Pat Boone was the first to release a recording of the song when it was featured on his 1969 album Departure, predating Buckley's album. The song has become perhaps Buckley's most famous due to a number of artists covering the song after his death in 1975, most notably This Mortal Coil in 1983.
Background
"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
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.
This Mortal Coil was a loose collective of musicians under the leadership of producer Ivo Watts-Russell, most of whom had recorded for his 4AD label. Singer Elizabeth Fraser and guitarist Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, who were at the time signed to 4AD, performed on the This Mortal Coil version of "Song to the Siren". Fraser also recorded a duet with Tim's son, Jeff Buckley.[15][16]
Following the release of the single by This Mortal Coil, Buckley's work experienced a reappraisal.[17] This revival of interest in the artist would be one of the greatest factors in the increase of his posthumous sales, along with Jeff Buckley's own success.[17]
Early EDM duo Messiah sampled the cover in their 1992 hit "Temple of Dreams".[citation needed]
This Mortal Coil's version is featured prominently in David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway. Lynch had originally intended to use the cover in his 1986 film Blue Velvet, but the rights proved prohibitively expensive, so instead he wrote the song "Mysteries of Love" with composer Angelo Badalamenti.[18]
In 2009, the This Mortal Coil version of the song was featured in the supernatural fantasy film The Lovely Bones, to critical acclaim.[19][20]
In 2012 Dawn French selected this song on Desert Island Discs as "the song that made me fall in love again".[21] In 2021, the song featured on an episode of Soul Music, a music documentary series on BBC Radio 4.[22]
Other versions
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.
