The Lorelei
I know not if there is a reason
Why I am so sad at heart.
A legend of bygone ages
Haunts me and will not depart.
The air is cool under nightfall.
The calm Rhine courses its way.
The peak of the mountain is sparkling
With evening’s final ray.
The fairest of maidens is sitting
Unwittingly wondrous up there.
Her golden jewels are shining,
She’s combing her golden hair.
The comb she holds is golden,
She sings a song as well
Whose melody binds an enthralling
And overpowering spell.
In his little boat, the boatman
Is seized with a savage woe,
He’d rather look up at the mountain
Than down at the rocks below.
I think that the waves will devour
The boatman and boat as one;
And this by her song’s sheer power
Fair Lorelei has done.
Heinrich Heine
Siren Song
This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:
the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see beached skulls
the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can’t remember.
Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don’t enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,
I don’t enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.
I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song
is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you can,
you are unique
Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.
Margaret Atwood
There are several characters of mythology, folklore or spiritual belief that reappear in different cultures with different names and sometimes altered forms. Sometimes it is easy to discover how they travelled from one part of the world to the other, but at other times it is an interesting mystery how different cultures far away from each other created such similar beliefs and dramatic characters.
German poet Heinrich Heine wrote in tragic ballad tones of the Lorelei, a mythical femme fatale of the great River Rhine who possesses extraordinary beauty and sings an irresistible enchanting song. Both the beauty and the song are irresistible and draw
