THE OLD WAYS (Loreena McKennitt)

If a favorite absolutely has to be singled out, then this is likely my all-time favorite song by a truly exceptional Canadian musical artist, Loreena McKennitt. It tells the bitter-sweet tale of a young woman strolling along the rugged Irish coastline, just as dusk is turning into night, and she chances to encounter the restless spirit of her long-lost lover. I’ve always had the sense that he must’ve lost his life out at sea somehow or other, hence her feeling continually drawn to the shoreline in an effort to feel a little closer to him. Presumably, her grief had been so intense for so long, it miraculously called him back from beyond the grave for one more evening together. And upon his departure, the closing lines might be interpreted (or at least it is by me) as her all-consuming impulse to fling herself into the turbulent sea, so that her spirit might join his. “THE OLD WAYS“ The pounding sea is calling me home, home to you. The pounding sea is calling me home, ho