Samain night
Divers / Loreena McKennitt Lyrics

The song "Samain Night" by Loreena McKennitt is a beautiful and romantic ballad, but it also has a strong connection to ancient Celtic traditions. The opening lines describe a moonlit night, with the moon hanging "above the tree tops' height." The mention of the moon is significant because the holiday of Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") was celebrated by the ancient Celts on the night of the full moon in late October or early November. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and was believed to be a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead were thin. It was a time to honor ancestors and to seek guidance from the spirits.

The second verse of the song describes an eagle's wing being offered to the singer, symbolizing the ability to fly and soar. The owl's cry is also mentioned, which was often associated with death and the spirit world in Celtic culture. The image of flying into the forest to find the person you love in the darkness is both romantic and symbolic, representing a journey into the unknown and the search for deeper connections.

The chorus of the song speaks to the complexity of love and truth, comparing it to the moon's influence on the tides. The idea that love and truth are not simple or unwavering is a common theme in Celtic mythology, which often explored the gray areas between good and evil, light and dark, and life and death. The final line of the chorus, "I'll be a moonsbreath by your side," evokes a sense of closeness and connectedness, but also a fleeting sense of transience, like the changing phases of the moon.