A dirge is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. The English word dirge is derived from the Latin Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam ("Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God"), the first words of the first antiphon in the Matins of the Office for the Dead, created on basis of (5:9 in Vulgate). The original meaning of dirge in English referred to this office.