by a local historian.

The “taps” song came out of the Civil War. In 1862, a Captain in the Union forces ,heard during the night, the moans of a person. He had no idea if the person was of the Confederate or Union army, but, he crawled over and pulled the man over out of danger, only to find the man died. Also, the man was of the Confederate army and when the captain shined a light on the man's face, he discovered that the man was his own son!

The young man had been studying music in the south when war broke out and without telling his father, had enlisted in the Confederate army. On his person was a piece of paper with musical notes. Heartbroken, the father asked for permission from his superiors to give his son a military burial despite his enemy status and asked that the musical notes be played. Thus, what we know today as the “taps”. Here are the words:

Day is done/Gone the sun/From the lakes/From the hills/From the skies/All is well/Safely rest/God is nigh.

Fading light/Dims the sight/And a star/Gems the sky/Gleaming bright/From afar/Drawing nigh/Falls the night.

Thanks and praise/ For our days/Neath the sun/Neath the stars/Neath the sky/As we go/This we know/God is nigh.

The words were nothing like what I had thought they would be. Glad to share them with you!