Today, the subject is Lovecraftian music.
These days, it seems that any "dark" band - anyone operating in Metal, Goth, Industrial or Dark Ambient - will drop some Lovecraft references into their material. Metallica have produced two Lovecraftian songs, just to take an example. In fact, there is so much Lovecraftian music out there that a whole book, The Strange Sound of Cthulhu, has been written about the subject.
But long before Metallica got their start, there was a band which perhaps paid the ultimate tribute to the Gentleman of Providence – by naming their band after him.
While it would be unfair to say that H.P. Lovecraft was a great band, they came up with some quite good tunes, heavily influenced by the psychedelic rock in vogue at the time.
Their stand-out track for Lovecraftian buffs should, without a doubt, be the song “The White Ship”, which is a small gem of dark, dreamy psychedelia. It does a good job of evoking the qualities of the original story, and in a time where bands seem to be attracted to Lovecraft for the cosmic horror and monsters, it is a gentle reminder that Lovecraft’s stories offer much more than this.
Oh, and how often do you hear songs that feature an antique ship’s bell? (The one used in “The White Ship” is from 1811).
Here's a rather charming recording.
The White Ship
The white ship has sailed and left me here again
Out in the mist, I was so near again
Sailing on the sea of dreams
How far away it seems
Sailing upon the white ship
Home through the night here in my darkened room
Sails of white across the misty moon
Floating across the sky
Burning into my eye
Sailing upon the white ship
Out of my mind nothing flows
Alone on the shore, but that's how it goes
Everyone knows
How the wind blows
The white ship
Out of my mind nothing flows
Alone on the shore, but that's how it goes
Everyone knows
How the wind blows
The white ship
The white ship has sailed and left me here again
Out in the mist, I was so near again
Sailing on the sea of dreams
How far away it seems
Sailing upon the white ship
Sailing upon the white ship
Sailing upon the white ship
How interesting!
ReplyDeleteI purchased the first H.P. Lovecraft album back in the late 1960's when I was living in Auckland, New Zealand. Needless to say my favourite song was 'The White Ship'. I also really liked 'Wayfaring Stranger' and 'Gloria Patria' (an early introduction via Psychedelia to sacred chant).
In 1971 I moved to Wellington to attend a Pentecostal Christian theological college. One evening the leaders of the college held a book-burning session around a flaming 200 litre drum. The students were urged to burn anything that may have been regarded as heretical or "evil". I was dubious but felt compelled to go along with this modern-day auto-da-fé. So I took my treasured "evil" psychedelic rock album- HP Lovecraft- and cast it into the flames, an action I have regretted ever since. I was eventually expelled from the college because my hair was too long!
Needless to say I eventually "saw the light" and have given Christianity a wide berth ever since.
That's quite the anecdote! Despite being an Atheist myself (I suspect it's incurable), I am quite interested in Christianity, and Pentecostalism has been one of my favourite subjects.
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