To Have and To Hold

Music & Lyric by Ernest Ebell

Who can say how we came to be, how our lives became entwined?
Who can say how you came to me, were the stars, that night, aligned?
I don't know if there's destiny, I only know there's you and me,
And the Fates were more than kind.

To Have and To Hold, together through the years,
In sickness and in health, through laughter and through tears.
To cherish and to love, to honor you each day,
I pledge, my love, to be with you, till the stars all fade away.

Who can say what the future holds, what surprises lie in store?
Who can say what the prizes are, and what waits behind each door?
I've not been blessed with second sight, I only know that this feels right,
And our love's for evermore.

To Have and To Hold, together through the years,
In sickness and in health, through laughter and through tears.
To cherish and to love, to honor you each day.
I pledge, my love, to be with you...

Every day, I can hardly wait, to start my life with you.
And every day, as the time crawls by, there's little I can do.
So I dream of the day, the impossible comes true.
That's the day when we stand,
Side by side, hand in hand,
And I get to say, "I do."

To Have and To Hold, together through the years,
In sickness and in health, through laughter and through tears.
To cherish and to love, to honor you each day.
I pledge, my love, to be with you, till the stars all fade away...

I pledge, my love, to be with you, till the stars all fade away.

 

 

About this song:

In 2009, Ernest Ebell and Julie Haas were married.  Julie is a horn player, and she suggested that the wedding feature a brass quintet.  Further, she had a dear friend, Daniel Chaney, who was kind enough to come and sing at the wedding.  Daniel's talent had taken him to Los Angeles, where he performed with the L.A. Master Chorale and on many feature films.  [Sadly, he passed away in 2017, far too young]. With those elements in mind, "To Have and To Hold" was written for the wedding, and it was performed by Daniel Chaney, La Bella Brass Quintet, and Shel Stanfill on piano.

After the wedding, many people requested a recording of the song, so we quickly went to Darren Skanson's studio, Colorado Creative Music, to record it.

In 2020, a cousin who had been at that wedding requested a folks arrangement of the song, and in creating that, it seemed that a Country arrangement could be created.  The entire arrangement was performed, produced, and recorded by the composer.

Daniel Chaney and Ginger at CCM studio

Checking the piano part

La Bella Brass Quintet recording at CCM studio