Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “The Crow on the Cradle” by Lady Maisery
The Crow on the Cradle, sung by Lady Maisery, is an elegiac ode to the loss of life in all its forms. The song laments the difficult times in which a mother has to say goodbye to her husband, child or close friend, and speaks to the feeling of being lost and powerless.
The lyrics are laden with grief and sorrow; the imagery of spinning wheels and twigs breaking conveys how short and brittle life can be. The song is also a reminder that we have to accept the circle of life, and the losses it brings. The narrator is also comforted by the fact that the deceased are now at rest, and she can take solace in the fact that they are no longer in their pain.
The instrumentation of the song is soothing and melancholic, in particular the addition of the violin in the chorus, which heightens the sense of loss. The haunting final line ‘Your body will lie down in the arms of the crow on the cradle’ is a stark reminder of mortality and of the comfort we can take in finding peace within the embrace of death.
This is a stirring, beautiful song about mourning, love and reward. Ultimately it provides a touching and fitting tribute to those that have left us, and encourages us to accept the light and dark of life’s cyclic nature.