This website is dedicated to the memory of Thomas McCue; musician, carpenter, writer, gardener, dog-lover, neighbor, and friend. Please feel free to leave comments and stories and your remembrances of Tom below. Spread the word and get some folks to share their thoughts, too.
Recordings of Thomas’ music can be found on this page.
Send pictures and music to info@tommccue.com , and we’ll post them here.
I found this poem, and it made me think of Thomas. So long, friend.
WE MEET NEATH THE SOUNDING RAFTER
Selected Songs Sung at Harvard College From 1862 to 1866 … By William Allen Hayes
We meet ‘neath the sounding rafter
And the walls around us are bare;
As they shout to our peals of laughter,
It seems that the dead are there.
But stand to your glasses steady;
We drink to our comrade’s eyes.
Quaff a cup to the dead already,
And hurrah for the next that dies!
Not here are the goblets glowing;
Not here is the vintage sweet;
‘Tis cold as our hearts are growing,
And dark as the doom we meet.
But stand to your glasses steady;
And soon shall our pulses rise.
One cup to the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
Not a sigh for the lot that darkles;
Not a tear for the friends that sink;
We’ll fall midst the wine cup’s sparkles,
As mute as the wine we drink.
So stand to your glasses steady;
‘Tis this that the respite buys.
One cup for the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
Time was when we frowned at others;
We thought we were wiser then;
Ha ha let them think of their mothers
Who hope to see them again.
No: stand to your glasses steady;
The thoughtless are here the wise.
A cup for the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
There’s many a hand that’s shaking;
There’s many a cheek that’s sunk;
But soon though our hearts are breaking,
They ll burn with the wine we’ve drunk.
So stand to your glasses steady;
‘Tis here the revival lies.
A cup to the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
There’s a mist on the glass congealing;
‘Tis the hurricane’s fiery breath;
And thus does the warmth of feeling
Turn ice in the grasp of death.
Ho! stand to your glasses steady;
For a moment the vapor flies.
A cup to the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
Who dreads to the dust returning?
Who sinks from the sable shore,
Where the high and haughty yearning
Of the soul shall sting no more?
No stand to your glasses steady;
The world is a world of lies.
A cup to the dead already;
Hurrah for the next that dies!
Cut off from the land that bore us;
Betrayed by the land we find
Where the brightest have gone before us,
And the dullest remain behind.
Stand, stand by your glasses steady;
‘Tis all we have left to prize.
A cup for the dead already,
And hurrah for the next that dies!
Comment by Sean M — November 12, 2008 @ 10:07 am
Here’s the notice from the Mount Desert Islander. Thanks to Erin and Michelle for organizing the service. Many people turned out for a touching remembrance of our good friend Thomas.
From The Mount Desert Islander:
THOMAS MCCUE
Friday, November 21, 2008
BAR HARBOR — Thomas McCue, 59, of Bar Harbor passed away Nov. 2, 2008. He was born Jan. 3, 1949 in Neptune, N.J. Thomas left the New Jersey area to travel and experience life. He spent a number of years living in New Brunswick, Canada, before coming to Maine.
Thomas arrived in Bar Harbor in the early 1990s and made it his home. Many people here over the years became an important part of his “Bar Harbor” family. Thomas worked for many years as a carpenter working for others as well as himself.
He had a love of animals, especially his beloved dog. He also enjoyed cooking, gardening but his true passion was music. Thomas was a gifted songwriter and singer. His amazing voice entertained many through the years. He could often be heard playing at local spots such as the Thirsty Whale, Lompoc Café, Donahues and Carmen Verandah. He loved to share his music and would often get together with close friends to play. His voice will continue to be heard as friends enjoy and play his two CDs, “Criminal Mischief and “Shades and Blinds.” Thomas was especially honored when asked to open for “HOT TUNA” at the Criterion Theatre in 2001. Thomas’ love for reading often brought him to the local library.
A memorial service to celebrate Thomas’s life will be held at the Lompoc Café on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. Those who wish to make a donation in Thomas’s name can do so to the Jesup Memorial Library c/o Nancy Howland, 34 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor Maine 04609.
Click here for the original notice.
Comment by Sean M — November 21, 2008 @ 7:08 pm
I knew Tom through the ’70s. For a while we worked in the Shades and Blinds department of Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, VA. Thus the title of the song and album. During those years, I saw Tom nearly every day and most evenings. We spent every Saturday night discovering wine, several bottles at a time. He moved to Cambridge, MA, and then the Northampton, MA area. Then, I lost touch. He was a great friend. I have missed him for many years and am deeply saddened to learn of his death. I only “found” Tom again because of this page, and this page exists only because he is gone. Tom would have been amused. I would be interested in learning the cause and circumstances of his death.
Comment by STEVEN BARTH — November 11, 2011 @ 6:51 pm
Thank you for posting this, Steven. I always wondered about that Shades and Blinds reference. I knew he used it as a metaphor but I didn’t know it was a job for a while. I’ll email you the details. Sean
Comment by admin — January 19, 2016 @ 6:42 pm
Along with Tom, Steve and I made up the triumvirate known
as Shades and Blinds. The three of us spent days and most every night together; Tom and I lived together for a while in Richmond and Northampton MA before he left – I never saw him again.
As Steve indicted we were very close and I too have missed him over these many years.
I’m happy he had so many loved ones at the end
-Alfred Rucker
Comment by Alfred Rucker — June 13, 2018 @ 1:19 pm