Most people have covered pretty much everything, but ever since the first time I heard this song, I have always connected it to the selkies, and I don't think I'll stop doing that.
I'll summarise the most famous (arguably) story of the selkies for anyone unfamiliar with the legends:
Fisherman meets a strange woman on the shore near his home, apparently lost and alone. He takes her in, they end up married. Near the woman, the fisherman found her seal's skin, and hid it in his house where he thought she would never find it, because if she found it, she would remember her past and return to the sea. The fisherman didn't WANT to oppress or imprison his wife, he just loved her with all his heart, and didn't want to lose her. Besides, if she remembered nothing, how could she miss it? The wife, however, did miss something, but she didn't know what. After pottering about in the house, she did find her seal's skin, and remembered everything! She put on her skin and returned to the ocean, as a selkie again, forgetting her time on land. The fisherman, of course, was devastated.
I think the words to the song certainly tie in with this story. Colleen is not unhappy on land, but something isn't right. Eventually she does instinctively return to the sea, and forgets anything.
The Celtic influences clear in the music also back this up in my opinion, and the rolling rhythms and jumpy tune are very reminiscent of a stormy Scottish sea. The rhythms also remind me of a Ceilidh dance, a pillar of Celtic culture.
I hope someone doesn't think I'm speaking a load of gobbledygook, but everyone's entitled to an opinion! :)
Most people have covered pretty much everything, but ever since the first time I heard this song, I have always connected it to the selkies, and I don't think I'll stop doing that.
I'll summarise the most famous (arguably) story of the selkies for anyone unfamiliar with the legends: Fisherman meets a strange woman on the shore near his home, apparently lost and alone. He takes her in, they end up married. Near the woman, the fisherman found her seal's skin, and hid it in his house where he thought she would never find it, because if she found it, she would remember her past and return to the sea. The fisherman didn't WANT to oppress or imprison his wife, he just loved her with all his heart, and didn't want to lose her. Besides, if she remembered nothing, how could she miss it? The wife, however, did miss something, but she didn't know what. After pottering about in the house, she did find her seal's skin, and remembered everything! She put on her skin and returned to the ocean, as a selkie again, forgetting her time on land. The fisherman, of course, was devastated.
I think the words to the song certainly tie in with this story. Colleen is not unhappy on land, but something isn't right. Eventually she does instinctively return to the sea, and forgets anything.
The Celtic influences clear in the music also back this up in my opinion, and the rolling rhythms and jumpy tune are very reminiscent of a stormy Scottish sea. The rhythms also remind me of a Ceilidh dance, a pillar of Celtic culture.
I hope someone doesn't think I'm speaking a load of gobbledygook, but everyone's entitled to an opinion! :)