Loreena McKennitt’s version of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Lady of Shalott” is my favourite so far. The story of Lady of Shalott has always been one of my favourite Arthurian myths, and I think Loreena McKennitt’s voice and style of music goes perfectly with the general feel of the story.
On either side of the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the Wold and meet the sky; And thro’ the field the road run by To many-towered Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The Island of Shalott.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver Thro’ the wave that runs for ever By the island in the river Flowing down to Camelot. Four grey walls, and four grey towers, Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle embowers The Lady of Shalott.
Only reapers, reaping early, In among the bearded barley Hear a song that echoes cheerly Down to Tower’d Camelot; And by the moon the reaper weary, Piling sheaves in uplands airy, Listening, whispers “Tis the Fairy The Lady of Shalott.”
There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott.
And moving through a mirror clear That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear. There she sees the highway near Winding down to Camelot; And sometimes thro’ the mirror blue The Knights come riding two and two. She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott.
But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror’s magic sights, For often thro’ the silent nights A funeral, with plumes and lights And music, went to Camelot; Or when the moon was overhead, Came two young lovers lately wed. “I am half sick of shadows,” said The Lady of Shalott.
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, He rode between the barley sheaves, The sun came dazzling thro’ the leaves, And flamed upon the brazen greaves Of bold Sir Lancelot. A red-cross knight for ever kneel’d To a lady in his shield, That sparkled on the yellow field, Beside remote Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow’d; On burnish’d hooves his war-horse trode; From underneath his helmet flow’d His coal-black curls as on he rode, As he rode down to Camelot. From the bank and from the river He flashed into the crystal mirror, “Tirra lirra” by the river Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro’ the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look’d down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack’d from side to side; “The Curse is come upon me,” cried The Lady of Shalott.
And down the river’s dim expanse Like some bold seer in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance– With a glassy countenance did she look to Camelot. And at the closing of the day She loosed the chain, and down she lay; The broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott.
Heard a carold, mournful, holy, Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, Till her blood was frozen slowly, And her eyes were darkened wholly, Turn’d to tower’d Camelot. For ere she reach’d upon the tide The first house by the water-side, Singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott.
Under tower and balcony, By garden-wall and gallery, A gleaming shape she floated by, Dead-pale between the houses high, Silent into Camelot. Out upon the wharfs they came, Knight and burger, lord and dame, And round the prow they read her name, The Lady of Shalott.
Who is this? And what is here? And in the lighted palace near Died the sound of royal cheer; And they crossed themselves for fear, All the knights at Camelot; But Lancelot mused a little space He said, “She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott….
Due to the recent collection of hurricanes in my life, both the happy and the sad ones, I hadn’t even found the chance to sit down and listen to the new albums from some of my favourite musicians with any form of an actual focus. Well, today I finally did! Starting with the new album by Aleksi Eeben, called “Various Secret Continents“.
I had listened to single tracks from this album as they were being released, and was very much looking forwards to listening to the outcome as a whole. And the whole is indeed pretty awesome! I like every “Salamander” in there 😉 , but if I were to choose a favourite, it would definitely be the “Sun Salamander”. That track is just… beautiful, I love the melody! I also very much like the “Continental Salamander”, and the bonus track “The Grand Rules” is also very interesting. But again, if you’re checking out the album, which you most certainly should, make sure to listen to all the Salamanders from beginning to the end, in order to experience the full effect. =)
Also, do not forget to read the story of Salamanders here. It’s extremely neat! =) You can download the album from the same page as well. I only wish that the album was available as a CD too! Would have loved to have the story in a CD booklet. =)
Couple of days ago someone called me “Queen of exceptions”. For some reason it reminded me of this song that I’ve always loved…
Taking on water, Sailing a restless sea From a memory, A fantasy. The wind carries Into white water, Far from the islands. Don’t you know you’re Never going to get to France. Mary, Queen of Chance, will they find you? Never going to get to France. Could a new romance ever bind you? Walking on foreign ground, Like a shadow, Roaming in far off Territory. Over your shoulder, Stories unfold, you’re Searching for sanctuary. You know you’re Never going to get to France… I see a picture By the lamp’s flicker. Isn’t it strange how Dreams fade and shimmer? Never going to get to France… I see a picture By the lamp’s flicker. Isn’t it strange how Dreams fade and shimmer? Never going to get to France… Never going to get to France. Never going to… Never going to get to France. Never going to… Never going to get to France. Never going to…
I wonder why I’m not hearing more noise about this movie. Has anyone seen it yet? I’m beginning to worry that this movie may just not be receiving the attention it bloody well deserves!
A few days ago we went to see the first part of the Legend of the Guardians. Well, to be more precise I took my mom to see it, due to her affection for owls. =D [For anyone who may not know, the relationship between my mom and owls is something like the one between me and the colour blue! 😉 ]. And of course being a real fantasy genre enthusiast, I totally had to see it too. [In 3D, obviously! =P]
Turns out, this is one of the cutest movies I’ve ever seen! Owls are beautiful animals, and I’m glad someone finally did something right with that! The characters of the movie are positively adorable! <3 <3 There’s tons of beautiful scenery, and the plot is quite a nice one too, if not terribly sophisticated. I’m definitely a fan, and will certainly go to see the next parts when they’re made. =)
I would imagine most of you have already heard this song since it was composed for the 2008 “Where the hell is Matt” clip. But I also think that the clip’s sheer amusement, causes the music not to shine as much as it might, if you’re listening to it with closed eyes. So yes, I recently re-discovered “Praan” by “Garry Schyman”, featuring the beautiful voice of “Palbasha Siddique”. The music takes my breath away, and the lyrics that are in fact from a poem by “Rabindranath Tagore”, are truly divine.
Lyrics & Translation:
Praan [Bangali]
Bhulbona ar shohojete Shei praan e mon uthbe mete Mrittu majhe dhaka ache je ontohin praan
Bojre tomar baje bashi She ki shohoj gaan Shei shurete jagbo ami
Bojre tomar baje bashi She ki shohoj gaan Shei shurete jagbo ami
Stream of Life [English]
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.
I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.
It’s been yet another silent period due to my extreme lack of time, and what better reason to break this silence than to… well, LETS TALK ASD! =D The new ASD demo by the name “Happiness is Around the Bend” was released yesterday at the Assembly 2010 demo party. And early this morning I got the happy news that the demo has in fact won 1st place! =D YAAAAAAAAAAY!
I’ve been experiencing a bit of a mental struggle over which one of the ASD demos is my favourite, and it’s a tie between Life Force and Happiness. I finally decided to leave it at that. It’s just a tie. I can’t like either one of the 2 more than the other, and that’s just the way it’s going to be. =D Where Life Force made my heart explode out of my chest and brought tears to my eyes, Happiness made me jump around and throw my fists in the air. On one hand I think the 2 demos are too different to be able to make a comparison, on the other hand they’re too connected to make a comparison! It’s like they’re the 2 sides of the same coin… So, watch the new demo and decide for yourself.
Oh, and… ehmmm…. well…. I just have got to say this since Soren mentioned something to me… [fair warning: brash opinionated remark following], in case you’ve been reading Pouet threads… don’t let certain comments about the music bias your opinion. aMUSiC and Leviathan have done an otherworldly beautiful job with the music. Big Kudos to them both. <3 <3 =)
Of course there were a few more demos in ASM this year that really took my breath away. I will post about them next…..
Hey, I'm Aasemoon, and this is my blog which has been around since 1998. Childhood toy project that ended up growing up with me.
You can reach me here:
aasemoon.blue
Zorbas is my kitten. You can see some pictures of him below. =)
this movie. Has anyone seen it yet? I’m beginning to worry that this movie may just not be receiving the attention it bloody well deserves! 
reason to break this silence than to… well, LETS TALK ASD! =D The new ASD demo by the name “Happiness is Around the Bend” was released yesterday at the Assembly 2010 demo party. And early this morning I got the happy news that the demo has in fact won 1st place! =D YAAAAAAAAAAY! 
