I love epic poems. Sweeping epics like The Song of Roland, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Beowulf recount the highs and lows of fascinating people in fantastic places. While many epic poems come to us from long dead poets writing in long-ago times, there are still modern interpretations of the epic poem, many of which are set to music. Singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh is a modern example of the traditional troubadour, whose songs Don’t Pay the Ferryman, Spanish Train, Natasha Dance and others tell epic tales of love, loss and sometimes even the supernatural.
Today I’m sharing another modern interpretation of the epic poem, this time brought to us by an offbeat band from Portland, Oregon (yay Portland!!) called The Decemberists.
The Mariner’s Revenge tells the tale of a young man who swears revenge on the cad who broke his poor widow’s mother’s heart, left her destitute, and ruined their lives. It’s sweeping, it’s brutal, it’s ridiculously catchy, and it’s downright fantastic.
I’ll just share the first verse of the poem here, and you’ll just have to listen to the rest of the song to here the rest of this dark and delightful tale.
The Mariner’s Revenge
We are two mariners,
Our ships’ sole survivors,
In this belly of a whale.
Its ribs our ceiling beams,
Its guts our carpeting,
I guess we have some time to kill.
A fan made this fantastic animated video to accompany the song, which perfectly complements this epic tale of loss and revenge.
Happy Friday, friends, and may all your revenge be served cold!
Hoping to have time to watch every part of this, Jane. But I watched the beginning. New to me, and lots of fun to imagine revenge coming!
What fun! Thanks for the trip to the high seas this week, Jane, and for introducing me to the Decemberists!
I had a whale of a good time here today, Jane! Thanks for the epic entertainment. 😉
Enchanting see shanty Jane, most fitting for our times, thanks!
That was epic, all right! Very catchy. I agree with Michelle – very fitting for our current time.
Wow! This is an awesome poem and song! There’s something about epic poems that is so timeless and–vast. And this one is wonderfully vengeful–and the music is great, too.
The Decembrists are one of my younger kid’s favorite bands. I’m off to send her a link to this!
WOW – I was just telling a friend of mine about this song last week! What a great album, too…all the songs are intriguing, melodic stories like this – although this one is definitely the most ‘epic!’