Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Playlist

On the car ride to the theater, a song came on that unexpectedly dealt with fairy tales. By coincidence, the movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark did as well, inspiring me to gather some nice dark fairy tale songs.

1) Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns) by Rammstein

I had no idea what this song was about until that car ride to the advanced screening. On a whim, my boyfriend looked up the lyrics on my phone and we were surprised by what we discovered:

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
I ripped it from my chest

With this heart I have the power
to blackmail the eyelids
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
demons, ghosts, black fairies
they creep out of the cellar shaft
and will look under your bedding

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
and steal your small hot tears
they wait until the moon awakes
and put them in my cold veins

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

My heart burns

Lyrics from Herzeleid.com

Some of the lyrics come from a story call The Little Sandmen (Das Sandmannchen), a German TV show that started in the mid-1950's. The Sandmen would tell bedtime stories and start each one with "Now, dear children, pay attention. I have brought something for you" ("Nun, liebe Kinder, gebt fein Acht. Ich habe euch etwas mitgebracht.")

2) Gingerbread Coffin by Rasputina

This isn't a traditional fairy tale, but the imagery is indicative of fairy tales. I love this song. It's so haunting and beautiful. It has just stayed with me for a while and does remind me of a dark fairy tale. I think someone could expand on the story and make a wonderful novel. The video I chose is a compilation of Dresden Dolls, Evanescence, and Bjork videos, which was put together really well. Love it!

3) Long Red Hair by Vermillion Lies

This song tells a narrative story that is very fairy tale-like. Twin sisters are attached by the ends of their long red hair. One is fair and one is rosy. The fair one falls in love, while the other is indifferent. I can see Rose Red and Snow White, Sisters Red, and Rapunzel in this story just off the top of my head. Vermillion Lies is an awesome band made up of twin sisters Zoe and Kim Boekbinder. This song has a quirky sense of humor and it's super catchy and cheerful despit being kind of depressing. I love the video that expresses the story wonderfully in a style that matches that of the song. I especially enjoyed that one sister loves Amanda Palmer while the other likes Barbra Streisand.

4) Kilmeny by Mediaeval Baebes

This song originates from a 19th century poem of the same name. The poem was in a larger work called The Queen's Wake by James Hogg. The book centers around the return of Mary, Queen of Scots to Scotland in 1561. Bards had contests with song and poetry and this is one of those poems. I think it's a wonderful poem and the Mediaevel Baebes have put gorgeous music to it and sing it beautifully. There are some lyrics that really capture my imagination, like "Kilmeny, Kilmeny, where have you been? To a land that no mortal has ever seen..." I would love to read a story about Kilmeny and there are definitely fairy tale elements in her song. She tells of the wonderful land she's seen, but had to have returned to the real world, where all is not as serene and sublime. I love the story and the song.

Do any of you have any favorite fairy tale songs? Comment with your own picks!