I first read about a character named Rhiannon when I picked up Evangeline Walton's version of the Mabinogion in junior high school. It was when I heard Fleetwood Mac's song Rhiannon that the connection between the band (or more specifically Stevie Nicks) and mythology was cemented in my mind. In her introduction to the song, Stevie says that the song is "about an old Welsh witch", which is not entirely accurate, but it is more in keeping with Nicks' mystique to say she is singing about a Welsh witch rather than the divine consort of Arawn the Prince of the Dead, the Goddess of horses, and in a later incarnation, the wife of King Pwyll of Dyfed and mother of Pryderi. Even so, I love the ethereal quality of song, which makes me think of the misty night through which Rhiannon led Pwyll on a chase on horseback before he gave up trying to catch her and instead asked her if she would come to him.
Previous Musical Monday: In the Year 2525 by Zager & Evans
Subsequent Musical Monday: Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton
Fleetwood Mac Musical Monday Home
No comments:
Post a Comment