Annabel Lee

Annabel Lee by Marissa Nadler

This is my favorite adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's last ever poem, Annabel Lee (ANNABEL. Prepare to fight me naysayers). Poe's last work is a haunting and slightly crazed re-accounting of a man's boyhood love story with a woman named Annabel Lee.

Annabel is alluded to have been a woman of high station, maybe even royalty and thus, their love forbidden.

I was drawn to this version because of the artwork, at first. A ghostly woman stands by the sea, gazing out into its vastness, her hair blowing in the wind, looking like nothing but mere memory.

Marissa Nadler's voice is chilling and sounds mournful. Her morose voice urges us to give our sympathy to Annabel and the poet; while in reality, the relationship seemed fairly toxic and obsessive on the poet's part. The strumming of the guitar and almost wailing of the music add to the mysterious atmosphere of the song.

I think this version allows us to experience the real feel of this poem, the real feel of dark romanticism.