Denn Die Todten Reiten Schnell

Album: Aria: A Tess Records Anthology (1997)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Although the title is in German, the rest of this very contemporary song is in English. "Denn die Todten reiten schnell" is actually a very famous quote that will be familiar to students of Gothic literature. It is used by a superstitious (or maybe not so superstitious) peasant in the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, when one of its leading characters, Jonathan Harker, is greeted by the coachman of the mysterious Count - who appears to have been the Count himself.

    In fact the phrase - for the dead travel fast - predates the mythical Dracula (though not the real one); it appears to have been used first in the narrative poem Lenore, which was published in German by Gottfried August Bürger (1747-94). Lenore is also the title of a famous poem by the American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49).

    It remains to be seen if Bürger, Poe or Stoker would appreciate this musical interpretation; probably all three are turning in their graves. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.