In coming up for a song in honor of the Baltimore Ravens making the Super Bowl, my first thought was Gram Parson’s “The Streets of Baltimore.” But Chimesfreedom has already covered that song, so I had to think back to another Parsons and a song I had not heard for many years, “The Raven” by The Alan Parsons Project.
“The Raven” first appeared on Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe, the 1976 debut album by The Alan Parsons Project, perhaps best known for their 1982 progressive rock song “Eye in the Sky.” Tales is a compilation of songs inspired by the writer Edgar Allan Poe. The album title was inspired by a 1908 collection of Poe’s stories, Tales of Mystery & Imagination. I was first introduced to the album when I was in college when Dave — one of my roommates who introduced me to a lot of new music at the time — noted my interest in literature and led me to this literary inspired album.
The song “The Raven” comes from Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem “The Raven.” In the 1845 poem, the raven taunts a broken-hearted lover by repeating the line “never-more.” Scholars debate whether or not there was a real “Lenore” in Poe’s life, whether she represented his ailing wife, or whether she represented a lost love.
The above version of the song is a live version but I included it because the video also featured the lyrics. The unusual vocal sound for the song was made with the use of a digital vocoder.
The song is perfect for the Baltimore Ravens. The football team’s name, like The Alan Parsons Project Song, also was inspired by the poem “The Raven.” A fan poll through the Baltimore Sun selected the new name for the former Cleveland Browns because Edgar Allan Poe is one of the favorite sons of Baltimore (although this Salon article argues that the city and the football team have neglected Poe’s legacy and his home). The team’s raven mascot’s name is “Poe” too, and there used to be similar mascots named “Edgar” and “Allan” too before they were retired in 2008. If you like Baltimore’s clever choice of mascot, consider that when Edgar Allan Poe began writing “The Raven,” he considered making the bird an owl, which would mean the Baltimore Owls could have been playing in the Super Bowl.
This Sunday, if the Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl, Ray Lewis and the other players will join Poe as Baltimore’s favorite sons. But if the Ravens lose, well, “Quoth the [Baltimore] raven, `Nevermore.'” Well, at least until next season.
{Watch for an upcoming post on my favorite song from Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe.}
What is your favorite Baltimore or Ravens song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
I remember when this some came out. Still Impressive. I like the original version instead of the overdubbed newer version.
Yeah the version without the digital vocoder is good too, and you probably can make out the words better. But I do like the way the vocoder sound captures the spookiness of Poe’s poem. Thanks for the comment.