Jocelyn Pook is one of the UK’s most versatile composers, having written ex… Read Full Bio ↴Jocelyn Pook is one of the UK’s most versatile composers, having written extensively for stage, screen, opera house and concert hall. She has established an international reputation as a highly original composer winning her numerous awards and nominations including a Golden Globe, an Olivier and two British Composer Awards.

Often remembered for her film score to Eyes Wide Shut, which won her a Chicago Film Award and a Golden Globe nomination, Pook has worked with some of the world’s leading directors, musicians, artists and arts institutions - including Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, the Royal Opera House, BBC Proms, Andrew Motion, Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack and Laurie Anderson.

Pook has also written film score to Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, which featured the voice of countertenor Andreas Scholl and was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. Other notable film scores include Brick Lane directed by Sarah Gavron and a piece for the soundtrack to Gangs of New York directed by Martin Scorsese.

With a blossoming reputation as a composer of electro-acoustic works and music for the concert platform, Pook continues to celebrate the diversity of the human voice. Her first opera Ingerland was commissioned and produced by ROH2 for the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio in June 2010. The BBC Proms and The King's Singers commissioned to collaborate with the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion on a work entitled Mobile. Portraits in Absentia was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and is a collage of sound, voice, music and words woven from the messages left on her answerphone. She has received critical acclaim for her song cycle Hearing Voices, which was premiered in December 2012 by the BBC Concert Orchestra and singer Melanie Pappenheim at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Pook graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1983, where she studied the viola. She then embarked on a period of touring and recording with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, Laurie Anderson and PJ Harvey and as a member of the Communards.

She also tours extensively with The Jocelyn Pook Ensemble, performing repertoire from her albums and music from her film scores.

Pook won an Olivier Award for the National Theatre's production of St Joan, and for her music-theatre piece Speaking in Tunes she won a British Composer Award. She won a second British Composer Award for her soundtrack to DESH, which accompanies Akram Khan’s dance production of the same name. Pook has also composed scores for television shows and commercials, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Channel 4's The Government Inspector (Dir: Peter Kosminsky).

Pook has chaired and been a judge on various panels including the British Composer Awards, Ivor Novello Awards and BBC Proms Young Composers Competition.

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Yellow Fever Psalm
Jocelyn Pook Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Raor ti nihtiw selag ytrof dnA,
Erom ro not a hgiew lliw daeh ruoY,
Sgniw dna snif dna snroh dna swalc htiW,
Sgniht dlotnu fo etsat lliw htuom ruoY,
Maes ertnec eht kaerts ytsur A,
Maerc deldruc ekil leef eugnot ruoY,
Worb ruoy pmalc lliw sdnab norI,
Won morf syad net tuoba nI,

Seye wolleY,

Revef eht evah ot gniog era uoY.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jocelyn Pook's song Yellow Fever Psalm are poetic and mysterious. They begin with a phrase that seems to be written backwards: "Anf torgy lase with night or". But when you read it forward, it says "Roar in the night with flags of Troy, and more not a wight will head your dae." This line seems to suggest that the singer is experiencing some kind of battle or conflict, and that he or she is trying to communicate with someone else who is also involved in this struggle. The next line is "With claws and fins and horns and claws will hunt your most subtle things of old." This seems to suggest that the singer is being hunted or pursued by some kind of creature or enemy, and that they are trying to evade capture by using their wits and cunning.

The next line is "A rusty stake of center same trees emerge." This line is more abstract, and it's difficult to say exactly what it means. It could be a reference to the fact that even in the midst of conflict and turmoil, nature continues to grow and thrive. The next line is "Your tongue gone leek fee luge." This line is even more mysterious, and it's hard to decipher its meaning. It could relate to the idea that the singer's ability to communicate has been compromised or weakened in some way.

Overall, the lyrics to Yellow Fever Psalm are poetic and enigmatic. They suggest a sense of conflict and danger, but also a persistence and resilience in the face of adversity.

Line by Line Meaning

Raor ti nihtiw selag ytrof dnA,
And forth gales with it air in it arO, (The wind carries on it the scent of an approaching storm)

Erom ro not a hgiew lliw daeh ruoY,
Your head has willed a high tower or more, (You have set a high goal for yourself)

Sgniw dna snif dna snroh dna swalc htiW,
With it claws and horns and fins and wings,

Sgniht dlotnu fo etsat lliw htuom ruoY,
Your mouth will taste of tumults of things,

Maes ertnec eht kaerts ytsur A,
A rustystreak the center comes seatM, (Age has caught up with you)

Maerc deldruc ekil leef eugnot ruoY,
Your tongue like the curled march of a Leafy (You speak with soft and flowing tongue)

Worb ruoy pmalc lliw sdnab norI,
Iron bands bind with your rope your brow,

Won morf syad net tuoba nI,
In about ten from from now day morn,

Seye wolleY,
Yellow Ewes (Ewes with yellow wool)

Revef eht evah ot gniog era uoY.
You are going to have the fever thever.

Writer(s): Jocelyn Frances Pook

Contributed by Jeremiah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.