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My Name Is Death

by Cruel Mother

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about

"My Name is Death" is based on the traditional ballad "Death and the Lady" [Roud 1031], in which a young woman, casually strolling out on a pleasant May morning, meets none other than the grim reaper himself. Her end is sealed; she desperately tries to bribe Death with expensive clothes and jewels to spare her life, but all is in vain.

The theme of encountering the personified Death dates back to the late medieval period, when such allegories became popular throughout Europe. The much-reproduced memento mori imagery of the 'Danse Macabre' remains familiar today - jovial skeletons, sometimes playing instruments, leading all ages and social classes in a dance to the grave.

Versions of the folk ballad from different English counties were collected in the late-19th and early-20th century, with printed versions of "A Dialogue betwixt death and a lady" dating back to the late 1600s.

lyrics

I watched her walk alone one day
She sang so merry on her way
There we met, that morn in May
The birds did sing, the lambs did play

She asked me how I came to be
So grey you are, as the clay, said she
More ancient than the rowan tree
Tell me true, if this witchcraft be

My name is Death, so old am I
The world was born before my eyes
All bow to me, all must forsake
Death is my name and you I’ll take ….
First half of chorus repeats
…So you I’ll take

She said she'd give me em'ralds rare
She said she'd give fine robes to wear
She said all this and more were fair
If I would give her time to spare
Lady, you have caused much strife
Your husband poisoned by his wife
Your babe is slain by your own knife
You cannot bribe me for your life

My name is Death, so old am I
The world was born before my eyes
All bow to me, all must forsake
Death is my name and you I’ll take ….
First half of chorus repeats
…So you I’ll take

My name is Death, so cold am I
None shall escape my icy scythe
All take my hand, all ends with me
Death is my name, I’ll set you free

My name is Death, so cold am I
None shall escape my icy scythe
All take my hand, all ends with me
Death is my name, I’ll set you free

My name is Death, so cold am I
None shall escape my icy scythe
All take my hand, all ends with me
Death is my name, I’ll set you free

… And now you’re free

credits

released January 31, 2024
Becky Loughead - vocals, bass
James Chester - vocals, guitar
Kirstie Summers - guitar
David Garner - violin
Daniel Speight - drums

Art by Robert Maltby

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all rights reserved

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about

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Cruel Mother London, UK

Formed within the tolling of the Bow Bells in East London, doom metal band Cruel Mother take their lyrical inspiration from English printed broadsides and the folk song corpus, particularly the rich tradition of English murder ballads. The band mixes heavy riffs and crunchy grooves with the melancholic lament of the fiddle, creating a doom concept band unlike any other. ... more

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