Skellig

Album: The Book Of Secrets (1997)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The song title refers to the Skellig Islands off the west coast of Ireland, where the story takes place. Loreena McKennitt is Canadian, but is steeped in Irish culture, which permeates her music.

    In a Songfacts interview, she said she drew inspiration from a 1995 book called How The Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. "That was about monks who ferreted away in their obscure locations, copying out the classical literature," she explained.
  • McKennitt traveled around Europe when researching her album The Book Of Secrets. One of her stops that influenced this song was to Trinity College in Dublin to look at the Book Of Kells.
  • Along with her violinist, Hugh Marsh, McKennitt used a string quartet on this track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

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.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

80s Music Quiz 1

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."