"Song to the Siren"

November 1970 (1970-11)

1969

3:28

Tim Buckley

Background[edit]

"Song to the Siren" was written in 1967, but Buckley was dissatisfied with early attempts at recording it. It would finally appear on his album Starsailor three years later.[3] In 1968, Buckley first performed the song solo in its original folk song style as a guest star on the series finale of The Monkees. This stands in contrast to the lusher, reverb-filled version present on the Starsailor album. The Monkees television spot features the song in the key of E major, while the album version is played in B major. The album version also features heavy reverb on the electric guitar and high-pitched background vocals, while on the earlier version Buckley's voice is accompanied only by his twelve-string acoustic guitar. The 1968 performance also features different lyrics, with the line "I am puzzled as the oyster" in the final verse being changed to "I'm as puzzled as the newborn child" in the album version. This was reportedly because when Buckley played the song to Judy Henske, wife of producer Jerry Yester, she responded to the line with laughter.[4][5]


Buckley and Beckett regarded this song as their greatest collaboration, with Beckett later stating "It's a perfect match of melody and lyrics. There was some kind of uncanny connection between us."[3]


The song's reference to the sirens tempting sailors at sea stems from Greek mythology. Its lyrical style is an example of Larry Beckett's literary inspirations, and stands in direct contrast to Buckley's own more personal writing style.[6]

Larry Beckett[edit]

Beckett wrote the lyrics to "Song to the Siren" as part of his ongoing collaboration and friendship with Buckley throughout their high school years. Beckett has been working alongside the English musician, vocalist, and songwriter Stuart Anthony in a number of guises. The collaboration with Anthony began with the Lancaster-based band The Long Lost Band in 2014 when Beckett began contributing lyrics to their work.[7] "Song to the Siren" formed part of their collaboration when Beckett visited the UK for two tour dates in 2015 – Liverpool and Lancaster.[7] The live version of the song featured a spoken word part by Beckett explaining the origin of the lyrics, which was previously included in documentary footage with the author. Subsequently, a studio version of the song was recorded in 2016 to reflect the live rendition, making this recording somewhat special as (amongst the raft of cover versions) this is the first time the lyricist has appeared on the track. The Larry Beckett and The Long Lost Band version was released online on 21 October 2016.[8][9] The song was also performed live by Stuart Anthony on the boat Odysseia, a replica Ancient Greek ship, setting sail from Lefkada. This rendition denotes a spiritual "homecoming" for the song; the surroundings being thought to be Homer's Ithaca.

"Song to the Siren"

September 1983 (1983-09)

3:30

Other versions[edit]

Various trance cover versions exist. The track "Sunrise (Here I Am)" by Ratty covered the song in 2000, as well as Vengeance featuring Clare Pearce in 2001. Lost Witness' "Did I Dream (Song to the Siren)" featuring Tracey Carmen also covered the song.


A cover of the song by Susheela Raman features on her 2001 Mercury award nominated debut album Salt Rain.


Half Man Half Biscuit performed it live on the John Peel show.


Robert Plant recorded the song on his 2002 album Dreamland.


The Czars recorded the song on their 2006 album, Sorry I Made You Cry.


English tenor Alfie Boe also covered the song alongside Robert Plant on the album Alfie in 2011.


John Frusciante also covered the song in 2009,[23] on his album The Empyrean.


Sinéad O'Connor covered the song in 2010.[24]


Brendan Perry also covered the song in 2012 performing the song live on KEXP video on YouTube.com|access=date 24th May 2024.


Bryan Ferry covered the song for his 2010 Olympia.


English rock band Wolf Alice also recorded a version in 2017.


The 2021 director's cut Zack Snyder's Justice League includes a recording of "Song to the Siren" by UK singer-songwriter Rose Betts.[25]


Third Eye Blind released a cover of the song on their 2018 EP Thanks for Everything.


George Michael released a cover of the song on his White Light (EP) on August 11, 2012


Garbage released their own cover of the song on the Lie to Me EP (2024).

Official Tim Buckley site

List of Song to the Siren covers

on YouTube

"Song to the Siren"