"Love Song for a Vampire" is a song composed and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox. It was recorded for Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula based on the 1897 gothic horror novel, where it plays during the end credits. Produced by Stephen Lipson, it was released in February 1993 by RCA and BMG as a double A-side with "Little Bird" in Ireland, the United Kingdom and several other countries in Europe. The music video for the song was directed by Sophie Muller, featuring footage from Bram Stoker's Dracula.
When Lennox was approached to contribute vocals for the Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack, she had claimed she had "little interest in Bram Stoker’s book". Instead, Lennox had claimed that she had developed a fondness of a new series of novels including The Vampire Chronicles, by Anne Rice. Rice published the first installment, Interview With The Vampire, in 1978, and its sequel in 1985, The Vampire Lestat.[2] Lennox and Rice were also united in tragedy, with Rice’s daughter Michele passing away with leukemia at age six, before she began writing Interview With The Vampire. In 1988, Lennox’s son Daniel was stillborn, a trauma that later drove Annie to become a campaigner for women’s healthcare, and ultimately united Lennox and Rice together leading to Lennox to contribute vocals to "Love Song for a Vampire".[3]
It is claimed that the trauma and emotion faced by Rice and Lennox contributes to the tender heart of “Love Song for a Vampire”. The song is described as "a vulnerable song about loss, and the feeling of a grief that might go on forever".[4]
Release and legacy
In the United Kingdom, the song achieved more commercial success than the double-A sided single with Lennox's track "Little Bird" from her album Diva. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart in early 1993, while in the US, it reached number 24 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It reappeared in 1995 on the UK CD single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", alongside Lennox's covers of the Psychedelic Furs' "Heaven" and Blondie's "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear". In 2022, British newspaper The Guardian ranked "Love Songs for a Vampire" as the second best Annie Lennox song of all time in their ranking of the top thirty songs released by Lennox.[5] Their decision was based on what they described as her "finest solo single which features a high-drama, suitably gothic confection of ambient synths and booming drums supporting a gorgeous". Additionally, they described the song as a "faintly folk melody with lyrics that function as a straightforward love song when taken out of its cinematic context".[5]
Critical reception
In their review of the soundtrack for Bram Stoker's Dracula, Billboard wrote, "The highlight and probable single is the only vocal entry on the album, Annie Lennox's haunting, romantic 'Love Song for a Vampire'."[6] Mike Ragogna from HuffPost noted that in the song, "Lennox sings the poem, Once I had the rarest rose that ever deigned to bloom, cruel winter chilled the bud and stole my flower too soon, slyly transporting us from Bram Stoker's world to that of Anne Rice's without our realizing."[7] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton declared it as a "gorgeous contribution" to the movie.[8] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, describing it as "a simple, mournful, relentless and (appropriately?) haunting song."[9]
Commercial performance
The single achieved considerable commercial success internationally, peaking at number three in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, "Love Song for a Vampire" by itself reached number four in Spain and number ten in France. In the United States, it reached number twenty-four on the BillboardAlternative Airplay charts. Alongside "Little Bird", it was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom on 1 March 1993, indicating sales in excess of 200,000 copies.[10]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Love Song for a Vampire" was directed by British director Sophie Muller.[11] It features Annie Lennox, seen in a dark garden at night very similar to Lucy Westenra's in the film, and wearing a similar white dress. As she sings, several excerpts from the film are shown, and the video ends as what appears to be holy light shines upon her, very similar to what happens during Dracula's death at the film's end. David Sinclair from Rolling Stone complimented it as an "extraordinary video", and "a striking display of sinister melancholia by Lennox intercut with a tour de force of special culled from the movie."[12]
Track listings
All tracks were written by Annie Lennox unless otherwise noted.
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