August 22 is World Folklore Day, based on a letter from August 22, 1846 where the word “folklore” was used for the first time to describe oral stories that are passed down through generations. These stories usually have an interesting cast of characters often involving animals, and provide wisdom and morals to all who listen. Folk tales and myths have since been put to paper, traveling beyond their countries of origin to inspire writers, artists, and musicians all over the world. In honor of this day, here are only four of many songs inspired by folklore.
Celebrate World Folklore Day With These Inspiring Songs
“Like Real People Do” — Hozier
Hozier has explained this song briefly in the past, stating that it is about “somebody digging somebody up from the earth and falling in love with them,” as he allegedly told MTV News. It has also been claimed that he was inspired by the poetry of Seamus Heaney, particularly his poems about the Northern Ireland bogs and the folklore of the people who live there. Heaney wrote a series of bog poems stretching over three collections.
In a post on Reddit asking about what drew him to Heaney’s bog poems, Hozier replied, “I kind of liked the imagery of someone digging up a person from the earth and falling in love with them and at the same time I suppose that person being dug from the earth is relieved, reborn, and somewhat suspicious of the motives of a grave digger. A fine love story.”
Notably, the poem “Punishment” touches on the digging-up-and-falling-in-love aspect of “Like Real People Do.” Heaney wrote, “I can see her drowned / body in the bog, / the weighing stone, / the floating rods and boughs / Under which at first / she was a barked sapling / that is dug up, / oak-bone, brain-firkin.” While the poem as a whole details a woman who has been stoned to death, Heaney also added, “I almost love you / but would have cast, I know, / the stones of silence.” Other poems that touch on these themes are “Bog Queen” and “The Grauballe Man.”
“Crane Wife 1 & 2” — The Decemberists
“Crane Wife 1 & 2” is based off of Japanese folklore. In the story, called “Tsuru no Ongaeshi,” a man finds a wounded crane in the snow, takes it home, and cares for it until it is healthy again. The man releases the crane, but it soon comes back in the form of a woman offering to be the man’s wife. This is illustrated in the lyrics, “My crane wife arrived at my door in the moonlight / All star-bright and tongue-tied I took her in / We were married and bells rang sweet for our wedding / And our bedding was ready when we fell in.”
The story continues, and the crane wife begins weaving beautiful fabrics that bring in plentiful coin to her household. However, her husband is not allowed to be in the same room with her while she is weaving. Eventually, when he gets greedy and suspicious, he peeks at her while she is weaving. At the loom, he finds the crane plucking its own feathers to make thread. The crane wife leaves the man and never returns, stated in the lines, “Sound the keening bell / And see it’s painted red / Soft as fontanelle / The feathers and the thread / All I ever meant to do was keep you.”
The song ends with the haunting lines, “There’s a bend in the wind and it rakes at my heart / There is blood in the thread and it rakes at my heart / It rakes at my heart / My crane wife.”
“Mordred’s Lullaby” — Heather Dale
From Heather Dale’s 2000 album The Trial of Lancelot, which contains many songs based on myth and folklore, “Mordred’s Lullaby” in particular focuses on the Arthurian legend of Mordred. Mordred is Morgana’s son, who is the half-sister of King Arthur. Morgana tricks Arthur into thinking she is Guinevere, and they beget Mordred. Eventually, Mordred wounds Arthur in battle, and while Mordred is killed, Arthur is sent to the otherworldly island of Avalon.
“Mordred’s Lullaby” takes Morgana’s perspective as she prepares her son for what he must do. In the 13th century telling La Morte d’Arthur, Mordred survives Arthur’s attempts to kill him as a newborn and later joins Arthur’s Round Table knights, not knowing his true heritage. When he does eventually find out, he conspires against Arthur and makes himself a high king of Britain, which leads to their final battle against each other.
Dale sings, “Guileless Son, I’ll shape your belief / And you’ll always know that your father’s a thief / And you won’t understand the cause of your grief / But you’ll always follow the voices beneath,” painting the picture of Morgana twisting her son’s mind against Arthur.
“Reynadine” — Carolina Chocolate Drops
“Reynadine” by the Caroline Chocolate Drops is potentially based on the poem “Reynardine” by Irish poet Joseph Campbell, written in 1909. However, the character of Reynardine goes back to folklore of the 1800s. Reynardine was a were-fox who stole young women away to his castle, though their fate was often left vague.
In this version of the song, the perspective is from someone watching a woman being seduced by Reynardine (in the lyrics, however, it is spelled Reynadine). Rhiannon Giddens opens the song with, “One evening as I rambled among the springing thyme / I overheard a young woman conversing with Reynadine.” The song pulls lyrics from the Campbell poem, such as the line, “‘If by chance you look for me, I fear you’ll not me find / I’ll be in my castle, inquire for Reynadine.’”
Overall, this likely-Victorian-era story, and the subsequent versions of songs and poems that followed, served as a warning to young women. It’s a useful one that has merit even in today’s society: be wary of strange men.
Featured Image by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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