Highwayman - Loreena Mckennit

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  • Опубліковано 1 гру 2024

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  • @my2cents2u
    @my2cents2u 7 років тому +2122

    *The Highwayman*
    Based on the much loved and beautifully heartbreaking 1906 poem (set in 18th century rural England) by Alfred Noyes.
    In 1995 it was voted 15th in the BBC's poll for "The Nation's Favourite Poems". That's pretty impressive considering the amount of poetry that has been written throughout the ages.

    • @my2cents2u
      @my2cents2u 7 років тому +131

      +Matt ~ Yet you took the time to read it, *and* reply to it. Thank you for your interest in my comment. I feel special now. :-p

    • @sirencloud8037
      @sirencloud8037 6 років тому +55

      my2cents2u
      Best part is, in middle school, like 7th grade, we went over this
      My teacher was shocked when i said that i knew it lmao

    • @trinabutler7745
      @trinabutler7745 6 років тому +9

      my2cents2u lmbo

    • @alkodjdjd
      @alkodjdjd 6 років тому +25

      Thank you for being rude for no reason

    • @09kittykatz09
      @09kittykatz09 5 років тому +11

      We had read it in high school...part of recommended reading.

  • @lordofthegoats1731
    @lordofthegoats1731 Рік тому +152

    The change of mood, both in her voice and the instrumentals when she sings "And back he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky" always gets me. Just a sense of pure grief and rage and spite. Beautifully done

    • @stevenleclair4220
      @stevenleclair4220 10 місяців тому +4

      THERE IS A BLOODY CURSE UPON THE WICKED UPON THE EARTH ITS COME😮

    • @b.r.holmes6365
      @b.r.holmes6365 9 місяців тому +9

      Her voice and lyrics are ethereal, poetic, and evocative.

    • @markdziadulewicz6160
      @markdziadulewicz6160 6 місяців тому +2

      ​@@b.r.holmes6365Well said...very evocative expressionable vocals and music. even "twinkle" has a glimmer to it...😊

    • @aarongoleman
      @aarongoleman 6 місяців тому +1

      live or die he's gonna make them pay

  • @orleansartist6095
    @orleansartist6095 2 роки тому +115

    My father sang this to me many times when I was a little girl. I'd always ask for it.
    I can never hear his voice again but this song brings back the memory.

    • @SupahCray
      @SupahCray Рік тому +7

      Aww, Bless! I hope you hear this and sing along to it, your father will watch over you and smile at the memories...have an awesome day, hun!

  • @thomasdevine867
    @thomasdevine867 4 роки тому +943

    My mother had this poem memorized. She often performed it for us kids. She was a wonderful story teller.

    • @lavenderotaku2481
      @lavenderotaku2481 4 роки тому +14

      caveman Versace
      THERE’S A BOOK?! Oh my goodness I know what I want for Christmas.
      MOM.

    • @thomasdevine867
      @thomasdevine867 4 роки тому +19

      @@lavenderotaku2481 The poem is called "The Highway Man" it's famous. Any English teacher will tell you a cheap book with this poem in its anthology. You can read the parts L.M. had to cut out.

    • @danilou7274
      @danilou7274 4 роки тому +7

      yes, my mother too :)

    • @marybarratt879
      @marybarratt879 4 роки тому +13

      How lucky to have had a mother like that. So jealous. This is such a great poem.

    • @hecatesdaughter2207
      @hecatesdaughter2207 4 роки тому +11

      I had it memorized when I was a preteen. There was a black and white movie made from it. It may have been a TV movie because I have never been able to find it and I have looked for many years.🌹🤷‍♀️

  • @meganbeshear8644
    @meganbeshear8644 8 місяців тому +24

    I cry every single time. I cried reading the poem in English Literature class in school and got teased about it...but I couldn't help it then any more than I can now. I've played/ sung this version for my grandson ever since he was a newborn, and I will get all teary while singing it still.

    • @Jestersson
      @Jestersson 2 місяці тому

      That’s beautiful to hear. I sang it to my daughter when she was a baby many a moon ago now.🥰

  • @honeyvitagliano3227
    @honeyvitagliano3227 Рік тому +59

    God I love this song, I can imagine the whole scene... We need a movie based on this poem/song😊

    • @Faerysong1
      @Faerysong1 7 місяців тому

      There is a movie made of it. I watched it when I was younger. An old black/white movie, made in 1951.

    • @mariaperezpitti7643
      @mariaperezpitti7643 6 місяців тому +2

      ​The classic cinema is the best one! Can you remember the title of the movie,please?

    • @Faerysong1
      @Faerysong1 6 місяців тому +3

      @@mariaperezpitti7643 The Highwayman, staring Philip Friend, Wanda Hendrix, and Cecil Kellaway.🙂

    • @majkus
      @majkus 27 днів тому

      There's the official music video for Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere", which has nothing to do with the song and is a good silent-movie condensation of this ballad.

  • @Feenstrod
    @Feenstrod 16 років тому +773

    Loreena is the best bard i've ever heard. She is brilliant and magical :) i love Her musical story telling :) by the way, i learn english language because of Her :) i'm Pole :)

    • @joyearls8879
      @joyearls8879 4 роки тому +15

      Michał Berliński .This is sublime , and could not be surpassed. 😊

    • @maryamwijsman9930
      @maryamwijsman9930 4 роки тому +17

      Yes she is and Michal you learnt the English language very well 👌

    • @killuazoldyck6452
      @killuazoldyck6452 4 роки тому +16

      Oh lord an 12 year-old comment. Are you doing well? Hope you do!

    • @maryamwijsman9930
      @maryamwijsman9930 4 роки тому +11

      Hi Michal, Yes she is fantastic, magical ✨
      My compliments about your English language.
      Bye Máryam

    • @txmetalhead82xk
      @txmetalhead82xk 3 роки тому +10

      Wow! I never thought of that. Bard is an apt description. Will definitely play this in the background while delving deep into the earth.

  • @tfkvng3187
    @tfkvng3187 Рік тому +13

    Idk why this popped up into my head.. My first grade teacher used to play this specific version of the poem for us in class, and it always spooked me as a kid. Now as an adult, I get it.😭😭😭😭

  • @StarchildMagic
    @StarchildMagic 2 роки тому +86

    No matter how many times I hear this story, it always makes me cry. Especially when it's Loreena Mckennit's performance of it.

    • @jamesgehring8355
      @jamesgehring8355 Рік тому +1

      I love this song!

    • @SupahCray
      @SupahCray Рік тому +1

      I always cry at the sad bits! I was gettin close to em and I said, "Yep! I can feel em comin! Here come the tears! The sadness!"

  • @caitlinbates122
    @caitlinbates122 6 років тому +777

    We listened to this during English class today. I thought it was going to be boring and annoying but boy was I wrong!!

    • @manoq4519
      @manoq4519 5 років тому +4

      Sim

    • @Cat-ec4by
      @Cat-ec4by 5 років тому +7

      Same!!! I listened to it yesterday and I love it!

    • @elirien4264
      @elirien4264 5 років тому +17

      I was introduced to it in English class too. Loved it ever since.

    • @lavenderotaku2481
      @lavenderotaku2481 4 роки тому +13

      Me too! This song is one of my favorites ever. I try to sing along, but lol my voice is nowhere near as angelic as Miss Mckennit’s.

    • @PhoenixLyon
      @PhoenixLyon 4 роки тому +8

      When set to music, poetry can become powerful. Eh? This is truly fabulous.

  • @staticfan101
    @staticfan101 12 років тому +134

    I love how the imagery in this is so strong. It's almost like I can see it unfolding right before my very eyes..

    • @ahmadyasin308
      @ahmadyasin308 3 роки тому +3

      Coz it's a poem. Unlike the songs of today, there is a meaning behind every word, a story behind every stanza. When one has such a strong command over writing, one can't help but create a masterpiece such as this.

  • @erinkelley2879
    @erinkelley2879 2 роки тому +40

    This was my favorite poem as a young girl, so romantic, so tragic. Beautifully set to music by the one and only Loreena McKennett!

    • @theunaccompaniedsenior
      @theunaccompaniedsenior 2 місяці тому

      I'm not sure this melody is original; Phil Ochs recorded this song in 1969, and I'm not sure even he was the first.

  • @palliah2
    @palliah2 16 років тому +219

    "The Highway Man" and "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" are my two favorite poems. She did this peom beautifully and brought the emotion out that was deserved.

    • @jdraze9321
      @jdraze9321 2 роки тому +1

      13 years and you never came back to respell peom... that's kinda funny lol

    • @arturjankowiak2794
      @arturjankowiak2794 Рік тому +2

      Well...as metal head I found circle for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (looks like some heavy metal songs are still keeping British legacy on and on).

  • @funkyediting9911
    @funkyediting9911 Рік тому +19

    Coming back here after so many years. Still gets chills to this day.

  • @swathisankarjm3825
    @swathisankarjm3825 3 роки тому +26

    A college boy who is now 84 still remember the riding highway and his blacked eyed bess💜....... thank u grandpa for introducing the great Alfred Noyes....🖋️

  • @pollyrg97
    @pollyrg97 5 років тому +330

    This was amazing, but I do wish they had included the verse which runs
    'The tip of one finger touched it,
    She strove no more for the rest.
    Up she stood to attention
    With the muzzle beneath her breast.'
    Bess has given up on escaping with her life: her efforts have been solely focused on gaining control of the trigger. She is fully committed to sacrificing her own life to save the man she loved. This is the moment where, her goal achieved, she is no longer helpless and must now rally her courage to follow through with her plan.

    • @constancedavis2853
      @constancedavis2853 4 роки тому +13

      I swear those verses are included on the CD I have of this.

    • @MysticDesertBreeze
      @MysticDesertBreeze 4 роки тому +10

      @@constancedavis2853 for me too! I clearly remember those lyrics. That CD is in another country at my parent's house. I wish I could go grab it right now to listen to it

    • @roguedemon100
      @roguedemon100 4 роки тому +4

      Constance Davis I know that you're right about the verses, because it's in the version that I have. I purchased it in Australia! 👍✌️

    • @meme9492
      @meme9492 4 роки тому +39

      Actually, the verse that's missing would explain why the Red Coats showed up and were waiting for him:
      ""And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
      Where Tim the ostler listened. His face was white and peaked.
      His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
      But he loved the landlord’s daughter,
      The landlord’s red-lipped daughter.
      Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-""

    • @emelless5365
      @emelless5365 3 роки тому +11

      @@meme9492 Yes, there are two verses missing.I guess the song was so long, but it's a shame about those missing verses here,especially Tim the ostler.I know this poem by heart, my Mum told me about it when I was a teenager.

  • @HammersonPeters
    @HammersonPeters 7 років тому +73

    The snare drum and the bodhran hooves are genius. Like a poem within a poem. I love it.

  • @dman1417
    @dman1417 4 роки тому +41

    There are few artists who are so skillful at creating music that conjures such vivid images. Between the lyrics and the music itself, it's like being transported into the world she sings of

  • @bkup1332
    @bkup1332 3 роки тому +17

    I've been listening to this song for 30 years and it still breaks my heart every time.

  • @wizardwarrior713
    @wizardwarrior713 3 роки тому +27

    I remember reading this poem in high school. The imagery is so strikingly vivid, from the ribbon of moonlight to even just the word “cold” on the stroke of midnight

  • @godfreycabral3312
    @godfreycabral3312 3 роки тому +133

    The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees
    The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas
    The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
    And the highwayman came riding
    Riding, riding
    The highwayman came riding up to the old inn-door
    He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin
    A coat of glaring velvet and breeches of brown doe-skin
    They fitted with never a wrinkle, his boots were up to the thigh
    And he rode with a chill and a twinkle
    His pistol butts a-twinkle
    His rapier hilt a-twinkle under the jewelled sky
    Over the cobbles, he clattered and clashed in the dark of night
    And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred
    He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
    But the landlord's black-eyed daughter
    Bess, the landlord's daughter
    Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair
    "One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight
    But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light
    Yet if they press me sharply and harry me through the day
    Then look for me by the moonlight
    Watch for me by the moonlight
    I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way"
    He rose upright in the stirrups, he scarce could reach her hand
    But she loosened her hair i' the casement, his face burnt like a brand
    As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast
    And he kissed its waves in the moonlight
    Oh, sweet waves in the moonlight
    Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight and galloped away to the west
    He did not come at the dawning, he did not come at noon
    And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon
    When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor
    A red-coat troop came marching
    Marching, marching
    King George's men came marching up to the old inn-door
    They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead
    But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed
    Two of them knelt at the casement with muskets at their side
    There was death at every window
    Hell at one dark window
    For Bess could see through the casement
    The road that he would ride
    They had tied her up to attention with many a sniggering jest
    They had bound a musket beside her with the barrel beneath her breast
    "Now keep good watch", and they kissed her
    She heard the dead man say
    "Look for me by the moonlight
    Watch for me by the moonlight
    I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way"
    She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good
    She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood
    They stretched and strained in the darkness and the hours crawled on by like years
    Till, now, on the stroke of midnight
    Cold on the stroke of midnight
    The tip of one finger touched it
    The trigger, at least, was hers
    Tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear
    Tlot-tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
    Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill
    The highwayman came riding
    Riding, riding
    The red-coats looked to their priming
    She stood up straight and still
    Tlot in the frosty silence! Tlot, in the echoing night
    Nearer he came and nearer, her face was like a light
    Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath
    Then her finger moved in the moonlight
    Her musket shot her in the moonlight
    Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death
    He turned, he spurred to the west, he did not know she stood
    Bowed with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood
    Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
    How Bess, the landlord's daughter
    The landlord's black-eyed daughter
    Had watched for her love in the moonlight and died in the darkness there
    And back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky
    With a white rope smoking behind him, and his rapier brandished high
    Blood-red were the spurs i' the golden moon, wine-red was his velvet coat
    When they shot him down on the highway
    Down like a dog on the highway
    And he lay in his blood on the highway with a bunch of lace at his throat
    Still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees
    When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas
    When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
    The highwayman comes riding
    Riding, riding
    The highwayman comes riding up to the old inn-door

    • @earthlightsmusic2743
      @earthlightsmusic2743 2 роки тому +10

      You've perfectly transcribe the poem in its abridged form. At the fourth stanza is an additional one about Tim the jealous Ostler who eavesdrops and possibly rats them out, bringing the Redcoats.

    • @jimchastain6840
      @jimchastain6840 2 роки тому +5

      she captured this moment!

    • @jacquesbrand9048
      @jacquesbrand9048 Рік тому +2

      Thank you

    • @carolmiller7089
      @carolmiller7089 Рік тому +2

      Long before Lorenna McKennit did t his I read the poem by Alfred Noyes, and loved it better than anything I had read. I loved the Highwayman. Still love him. No other man can compare.

  • @alpha1dcd
    @alpha1dcd 5 років тому +119

    "The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor" - a beautiful use of the English language.

    • @b.r.holmes6365
      @b.r.holmes6365 9 місяців тому +3

      She combines ethereal with the evocative in her prose.

    • @alpha1dcd
      @alpha1dcd 9 місяців тому

      Loreena and Alfred Noyes complement beautifully.@@b.r.holmes6365

  • @LinaBandMillie
    @LinaBandMillie 4 роки тому +19

    Love her voice so much. It is so otherworldly. The way she sings and tells the story you can see it all in your mind.

  • @bigboo2097
    @bigboo2097 4 роки тому +54

    The best song I ever heard in my life. It's long and it's story telling. Her voice is beautiful and the violin and other instruments are played so majestically

    • @bobsingh7949
      @bobsingh7949 2 роки тому

      Cool! You reeeeeally connected to this vibration via Loreena.

    • @terriejohnston8801
      @terriejohnston8801 2 роки тому

      BigBoo...ALL HER MUSICIANs. play some VERY unique instruments.@ are master musicians. .watch her live performance(s) on UA-cam. She has dozens of amazing tunes
      You will adore.

  • @oneartsygamer5146
    @oneartsygamer5146 6 років тому +563

    We listened and read this in my English class and I was about to cry and kept getting chills ;-;

  • @DanielRule
    @DanielRule 9 років тому +387

    Every Halloween I play this one and sit solo - I weep! I spill these tears hard - guessing others do the same, don't be ashamed. An awesome and powerful version of this perfect poem.

    • @baconcatfcd8118
      @baconcatfcd8118 7 років тому +3

      Daniel Rule yes I love the the poem.

    • @candee2320
      @candee2320 6 років тому +4

      My favorite poem sung by my favorite singer and I weep every time I hear it but it is so hainting and so lovely

    • @oweng3352
      @oweng3352 5 років тому +3

      Why do you do it on Halloween?

    • @angelsalazar6610
      @angelsalazar6610 5 років тому +1

      Daniel Rule I just heard this song

    • @dennyel2849
      @dennyel2849 5 років тому +2

      Yeah I cried after listening to it for the 400th time when I was in Primary 😭😭

  • @joringedamke5597
    @joringedamke5597 3 роки тому +22

    Amazing how the poem-and the song-capture the rhythm of a horse's hooves.

  • @FaerySeeker
    @FaerySeeker 5 років тому +23

    I just do not understand who could not love this song! It has such meaning ! Tells of a true love that is so rare these days.If only it was like this day and time!

  • @AnushtupHaldar
    @AnushtupHaldar Рік тому +7

    One of my favourite poems from my school days. 😊 Hearing it makes me a bit nostalgic. 😊

  • @pheenix42
    @pheenix42 15 років тому +566

    "And back he spurred like a madman,
    Screaming a curse to the sky,
    With the white road smoking behind him,
    And his rapier brandished high..."
    One of my favorite moments in this song....you can see it so clearly in your mind's eye!

  • @jenniferschweichler6773
    @jenniferschweichler6773 4 роки тому +11

    I could listen to this song over & over its so haunting & beautiful. I found myself humming it often when I traveled around the back roads of SW England when I lived there for a short few years.
    So beautiful.

  • @jaredusa
    @jaredusa 4 роки тому +10

    This song changed my life. The bottom of the glass. The bottom of experience. Thank you. It feels real, like the drops of dew on the outside of a tent in the middle of the forest. Like the bitter sweet flavor the next morning after a battle. The sharp thorn's touch after a love you don't know will ever come again.

  • @2112Zeppelin
    @2112Zeppelin 13 років тому +385

    I bet Iron Maiden could do a decent cover of this. I can hear it know "The Highwayman came riding! Riding, riding!" to that galloping guitar riff that they do so well.

    • @mizopa1530
      @mizopa1530 4 роки тому +4

      I bet they could. But would they? It may be politically incorrect (not for me personally , but that's the way it sometimes rolls)

    • @jenavevesnowolf13
      @jenavevesnowolf13 4 роки тому +22

      @@mizopa1530 Politically correct? Who gives a fuck!

    • @johnburt7935
      @johnburt7935 4 роки тому +18

      @@mizopa1530 I don't see how. Because he's a criminal? Because Bess intentionally kills herself? I don't think Iron Maiden would balk at either of those things.
      But I think they'd do better to cover Phil Ochs' earthshaking rendition. Loreena McKennitt's version is lovely, but I think the tune that Phil Ochs used would be better suited to Iron Maiden.

    • @casualrenegade8442
      @casualrenegade8442 4 роки тому +4

      Now that you say it, I couldn't imagine anyone doing a better job.

    • @calebwheeler8143
      @calebwheeler8143 4 роки тому +10

      @@mizopa1530 Of course, SOMEONE had to drag politics into this.

  • @Windjammers1
    @Windjammers1 5 років тому +176

    I always thought it was sad that she died to warn him that there was a trap for him, but he was shot down on the highway when he charged down the road toward the inn.

    • @pollyrg97
      @pollyrg97 5 років тому +96

      I always accepted it as the only fitting conclusion to the poem: she died to save him, he died seeking to avenge her, and their spirits are reunited in death. It's a sad ending, but oddly triumphant.

    • @cassyshields4530
      @cassyshields4530 4 роки тому +19

      I did too but kinda fitting I guess proved she loved him and him her you know

    • @sarahprice659
      @sarahprice659 3 роки тому +7

      Major catch-22. I like to think about a verse that has those soldiers tormented by the nightmares/ghosts until the end of their days. Working on it!

    • @krabbenkuschler306
      @krabbenkuschler306 3 роки тому +2

      @@sarahprice659 Could be a really good ending. I would love to hear/ read the verse when it's finished! 😊

    • @arnepianocanada
      @arnepianocanada 3 роки тому +3

      You were right at first. Because he learned of her death .. so torn up that he galloped uncaring right into rhe line of fire.

  • @willroberts696
    @willroberts696 4 роки тому +35

    Where has this poem been all my life!!! As a welsh man 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 poetry runs through my veins, this is just beautiful (have now read the original poem so it gives this version even more context) beautifully arranged and sung by this wonderful lady, well put together and very deep, Only criticism is the alarm/siren like sound from time to time does not go, however, massive fan here 👍

  • @karinmoore4432
    @karinmoore4432 3 роки тому +6

    When I was a toddler, my mom would read to me, at bedtime, out of the Childcraft books. The Highwayman was my favorite. So pleased to have this.

    • @dunehut
      @dunehut 9 місяців тому

      Childcraft Forever !!!!!!!🐬

  • @jakehoneycutt4210
    @jakehoneycutt4210 6 років тому +166

    I've always loved this poem ever since I was little.. She did the poem justice. Only wish she sung Tim's part as well. Other than that, this is and always will be amazing

    • @1441shotgun
      @1441shotgun 4 роки тому +3

      Who is Tim?

    • @onceuponathyme6132
      @onceuponathyme6132 4 роки тому +21

      @@1441shotgun The ostler (guy who took care of the horses) who also loved Bess and basically told that the highwayman would come back at night for Bess. That's why the Redcoats were at the inn the following day waiting to arrest/shoot the highwayman.

    • @animatesnail866
      @animatesnail866 4 роки тому +3

      @@1441shotgun You obviously haven't read the whole poem

    • @pamtheresesquizziehe
      @pamtheresesquizziehe 4 роки тому +5

      That Tim was dumb, surely jealous, but Bess would never love him anyway.

    • @svaneska
      @svaneska 4 роки тому +5

      @@onceuponathyme6132 The ostler ... "With hair like mouldy hay"! Always thought it a fitting description for such a despicable man

  • @danielyoung5137
    @danielyoung5137 4 роки тому +30

    I read this in "Children's Digest" magazine 60 years ago. At some later point l realized it was a ghost story because the last verse repeated the actions in the first verse after they were both dead.
    Celts love that stuff; same thing happens in "She Moved Through the Fair."

  • @Inqusitor_VDM
    @Inqusitor_VDM 3 роки тому +38

    "There are stories of the Dutchman, the Celeste and Barnham's Pride
    There are stories of the Horseman and the Lady at his side
    But the tale that chills my spirit, more because I know it's true
    Is the tale of Jayme Dawson and his crew
    Yes, the tale of Dawson's Christian and her crew"
    What brought me here

    • @MERLK2
      @MERLK2 3 роки тому +5

      Not many know those old filk classics or the ways on which they lead us to new & old discoveries - but ey ... welcome to the bunch.
      But you have to admit ... the story about the light cruiser that wasn`t even a match for one of its counterparts ... and what happens after ... is close enough thematically ;)

    • @ac7278
      @ac7278 3 роки тому +2

      What poem is that?

    • @MERLK2
      @MERLK2 3 роки тому +3

      @@ac7278 Its from the song Dawsons Christian - a old filk song

  • @lavenderotaku2481
    @lavenderotaku2481 4 роки тому +765

    I always visualize this story as I listen:
    A young woman works the square of the town she lives in, singing folk tales like this for money and possibly boarding if anyone will let her stay for the night
    One day, she is captured and carried off by a band of pirates, prized for her beauty; both in voice and body.
    So the captain of the ship orders this woman to sing for him and his crew, keeping her in a giant bird cage that had previously housed an Ostrich. She picks this song, knowing that any stereotypical pirate’s weakness is a riveting tale of romance, action, and tragedy.
    The first notes of this song are sung by her voice only, one crew member quickly accompanying her with a fiddle or small violin, another joining with a banjo to play the background.
    She moves through the song, twirling her long hair dramatically as she spins to face the different crew members, making facial expressions to fit the emotions of the song. Being especially intense on the second to last verse; where the Highwayman rides back in fury to avenge his dead love. As well as the scene where Bess seals her fate and warns the Highwayman of what waits for him.
    I can just imagine the scene after the song ends. Some men are crying, some are angry, and the Capitan just stares at her; fascinated.
    Hope you liked my long comment, and thanks for reading all the way to the end! Have a wonderful day/night wherever you are!

    • @johnburt7935
      @johnburt7935 4 роки тому +53

      That's a charming visualization. Hanging in an ostrich cage is quite a dramatic image. It would make quite a music video.

    • @leehaelters6182
      @leehaelters6182 4 роки тому +29

      That's some imagination you have there, Jaidin. Got us all slaverin 'bout pretty girls at the hands of pirates, and all.

    • @EsotericMedic
      @EsotericMedic 4 роки тому +20

      Jaidin Borenski You have a beautiful imagination ☺️

    • @1110-s1t
      @1110-s1t 4 роки тому +8

      @naruto tricked me sry that is what creative people do. Make connections normal people's brain don't make.

    • @jordannewilson9534
      @jordannewilson9534 4 роки тому +9

      Write a short story.

  • @skelepuns8781
    @skelepuns8781 4 роки тому +10

    I was introduced to this in my English class when I was 12 or 13 and remember loving it. I'm 18 now and this just came back to me at 3 in the morning.

  • @Andrew-Locksley691
    @Andrew-Locksley691 2 роки тому +6

    It's funny I am an American and I can relate to this poem more than most.Let me explain I grew up in Lexington Massachusetts and still live here .I am situated between the Lexington green (opening battle American Minetmen British Red coats and the Old North Bridge in Concord ma (The shot heard round the world )as many of you know this is where the American Revolution began .In fact Battle road passes in front of my house and that path is dotted with British Flags where Redcoats fell and are buried from that terrible mourning April 19 1775 Not much has changed the houses are the same and all the land is a national treasure and can't ever be built on so its just the way it was 226 years ago.on foggy nights you get a chill in the air and you can swear you hear horses galloping especially on a full moon true story.

  • @rr111111
    @rr111111 17 років тому +61

    Alfred Noyes was an englishman (like myself),he was born in Wolverhampton, England.on the 16 September 1880 he did study at Exeter college, Oxford.left without a degree.(Look him up in Google it's all there). He died in 1958. My wife incidently who's a retired English and drama teacher has a beautiful speaking voice, and when she reads poetry she plays on ones emotions and I would defie anyone to be dry-eyed after she recites "The Highwayman"
    retired

    • @mrinvader
      @mrinvader 4 роки тому +2

      LM and any of Clan Brennan could read the phonebook and raise hair on the back of my neck!!!

  • @Harlowings5
    @Harlowings5 4 роки тому +7

    I love listening to this. You can picture everything so clearly and I'm not sure how to describe the feeling when you listen to this

  • @karami8844
    @karami8844 4 роки тому +282

    Her music has captivated me since I was a pre-teen. While other girls and my friends gushed listening to Justin Timberlake and Backstreet Boys, I listened to Loreena McKennitt and Enya.

  • @terriejohnston8801
    @terriejohnston8801 2 роки тому +2

    THE AMAZING voice of an Angel..LOREENA @ HER TREMENDOUS BAND OF GYPS.., I MEAN " MUSICIANS," LOL.
    BEYOND anyone in this unique genre of music. .
    Was SUPER freaked out when i saw her live performance in Pgh..before covid hit. .Had the privilege to speak w her after the main crowd split...She was super mellow , beautiful @ sweet to me..
    Since early 80's...been
    TOTALLY into Loreena. Sorry so long here. A friend in nashville turned me on to her.
    A far- cry from country music..lol. ..
    @ i love them both.!

  • @Shwetastalkies
    @Shwetastalkies 4 роки тому +3

    I am absolutely consumer by this. Absolutely amazing..Im from.India...and addicted to the highlands and the music. Amazing

  • @christopherkerns639
    @christopherkerns639 3 роки тому +8

    There are a very few people who translate classic themes and poetry and create incredible music! Loreena has been an artist I have been enjoying since the late 80s!
    Her take on Yeats, Tennyson, not to mention Shakespeare is nothing sort of inspired!
    Personally I feel she is greatly underrated! She has set a musical standard few can or have ever or will ever achieve! She is a world treasure!

  • @MysticLunaDream
    @MysticLunaDream 3 роки тому +12

    Her music is so hauntingly beautiful and magical. It sings to my soul.

  • @PhoenixLyon
    @PhoenixLyon 4 роки тому +52

    The album version has the complete lyrics, if anyone is interested. I know there is a line about Bess's fingers being "slick with blood....the trigger at least was hers".
    I can't imagine this being as good without Loreena's voice and accent. The imagery is fabulous, and the lovers continuing after death is the perfect ending to a tragic tale...love trumping death.
    Who says romance is dead? ✌😸

    • @chrisrudolf9839
      @chrisrudolf9839 2 роки тому +6

      It is a beautiful tragic love story, though the highwayman's behavior at the end bugs me. She sacrificed herself to save his life and then he just throws his life away on a suicidal revenge rampage - that's certainly not what she wanted from him. It might have been sweet if he had disregarded the warning and charged into the fight immediately to try and save her when he just heard the shot and didn't know that she was already dead. But doing this only after he fled and later heard what happened just seems a poor way to honour her sacrifice. Yeah, I get it, he loves her so much he can't live without her and it's a tale about star-crossed lovers, so they both need to die, but still ...

  • @gilsonteixeira370
    @gilsonteixeira370 6 років тому +70

    I love it because it has lots of figurative language in it like this one “The wind was a torrent of darkness,among the gusty trees,The moon was a ghostly galleon,tossed upon cloudy seas.”That’s a Metaphor or a Simily or an Idiom.Thats what I think but it’s perfect I love the highway man.

    • @bogdanbotis1524
      @bogdanbotis1524 5 років тому +3

      Well this is what makes poetry great bro. Symbolism can go much further than plain speaking to describe complex and deep concepts

    • @slanguagefreak2388
      @slanguagefreak2388 4 роки тому

      It is actually a transferred epithet. However, I get what you mean by imagery being powerful. However, I cannot feel it like everyone else in the comments seems to. Maybe I am just a psychopath.

    • @richardfalken6136
      @richardfalken6136 3 роки тому +1

      Galleon was a silver coin of the Realm at the time. "The moon was a ghostly Galleon" means it looked like a big gossamer English coin.

    • @overlydramaticpanda
      @overlydramaticpanda 2 роки тому

      @@richardfalken6136 Actually, a galleon was a large multi-decked ship with three or more masts that was in use between the 15th-18th centuries (so the time that this song/poem takes place in would have been the tail-end of their usage). The ships you tend to see in pirate movies? Those are galleons. That's why the next line is "tossed upon cloudy seas".

  • @verbalveteran
    @verbalveteran 5 років тому +30

    Some 30 years ago I recited this poem in front of a packed audience at my school. I am crying today remembering their sacrifices and the innocence I have sacrificed. Wish I could Turn back Time and stay there forever.

    • @marieanderson7422
      @marieanderson7422 5 років тому +2

      Not sure what innocence you have sacrificed but I feel bad for you that you once felt empathy and now are hardened and changed. Hope things work out in the end for you which ever path in life you choose to follow. Just remember though that all people cry, hurt, bleed and die the same way.......alone with their gods and belief. In the dark, in the cold, hungry and without.....we are all the same.

    • @marnieculotta9024
      @marnieculotta9024 5 років тому

      @@marieanderson7422
      Where did she say she is hardened?
      She said in her post that she cried about it that day.

    • @patois12
      @patois12 3 роки тому

      In the middle east war zones?

  • @andreasyggdrasil3244
    @andreasyggdrasil3244 3 роки тому +9

    How could anyone dislike this masterpiece??

  • @krumple8560
    @krumple8560 2 роки тому +5

    A classic by any measure. One of my favorites from Loreena...

  • @sarahhorton329
    @sarahhorton329 4 роки тому +6

    I remember how I found this I was in 8th grade and my teacher made us read the highwayman and she then showed us this me already loving heather dale and Celtic women and Celtic sounding songs so I was like oh thank you teach I have a new artist other students are like oh why do we have to listen to this and complaining. I am now going into senior year thank you teacher for showing me this. :)

  • @etherealechoes9907
    @etherealechoes9907 2 роки тому +3

    It's so rare that something moves me so much to tears but this does. It's perfection...

  • @ilianadweebury8457
    @ilianadweebury8457 4 роки тому +6

    I’m 12 years late but Jesus this is incredibly emotional and beautiful, I was given tears on the first listen.

    • @solidsalt3412
      @solidsalt3412 3 роки тому

      @@xxxmxxwm1564 I don't see you asking

    • @solidsalt3412
      @solidsalt3412 3 роки тому

      @@xxxmxxwm1564 makes sense my guy. Anyway i don't feel like arguing so I'll take back my comment

  • @peterparkerspiderman7875
    @peterparkerspiderman7875 2 роки тому +1

    I don't know how i got here, but i am really thankfull. This is amazing, never heard of this poem (while i am, atleast i thought, fairly well in the world of poems) this blew me away. Amazing

  • @talklucky8410
    @talklucky8410 5 років тому +11

    “Her songs are peopled with drifters , ramblers, old lovers.” I luv

  • @TheZAMBONILADY
    @TheZAMBONILADY 3 роки тому +2

    Way back in public school (one room schoolhouse just down the county road from home) this poem was assigned to me for 'memory work': you had to memorize a poem and then stand up in front of the class and recite it. This poem has haunted me for more than 1/2 a century and I still love it and cry over it. Thank you for sharing this.

  • @sarahholland2600
    @sarahholland2600 3 роки тому +3

    Wow. This was my Dad's favourite poem to quote when a bit tipsy. Thank you for a beautiful version.

  • @skelepuns8781
    @skelepuns8781 2 роки тому +2

    I'm 21 now. I first heard this song when we read the poem in English class when I was 12 and fell in love with it. A few years ago I showed it to my mom and she had an old cd with it on it, and said she listened to it while she was giving birth to me.

  • @ProphetCassandra
    @ProphetCassandra 16 років тому +11

    so beautiful... i almost cryied... full of feeling and full of pain... i love loreena....

  • @mphosoane7163
    @mphosoane7163 4 роки тому +1

    We read then listened to this when I was in grade 7 and it hasn't left me alone. Mark of great body of work.

  • @LinkKB
    @LinkKB 16 років тому +37

    Gorgeous...
    The music is perfect!
    Serves Tim right to be left out...

    • @1441shotgun
      @1441shotgun 4 роки тому

      Who is Tim?

    • @NansJns
      @NansJns 4 роки тому +3

      @@1441shotgun This reply may be a bit late, but Tim is in a verse that was left out of the song - Tom the ostler, who worked at the inn and was also in love with Bess. He overhears the highwayman's plan to steal more gold and come back the next day, and it's implied he's the one who told the redcoats to be there to catch the highwayman.

    • @MaeveLaFay
      @MaeveLaFay 3 роки тому +1

      Underrated comment. I literally laughed out loud.

  • @urmirupapal2355
    @urmirupapal2355 3 роки тому +1

    God bless UA-cam suggestions...I have goosebumps now, what a touching performance!
    We had performed this in our 5th standard and my best friend was Bess, I was the guard whose gun she used to shoot herself! Omg so many memories came rushing...Mrs Saxena wherever you're today, thank you for introducing us to this beautiful story!
    I just came back to write this after I checked the upload date of this video. It's that friend's b'day...we are not in touch anymore...but man, I loved her so much!

  • @ligiatuhut6593
    @ligiatuhut6593 11 років тому +72

    I imagine this story,on a picture movie,playing on an open air cinema somewhere in a quiet forest...

    • @curtisd3647
      @curtisd3647 5 років тому +1

      yes and also on a volcano (with a rainforest)

    • @mesmer3780
      @mesmer3780 4 роки тому

      Meanwhile in 2020 when drive-ins are making a comeback...

    • @gordonhoran4373
      @gordonhoran4373 3 роки тому

      Mesmer ASMR actually they made a movie in the early 50s, I I think it was an experiment with a new process

    • @hopelessopus660
      @hopelessopus660 2 роки тому

      I tried "visualising" the story in a video because I was just so captivated but this song! There weren't many non-copyright clips to choose from but I did the best I could I guess 😂
      Here's a link to it for anyone interested: m.ua-cam.com/video/VKoKOYT1spI/v-deo.html

  • @HollyMoore-wo2mh
    @HollyMoore-wo2mh 3 роки тому

    WOw here it is 2021 and I am JUST NOW FINDING THIS -dang it. That was very emotional and beautiful. Thank you.

  • @katiepeterson2306
    @katiepeterson2306 4 роки тому +3

    This was my favorite poem growing up. It has always made me feel something deep in my bones.

  • @blueindigo1000
    @blueindigo1000 2 роки тому +1

    I have never heard of this poem until today, and I'm 66 years old. A great ballad put to music and sung by a great singer. A shame she is not better known.

  • @interstellargopnista5268
    @interstellargopnista5268 4 роки тому +29

    Oh man its been so long that ive heard this poem. I remember being in middle school and our 8th grade teacher showed this us. Im in college now and i still sometimes remember this poem.

    • @danielswan6488
      @danielswan6488 4 роки тому +1

      Vlad Dracula Tepes I remember this song from primary school and I’ve never forgotten also , I’m in college too

    • @audreyw4679
      @audreyw4679 4 роки тому +2

      DRACULA WENT TO MIDDLE SCHOOL?!

    • @interstellargopnista5268
      @interstellargopnista5268 4 роки тому +1

      @@audreyw4679 hell yeah! What do you expect mortal?

  • @tdioxin2658
    @tdioxin2658 3 роки тому +1

    😥😥😥this poem has always made me cry, and if others are present when I read it, I struggle not to, and am barely able to manage the lump in my throat..Beautiful rendition. Thank you

  • @nimbus79
    @nimbus79 16 років тому +5

    this song actually is a poem by Alfred Noyes (1880-1958). My mother use to read this to me as a child...a little tragic but I'm glad that she did...one of my favorites.

    • @mattnatescheffler4161
      @mattnatescheffler4161 7 років тому

      nimbus79 Thanks for this information that everyone for some reason really wants to share..

  • @TheAugustmoon
    @TheAugustmoon 15 років тому +1

    Once again right here, I'm cryin' so hard by the melody and lyrics. The song reminds too much memories of someone far far away. I'm hopin' for him to be soon back to feel again the happiness without me, don't try to do something silly killin' himself. His life is precious for the family that loves him. And I will always be rememberin' you as The Highwayman till the final breath of mine.
    Many thanks to the beautiful poem and to Loreena Mckennit for her voice as well.

    • @mattnatescheffler4161
      @mattnatescheffler4161 7 років тому

      TheAugustmoon Was putting a ' instead of a "g" at the end of the words really that necessary?!

  • @62200maria
    @62200maria 4 роки тому +25

    I've always loved the flow of this poem. I remember it from Anne of Green Gables

    • @Majestiicc12
      @Majestiicc12 4 роки тому +3

      Ahhhhh!!! Me too! I didn’t think anyone else knew about those movies!!!!

    • @justme5100
      @justme5100 4 роки тому +1

      Oh my goodness I've found my people!!!

    • @stacyreedy7109
      @stacyreedy7109 4 роки тому +1

      I love the book and movies of Anne of Green Gables.

  • @harrietharlow9929
    @harrietharlow9929 3 роки тому +1

    This is gorgeous and is one of my favorites--it brings tears to my eyes... I'm not straight, but I could imagine a highwaywoman coming up on her horse...but beyond this it makes me wonder about past lives, because it resonates with me so deeply.

  • @devanskyles3103
    @devanskyles3103 2 роки тому +3

    So hauntingly beautiful and tragic! I can't stop listening to this!

  • @nupriyanka
    @nupriyanka 10 місяців тому +1

    Nostalgic memories.... This poem inspired me to start writing....❤
    🌻🍀

  • @barblarson7410
    @barblarson7410 4 роки тому +19

    As I child I had the book of children's poems, this one was my favorite. As an adult a bought a copy of my niece as a present. I read it before I gave it to her, and was appalled at the nature of them. But I kept it for myself, because it was full of wonderful stories.

    • @RuailleBuaille
      @RuailleBuaille 4 роки тому +1

      Is there any chance you can share the name of the book you have please? Bit random, but there is a book I had in childhood that contained loads of really good poems like this and El Dorado. Not many poetry books for children that had stuff like this!
      It vanished over 15 years ago and I have been searching for another copy of it ever since.

    • @joybranham8250
      @joybranham8250 4 роки тому +2

      @@RuailleBuaille This isn't the book you're hunting because it doesn't have Eldorado by Poe in it, but it does contain everything from well-known children's poems to ones that were originally written for adults, like The Highwayman, Annabel Lee, The Skeleton in Armor, Barbara Freitchie, The Song of Wandering Aengus, Abou Ben Adhem, and Lochinvar, among many others. This comes in 2 editions--the covers are different but the contents are the same. Here's a link: www.amazon.com/Golden-Books-Family-Treasury-Poetry/dp/0307168514/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SKYWB431CQ1M&dchild=1&keywords=golden+treasury+of+poetry+untermeyer&qid=1592780159&s=books&sprefix=golden+treasury+of+poetry%2Cstripbooks%2C146&sr=1-2

  • @luckprechaun213
    @luckprechaun213 3 роки тому +1

    Normally, I would not like this type of music but with this...... This is just a completely new experience for me. This is beautiful.

  • @pickles_aplenty
    @pickles_aplenty 17 років тому +3

    This song is so touching. I can't get enough of it.

  • @robnewman6101
    @robnewman6101 3 роки тому +2

    Hatfield Forest is a National Trust asset near Takeley, Essex. It comprises woodland, wood pasture, lake and marsh. Once a Royal hunting forest, the grazed forest aspect is maintained today with cattle and deer. It is a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

  • @XxEpicSoraxX
    @XxEpicSoraxX 11 років тому +32

    Our teacher showed us this song and I loved it :D It's really beautiful!

  • @anonfslkf190
    @anonfslkf190 2 роки тому +1

    I was D&D kid. Still am. The archetype of the Neutral Good Rogue , I felt, was based upon that song. So romantic. And the lyrics helped me weave many a cool tales for my friends around the table.

  • @catherinesanders1111
    @catherinesanders1111 2 роки тому +4

    Loreena McKennit tells a story through her music and I love that.

  • @GaryS.Dennis-lt4mo
    @GaryS.Dennis-lt4mo 7 місяців тому +1

    i love this wonderful lady's setting and ethereal performance of this ballad! I suspect that her first words on their reunion may have been, "My love, I am thrilled we'll be together and that you loved me so much you CHOSE to join me here! But darling, you're an idiot! I killed myself to SAVE YOUR LIFE, and a few hours later you THREW YOUR LIFE AWAY IN YOUR RAGE OVER MY DEATH?! Not that I'd have wanted to live on without you! " Of course, a ballad writer couldn't possibly have included such unromantic lines!

  • @flora6941
    @flora6941 3 роки тому +4

    We done this poem in school , and I loved it!
    It's actually a tragedy, though and for anyone who doesn't understand, here's why:
    Basically, soldiers tied Bess up. They knew the Highway man loved her and would try and rescue her. However, it was a trap. When Bess heard the horses' hooves, she *shot* herself to warn the Highwayman. The Highwayman saw her fall through the small window, and was so upset that he charged forwards; The soldiers ran forward too. The Highway man knew he was beat and yelled a curse to the sky. The soldiers killed him too.
    I KNOW IT EXPLAINS THIS IN THE SONG, JUST IN CASE ANYONE WASN'T SURE =)

    • @maxcampbell541
      @maxcampbell541 3 роки тому

      thanks I thought it was like way worse o_0

    • @Littlepup93
      @Littlepup93 3 роки тому +1

      I thought the same thing, but giving it another listen and reading the lyrics, I realized that's not the case. He actually didn't know it was her until, like, the next day. There's the part of:
      "Not till the dawn he heard it, and his face grew grey to hear
      How Bess, the landlord’s daughter,
      The landlord’s black-eyed daughter,
      Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there."
      After this is when he goes charging back to avenge his love and is shot dead.

  • @dmkuchins6646
    @dmkuchins6646 3 роки тому +2

    Breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you.

  • @elliedereyna5014
    @elliedereyna5014 3 роки тому +3

    Oh gods I remember listening to this years ago in primary school and loving it so much

  • @ToruMano
    @ToruMano 4 роки тому +1

    I remember listening to this in a lesson in primary school. I've been looking for this for years now. It's great to finally find it

  • @toratora9994
    @toratora9994 5 років тому +12

    Found this poem in an old Children’s Encyclopedia. Read it to my kid. Made me cry. Glad I found this.

  • @b.2221
    @b.2221 2 роки тому

    To all concerned thank you for sharing this with us , it is simply beautiful.

  • @AbhishekSharma-od7vj
    @AbhishekSharma-od7vj 4 роки тому +6

    Our class recited this poem in our elocution contest(8th standard)(im doing my Master's now) we stood second.
    Fun fact: The judge didnt wanted to look biased towards us since we had the masterpiece and it was his favourite poem which he recited before starting the contest 😂

  • @FannyDash
    @FannyDash Рік тому +2

    Whenever I hear this poetry song I get Goosebumps all over my Body And I love it so much that I often have goosebumps Thank you Loreena for all your songs but for this one special Thanks

  • @rcdr898
    @rcdr898 6 років тому +216

    The dislikes are Tim's 34 accounts for being left out of the song

  • @centuriontwofivezeroone2794
    @centuriontwofivezeroone2794 3 роки тому

    So, so long since i last heard this. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

  • @erikrasmussen369
    @erikrasmussen369 Рік тому +3

    I felt the highwayman's anger and understood his pain when the red troops took his beloved Bess from him.

  • @leonkirby8295
    @leonkirby8295 2 роки тому +1

    I couldn't think of a more beautiful voice to sing this poem
    I loved this poem as a boy and still as an
    Old man

  • @michaelpowell2900
    @michaelpowell2900 7 років тому +8

    I.have listen to Lorena mckkenit since 1995 her music is so soothing to the mind and tells stories that relate to past and present situations that makes it so easy to relate to what she telling us about what's before us that's fairy tale or what's real.

  • @Brimstone667
    @Brimstone667 2 роки тому +1

    love this song, an poem, still brings a lump to my throat after so long, got to see her in concert in redding a few years back