Robert Plant to This Mortal Coil: The five best covers of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song to the Siren’
Years before Jeff Buckley burst onto the scene and broke listeners’ hearts with his expressive take on rock, his father, Tim, had cemented himself as one of the foremost singer-songwriters of the countercultural period with his commanding voice and experimental compositions. However, regarding his most emotionally affecting work, there is no finer moment than ‘Song to the Siren’. It’s a number that continues to resound with listeners due to its romantically metaphorical lyrics and arresting melody.
The track was written by Buckley and collaborator Larry Beckett in 1967, but due to the former’s misgivings about the early recordings, it wouldn’t be released in studio format until it arrived on his acclaimed 1970 masterpiece, Starsailor. This meant that pop star Pat Boone’s 1969 cover from his album Departure was the first actual interpretation that saw the light of day. However, at this point, Buckley had already driven the song deep into the hearts of audiences during the series finale of The Monkees in 1968, when he performed a live 12-string acoustic version in E major, which heightened its profound, otherworldly essence.
A yearning love song drawing upon Beckett’s love of Greek mythology and the ancient tale of the enchanting sirens luring sailors to their death, both he and Buckley dubbed the song their best collaboration in lyrics and melody. It seems they were right, too. Artists from David Gray to David Lynch love it.
While The Monkees version is undoubtedly the best-known and revered rendering of the track, the recording on Starsailor, played in B♭ major and featuring electric guitar, backing vocals, and ample reverb, crystallised its cultural value. It led to a host of covers after Buckley’s tragic death aged 28 in 1975, which have kept his spirit alive.
It must also be said that these two distinct interpretations demonstrate the talent that Buckley had, and when taken with the innovation underpinning some of his other work, begs the question of how his career would have panned out if it were not for his heroin and morphine overdose.
Find the five best covers of ‘Song to the Siren’ below.
The five best covers of ‘Song to the Siren’:
5. Sinéad O’Connor
It’s no surprise that the late Sinéad O’Connor‘s cover of ‘Song to the Siren’ delves heavily into the intoxicating nature of the mythic sirens and Buckley and Beckett’s track. Released as a bonus track to 2012’s How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? Her heartfelt and passionate delivery is similar to that of Elizabeth Fraser’s on This Mortal Coil’s rendition in its melismatic nature, but the music adds a completely different dimension.
Underpinned by glistening synths and a heady, repetitive beat—akin to a slowed-down version of that found in baggy music—all the elements envelop the listener in this version. Aspects such as this mean lyrics such as “Let me enfold you” take on a more direct meaning, heightened by the Irish legend’s stirring delivery and stunning production. This cover builds to an immense climax, which proves the cherry on the cake.
4. Pat Boone
No list of covers of ‘Song to the Siren’ would be proper without Boone’s energising 1969 rendition. Taking the composition down a more anthemic route, his weighty baritone consolidates the romantic spirit of the lyrics, as the expressive drums and stirring brass, which become increasingly prominent, make this version wildly distinct from Buckley’s. However, it is still greatly impactful, and accounts for a different aspect of 1960s culture.
A maximalist version of the folk classic, instead of Haight-Ashbury, this interpretation was meant for the bright lights and glamour of Las Vegas and the animated crowds that Boone was used to for so long by the time he released it. It is absolutely exquisite when he sings, “Touch me not,” and the brass converges. Not every cover has to be so depressing.
3. Robert Plant
As he made clear during his 12 years with Led Zeppelin and has continued to do so throughout his successful solo career, Robert Plant is a folk fanatic. Another songwriter whose own oeuvre encompasses various mythologies, there’s no real surprise that his love of the genre and this form of literature saw him bring to life one of the finest renditions of Buckley’s masterwork.
Taken from Plant’s 2002 album, Dreamland, this cover leans heavily into the intoxicating sentiment of the titular sirens and the original through the introspective delivery, sliding guitar line, and, most importantly of all, swooning strings. In this effort, it is not the sirens that beckon from the horizon, but the golden-haired Robert Plant, a man who has seen sights that even Odysseus’s weary sailors couldn’t have fathomed.
2. John Frusciante
John Frusciante may be a funk rock master and guitar hero, but he is not a one-trick pony when it comes to music creation. With a lengthy list of influences encompassing everything from post-punk to dance, naturally, his oeuvre as a solo artist has seen him touch on many forms when unchained by the shtick of Red Hot Chili Peppers. His cover of ‘Song to the Siren’ is more heartfelt than any other on this list and remains a stark reminder of his brilliance outside of guitar playing.
Released as part of his own solo highlight, 2009’s star-studded The Empyrean, this tender moment features only Frusciante on vocals, the warm electronic hue of the keyboard, and other warping digital textures. Letting the power of the words and Frusciante’s tangibly pained delivery do the talking, he absolutely belts here. It’s a real tearjerker.
1. This Mortal Coil
While Frusciante’s effort made a strong claim for the top spot, there is simply no beating This Mortal Coil’s most prominent cover of ‘Song to the Siren’, which, given his age and music taste, means he probably wouldn’t have recorded it if it didn’t exist. A minimalistic rendering sustained by the elemental power of Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser’s voice, this time singing vocals, as opposed to the abstract mouth music she’s famous for, it hasn’t lost its potency since its release in 1983.
Featuring only the sparse reverb-drenched guitar of Cocteau Twins member Robin Guthrie, this rendition remains the most effective ever released and is by far the most important number found on the 4AD collective’s 1984 debut, It’ll End in Tears.
It’s strange how life can turn out; in the 1990s, Fraser was in an intense romantic relationship with Jeff Buckley, whom she had enraptured since he first heard this effort.
