ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "The Mummers' Dance" by Loreena McKennitt

"The Bonny Swans" is my FAVORITE Loreena song, and it's an awesome murder ballad to boot. If you're curious, the song is on her album, "The Mask and Mirror". Though she does have some good live renditions, I think the original studio single is the best version.

Curt Clark

This song introduced me and my boyfriend to one of our favorite singers of all time. (Spoiler alert: she does a better job with her songs than he does)

Curt Clark

A really good video that reminded me a lot of music my mom use to listen to. Just a quickk question: would you consider doing a retrospective of the contribution of weird al to music?

Bruno Sauvagnat

I absolutely ADORE her! I got into her a few years late to the game, around 2001ish, but I have carried her with me ever since. I was surprised you didn't mention Mummer's use in the Ever After trailer, cuz that's where I first heard it, and it made me want to see the movie! That movie was also one of the things that jump-started my obsession with all things Medieval! So yeah, I'm one of THOSE people you kept alluding to 😁 It was a cool moment to recognize (and be able to sing from memory) all of her songs you highlighted! So thank you for discussing one of my very favorite artists!

Call Me Christina {PuellaDocta}

THANK YOU! I was waiting for him to mention that!

Call Me Christina {PuellaDocta}

That was unexpected. I own one of McKennitt's albums - The Mask and Mirror, the one with The Bonny Swans on it - and incidentally, if you think her version of it is creepy, try one of the Irish folk versions that play the same tale to happy, upbeat music. Brrr. And while I would not call myself a fan and a little of her music goes a long way with me, there are a few of her songs I really like.

Timur Hahn

I think that's how I got Inkubus Sukkubus too

Stephanie Martin

I love Loreeena McKenitt. I remember when this was all over.

Stephanie Martin

I think you're onto something there, I'm also a Canadian 90s kid and my reaction was "huh? The lady they played all the time in English class to make classical literature marginally more interesting? OH THAT ONE SONG I totally forgot about that, really, that was her?". Likewise, I never would have made the connection without the episode, so kudos to Todd and requester.

Oh my gosh, I had totally forgotten the phase of my life where I fell in love with murder ballads. This video actually prompted me to go blow the dust off my physical CD collection, which was a grim undertaking indeed, but I can't find any actual albums. Apparently the only McKennitt music I ever purchased via any music service was All Souls Night (my personal fave, if you exclude the aforementioned murder ballads). I did discover that I have a signed copy of the Bastion soundtrack, so there is that.

De

That's how I stumbled into her too, and then got really excited when this song was used in the trailer for "Ever After." Todd has excellent theories, but I still think that movie was a sleeper hit, and this song along with it.

Marty Farley

I'll never be able to hear "Mummer's Dance" without picturing Drew Barrymore in a medieval dress with dirt on her face, because this song was used in the trailers for Ever After (along with "Tell Me a Fable" by Robert Miles, because 90s gotta 90s) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMMx37Co61Y" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMMx37Co61Y</a>

Can confirm Lilith Fair crowd got into her :). It’s why I know who she is

Sarah Wampler

Oh man, I first learned about Loreena McKennitt from her musical version of "The Highwayman". Still one of my favorite songs today, even if it is something like nine minutes long. So glad you were able to cover her.

Taia Hartman

loreenna mckennitt was the soundtrack to a whole lot of family road trips when I was a kid - didn't even know she had a hit song. The 90s was a strange, strange time.

mummer's dance was definitely some of the first 'pagan'-sounding music I stumbled across when I was a teenager - which lead me to stuff like Inkubus Sukkubus. good call giving this one a go!

matt

Enigma sampled some chants for their huge 1990 international hit "Sadeness (Part I)", and it started a trend for the rest of the 90s. Including best-selling albums by actual Gregorian monks! Though if you're a metal head, Ozzy Osbourne's "Centre of Eternity" opens with a Gregorian chant--from 1983's Bark at the Moon album.

Joe G

Sitars are not Arabic, they're Indian. That Arabic instrument is an oud.

Grace

I feel like we've had offhand mentions of Marcy Playground a lot lately. Does my heart good.

Wyatt

They still go mummering in Newfoundland at Christmas. Having strangers in bulky clothes with a canvas bag over their head under a so’wester come and dance in your kitchen turns out to be a better method of scaring kids into good behavior than the threat of getting coal.

Meaghan

That Arabic instrument you are thinking of is a Sitar:<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitar" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitar</a>

LifeIsStrange

So that's why that Iron Maiden song "Sign of the Cross" had Gregorian chants in it.

LifeIsStrange

Trust not the shadow's son and the mummer's dance.

Ryan Rowekamp

I loved this song back when it was big. Can't say I've listened to any of her other stuff though, or had much curiosity to do so.

Harpo1987

The dance remix was popular in detroit radio.

Greg Walters

My daughter and I were really into Loreena McKennitt back in the day. I think my daughter may have every one of her albums. She's great, if you like new age artsy music, which is probably not your thing. I'm so glad someone requested this.

percysowner

OMG you did Loreena McKennitt! I loved Mummers Dance when it came out...and then never remembered who did it. Got into McKennitt's other work later in life and was super amused to realize she was the one who did "that one song" I vaguely remembered from when I was younger. ^_^

My primary memory of Loreena is my mom asking me to go online and look up a certain album she did that my mom has fond memories of. That said, as someone with a soft spot for folksy music, I do really enjoy this song.

Owen W

I definitely remember the "one-hit." I even own the CD...but then again, I own Enya's entire discography.

Michael Russell

lol this kind of stuff was HUGE in the artsy girl circle I ran in during high school. We missed the angry girl music (Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos) and went in for the 'new age' stuff like Enya and McKennit while doing tarot readings and swinging crystals around and pretending to be witches. Takes me back...

I think Canadians must have a different relationship to this song than Americans, because I both remember and love it, but also never went particularly looking for McKennit's other discography. So it was really fun to learn more about her with this episode, kudos to the requester.

Alina

I listened to a ton of Lorena McKennit in high school in the 90s, because I was totally that girl (I also owned a lot of Dead Can Dance and Enya), but I have zero memories of hearing her anywhere but my CDs.

I remember this song, but then again I am a Canadian 90s kid with Celtic roots who immediately knew what a mummer was.

The hell am I looking at.

Ethan Michael Thomas