When I go to appointments at the cancer centre I notice that I’m surrounded by women in my own fortysomething age range. However, many of them are not patients themselves, they are there as caregivers and are accompanying a cancer stricken elderly parent. Sometimes as I walk in with my support person, my healthy and totally independent 72-year-old mother, I feel bitter and confused at our obvious role reversal. All at once I’m aware of how much the relationships in my life have changed since my diagnosis. Cancer has made me more dependent on family members, a multitude of health care workers and a number of government agencies. Throughout my ordeal there have been lonely days when I’ve yearned for a larger family or an abundance of close friends. Above all having a chronic illness has shown me what it’s truly like to be forced to rely on other individuals and revealed to me who is willing to stand by me in my time of greatest need.

Sometimes music helps me to deal with certain emotions that I’m feeling. Well before I was diagnosed with cancer or felt its harsh social and financial impact, God Bless the Child by the legendary Billie Holiday was one of my favorite songs. But lately both the powerful lyrics and her exquisite delivery keep going through my mind. God Bless the Child extols self-reliance while it condemns those who ignore us, repudiate us or treat us as inferior when we are unable to be self-sufficient. In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues Holiday indicated an argument with her mother over money led to the song. Apparently during the argument she said the line “God bless the child that’s got his own.” Anger over the incident led her to turn that line into a starting point for a song, which she worked out in conjunction with Arthur Herzog. In his 1990 book Jazz Singing, Will Friedwald describes the work as “sacred and profane” as it references the Bible while indicating that religion seems to have little or no effect in making people treat each other better. Sadly, Billie Holiday was only 44 when she died—she had fought a long, terrible battle with alcohol and drug addiction.

God Bless the Child

Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.

Them that’s got shall get
Them that’s not shall lose
So the Bible said and it still is news
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own

Yes, the strong gets more
While the weak ones fade
Empty pockets don’t ever make the grade
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own

Money, you’ve got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you’re gone, spending ends
They don’t come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don’t take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own

Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own
He just worry ’bout nothin’
Cause he’s got his own

Billie Holiday