The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

“She's the albatross She is here to destroy you”

Angela & Uncle Jerry identify the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as the primary literary source for the song. The albatross is the controlling metaphor for the piece, Taylor characterizes herself as the albatross, the evil omen bird hung around someone's neck in the poem. Uncle Jerry notes the song mirrors the poem's frame-tale structure: an old man stops a wedding guest to tell his cautionary tale, just as Taylor is telling the story of her life. The song's opening with 'wise men' parallels the ancient mariner stopping the wedding guest. Uncle Jerry also notes the poem uses antique spelling (R-I-M-E) and was published in the Lyrical Ballads at the end of the 18th century.