*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.
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
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.
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.
@@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.
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.🌹🤷♀️
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 :)
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.😭😭😭😭
"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.
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....🖋️
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.
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
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 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
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-""
@@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.
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!
"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!
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
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.
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.
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
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
BigBoo...ALL HER MUSICIANs. play some VERY unique instruments.@ are master musicians. .watch her live performance(s) on RUclips. She has dozens of amazing tunes You will adore.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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 👍
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!
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.
"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
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 ;)
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
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.
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.
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!
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 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.
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 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.
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? ✌😸
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 ...
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.
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.
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.!
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.
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. :)
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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 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".
Bess, the landlord’s daughter, the landlord’s black-eyed daughter, gave her life to save her love - the description makes me teary every time - “death at every window” with King George’s men, the redcoats armed with their muskets (George III revolutionary era), trying to catch her man by tricking him…
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.
😥😥😥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
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.
As a teen ager this poem touched me out of my Grade 10 English book although The Wreak of the Hesperus had reached me sooner . Love from so deep in the Soul ? Is that the real mission God assigned us in learning to understand the loss for others is what makes us understand the gift of Love so strongly . I love what she has done with this poem in touching the Souls of men who understand the tragedy made us victims as we listen to the arrangement.. A gift from Noyles & McKennit that is now timeless.
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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.
@@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
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.
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.
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.ruclips.net/video/VKoKOYT1spI/видео.html
God bless RUclips 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!
I just love how the decription of the highwayman reads like very flowery fanfiction. "He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin, a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle: His boots were up to the thigh!"
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 =)
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.
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.
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.
I used to listen to this song while sketching (practicing for the _University of Arts_ exams) and didn't pay much attention to the words since I didn't understand most of them - english is not my first language. One day it came to me that I should find out the meaning of the words accompanying such a pretty melody. Well... after that, I never played this song again 'till today... It breaks my heart every single time.
*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.
+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
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
my2cents2u lmbo
Thank you for being rude for no reason
We had read it in high school...part of recommended reading.
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
THERE IS A BLOODY CURSE UPON THE WICKED UPON THE EARTH ITS COME😮
Her voice and lyrics are ethereal, poetic, and evocative.
@@b.r.holmes6365Well said...very evocative expressionable vocals and music. even "twinkle" has a glimmer to it...😊
live or die he's gonna make them pay
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.
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!
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.
God I love this song, I can imagine the whole scene... We need a movie based on this poem/song😊
There is a movie made of it. I watched it when I was younger. An old black/white movie, made in 1951.
The classic cinema is the best one! Can you remember the title of the movie,please?
@@mariaperezpitti7643 The Highwayman, staring Philip Friend, Wanda Hendrix, and Cecil Kellaway.🙂
My mother had this poem memorized. She often performed it for us kids. She was a wonderful story teller.
caveman Versace
THERE’S A BOOK?! Oh my goodness I know what I want for Christmas.
MOM.
@@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.
yes, my mother too :)
How lucky to have had a mother like that. So jealous. This is such a great poem.
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.🌹🤷♀️
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 :)
Michał Berliński .This is sublime , and could not be surpassed. 😊
Yes she is and Michal you learnt the English language very well 👌
Oh lord an 12 year-old comment. Are you doing well? Hope you do!
Hi Michal, Yes she is fantastic, magical ✨
My compliments about your English language.
Bye Máryam
Wow! I never thought of that. Bard is an apt description. Will definitely play this in the background while delving deep into the earth.
This was my favorite poem as a young girl, so romantic, so tragic. Beautifully set to music by the one and only Loreena McKennett!
No matter how many times I hear this story, it always makes me cry. Especially when it's Loreena Mckennit's performance of it.
I love this song!
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!"
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.😭😭😭😭
"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.
13 years and you never came back to respell peom... that's kinda funny lol
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).
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....🖋️
"The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor" - a beautiful use of the English language.
She combines ethereal with the evocative in her prose.
Loreena and Alfred Noyes complement beautifully.@@b.r.holmes6365
We listened to this during English class today. I thought it was going to be boring and annoying but boy was I wrong!!
Sim
Same!!! I listened to it yesterday and I love it!
I was introduced to it in English class too. Loved it ever since.
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.
When set to music, poetry can become powerful. Eh? This is truly fabulous.
I love how the imagery in this is so strong. It's almost like I can see it unfolding right before my very eyes..
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.
Coming back here after so many years. Still gets chills to this day.
I've been listening to this song for 30 years and it still breaks my heart every time.
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
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.
I swear those verses are included on the CD I have of this.
@@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
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! 👍✌️
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-""
@@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.
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!
"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!
Alonzo Branson Ja
MUCH LOVE!
Rips my heart out.
Yes definitely! The next line breaks my heart every time..
@@lavenderotaku2481, me too.
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
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.
she captured this moment!
Thank you
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.
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
Amazing how the poem-and the song-capture the rhythm of a horse's hooves.
One of my favourite poems from my school days. 😊 Hearing it makes me a bit nostalgic. 😊
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
Cool! You reeeeeally connected to this vibration via Loreena.
BigBoo...ALL HER MUSICIANs. play some VERY unique instruments.@ are master musicians. .watch her live performance(s) on RUclips. She has dozens of amazing tunes
You will adore.
We listened and read this in my English class and I was about to cry and kept getting chills ;-;
Ikr I have to do the poem at my school
OMG same
Also fun fact my teacher used this video
Fricking me tooo!!
Learned in primary
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.
Best choice of Music. I like Enyas songs
You had vastly better taste in music.
I applaud your taste in music.
good for u wat does that mean anyway
Same
The snare drum and the bodhran hooves are genius. Like a poem within a poem. I love it.
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.
Childcraft Forever !!!!!!!🐬
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.
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.
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.
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."
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 👍
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!
That's a charming visualization. Hanging in an ostrich cage is quite a dramatic image. It would make quite a music video.
That's some imagination you have there, Jaidin. Got us all slaverin 'bout pretty girls at the hands of pirates, and all.
Jaidin Borenski You have a beautiful imagination ☺️
@naruto tricked me sry that is what creative people do. Make connections normal people's brain don't make.
Write a short story.
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.
Daniel Rule yes I love the the poem.
My favorite poem sung by my favorite singer and I weep every time I hear it but it is so hainting and so lovely
Why do you do it on Halloween?
Daniel Rule I just heard this song
Yeah I cried after listening to it for the 400th time when I was in Primary 😭😭
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.
A classic by any measure. One of my favorites from Loreena...
"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
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 ;)
What poem is that?
@@ac7278 Its from the song Dawsons Christian - a old filk song
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
LM and any of Clan Brennan could read the phonebook and raise hair on the back of my neck!!!
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.
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.
I did too but kinda fitting I guess proved she loved him and him her you know
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!
@@sarahprice659 Could be a really good ending. I would love to hear/ read the verse when it's finished! 😊
You were right at first. Because he learned of her death .. so torn up that he galloped uncaring right into rhe line of fire.
Her music is so hauntingly beautiful and magical. It sings to my soul.
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!
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.
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.
I bet they could. But would they? It may be politically incorrect (not for me personally , but that's the way it sometimes rolls)
@@mizopa1530 Politically correct? Who gives a fuck!
@@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.
Now that you say it, I couldn't imagine anyone doing a better job.
@@mizopa1530 Of course, SOMEONE had to drag politics into this.
“Her songs are peopled with drifters , ramblers, old lovers.” I luv
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
Who is Tim?
@@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.
@@1441shotgun You obviously haven't read the whole poem
That Tim was dumb, surely jealous, but Bess would never love him anyway.
@@onceuponathyme6132 The ostler ... "With hair like mouldy hay"! Always thought it a fitting description for such a despicable man
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? ✌😸
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 ...
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.
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.
@@marieanderson7422
Where did she say she is hardened?
She said in her post that she cried about it that day.
In the middle east war zones?
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.!
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.
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. :)
How could anyone dislike this masterpiece??
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.
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.
Gorgeous...
The music is perfect!
Serves Tim right to be left out...
Who is Tim?
@@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.
Underrated comment. I literally laughed out loud.
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.
Well this is what makes poetry great bro. Symbolism can go much further than plain speaking to describe complex and deep concepts
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.
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.
@@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".
Nostalgic memories.... This poem inspired me to start writing....❤
🌻🍀
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.
I’m 12 years late but Jesus this is incredibly emotional and beautiful, I was given tears on the first listen.
@@xxxmxxwm1564 I don't see you asking
@@xxxmxxwm1564 makes sense my guy. Anyway i don't feel like arguing so I'll take back my comment
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
so beautiful... i almost cryied... full of feeling and full of pain... i love loreena....
ProphetCassandra Yeah I almost "cryied" too!
Bess, the landlord’s daughter, the landlord’s black-eyed daughter, gave her life to save her love - the description makes me teary every time - “death at every window” with King George’s men, the redcoats armed with their muskets (George III revolutionary era), trying to catch her man by tricking him…
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.
nimbus79 Thanks for this information that everyone for some reason really wants to share..
This was my favorite poem growing up. It has always made me feel something deep in my bones.
😥😥😥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
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.
It's so rare that something moves me so much to tears but this does. It's perfection...
I've always loved the flow of this poem. I remember it from Anne of Green Gables
Ahhhhh!!! Me too! I didn’t think anyone else knew about those movies!!!!
Oh my goodness I've found my people!!!
I love the book and movies of Anne of Green Gables.
As a teen ager this poem touched me out of my Grade 10 English book although The Wreak of the Hesperus had reached me sooner . Love from so deep in the Soul ? Is that the real mission God assigned us in learning to understand the loss for others is what makes us understand the gift of Love so strongly . I love what she has done with this poem in touching the Souls of men who understand the tragedy made us victims as we listen to the arrangement.. A gift from Noyles & McKennit that is now timeless.
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!
Loreena McKennit tells a story through her music and I love that.
Wow. This was my Dad's favourite poem to quote when a bit tipsy. Thank you for a beautiful version.
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
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.
TheAugustmoon Was putting a ' instead of a "g" at the end of the words really that necessary?!
I am absolutely consumer by this. Absolutely amazing..Im from.India...and addicted to the highlands and the music. Amazing
This song is so touching. I can't get enough of it.
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
I felt the highwayman's anger and understood his pain when the red troops took his beloved Bess from him.
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.
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.
@@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
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.
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.
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
I imagine this story,on a picture movie,playing on an open air cinema somewhere in a quiet forest...
yes and also on a volcano (with a rainforest)
Meanwhile in 2020 when drive-ins are making a comeback...
Mesmer ASMR actually they made a movie in the early 50s, I I think it was an experiment with a new process
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.ruclips.net/video/VKoKOYT1spI/видео.html
Found this poem in an old Children’s Encyclopedia. Read it to my kid. Made me cry. Glad I found this.
God bless RUclips 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!
I just love how the decription of the highwayman reads like very flowery fanfiction.
"He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin, a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin. They fitted with never a wrinkle: His boots were up to the thigh!"
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 =)
thanks I thought it was like way worse o_0
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.
Eu conheci a Loreena a poucos dias e estou apaixonada por suas músicas! Sou do Brasil!
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.
Such a beautiful song from such a beautiful voice! God bless you Loreena!
14 years later song still works and is absolutely amazing
The dislikes are Tim's 34 accounts for being left out of the song
recorder-ometer lol
Looks like a certain ostler is a bit salty about that ;-)
😂😂
She is one of my top 10 favorite singer/musicians . Wish I could see her in concert . 💜
Once upon a time love was innocence. Beautiful this is just as the poem.
A poem of my early childhood with many fond memories.
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.
Vlad Dracula Tepes I remember this song from primary school and I’ve never forgotten also , I’m in college too
DRACULA WENT TO MIDDLE SCHOOL?!
@@audreyw4679 hell yeah! What do you expect mortal?
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
I used to listen to this song while sketching (practicing for the _University of Arts_ exams) and didn't pay much attention to the words since I didn't understand most of them - english is not my first language. One day it came to me that I should find out the meaning of the words accompanying such a pretty melody. Well... after that, I never played this song again 'till today... It breaks my heart every single time.