The violets adorned her, and wishers would mourn for hours/ 
but fountains of joy have hollowed her eyes.

Rose Chronicles “Awaiting Eternity” is an obscure song by- and it will not appear on other top 500 lists, but you’ll find it belongs here. The song is haunting and beautiful. The lyrics are purposely obscured, but we know the song is about a woman dying or dead. I am not sure it really matters. The experience I have listening to this song is similar to an opera- you can appreciate it without knowing the words.

“Awaiting Eternity” might have the largest vocal range of any in pop or rock. It is not a sing-along. It sounds like a typical rock song until Kristy Thirsk decides to hit the high notes. They are insane. They don’t sound gratuitous-like those crazy ‘runs’ you find in Mariah Carey songs. These sound like the woman is being vaulted into eternity propelled by the emotion escaping from Thirsk’s voice!

Awaiting Eternity Lyrics

A violent encounter
The red sky was bleeding
Glimpses of heaven
In sections of seven
Awaiting eternity

The violets adorned her
And wishers would mourn for hours
But fountains of joy
Have hollowed her eyes

Soul bound in my body
My eyes are broken windows
Go inside of me
Awaiting eternity

Her breath was all given
And torn by a living heartache
Who’s choking despair
Wrenched with claws she could not bear
Awaiting eternity

Her death withdrew sunshine
Now drops of the separation
Find sharp, jagged mountains
To echo her cries

Soul bound in my body
My eyes are broken windows
Go inside of me
Awaiting eternity

written by: Kristy Thirsk / Judd Cochrane / Richard Maranda / Steven Van Der Woerd