‘The Magdalene Song’ by the Irish singer, who died on July 26 at the age of 56, was used in the psychological thriller ‘The Woman in the Wall’
Two months after her death aged 56, Sinéad O’Connor’s unreleased song ‘The Magdalene Song’ premiered during the series finale of the BBC psychological thriller The woman in the wall Sunday.
The series, starring Ruth Wilson and created by Joe Murtagh, is about a woman dealing with the trauma of her time as a resident of Ireland’s controversial Magdalene Laundries, a home for unmarried, pregnant women and sex workers run by the Rev. sisters. The series will debut in the US on Paramount+ with Showtime on November 1.
“The first half of the song is absolutely heartbreaking and the second half is pure defiance,” said Northern Irish musician and composer David Holmes, who wrote the music for the series and has also produced O’Connor’s music in recent years. Guard before the broadcast of the finale.
“I stripped the song down to just Sinéad’s voice and then went full blast in the second half,” Holmes continued. “It’s amazing how the meaning of the song merged with this story. It just had to be. There is a certain magic when you bring music to an emotional story.”
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor died on July 26 at the age of 56.
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According to Holmes, O’Connor gave the production permission to use the song before filming began.
“Sinéad approved the song for use before they even started filming, and when the producers heard it, they were amazed that they had something so powerful,” recalled Holmes, who noted that the producers felt the song would be most appropriate during the finale series. moments. “We all felt that the only place this could go was the end.”
“Sinéad was trying to say in the lyrics, I think, that even though she went through a lot of turmoil, it wasn’t going to stop her from being who she wanted to be,” Holmes continued. “She never really talked about the meaning of her songs. She used to joke that she often told people that her songs were about something completely different from what they were talking about. But this one – well, it’s called ‘The Magdalene Song.’ ”
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At the age of 15, O’Connor’s history of teenage truancy and shoplifting resulted in her being sent to Dublin’s Magdalene Asylum for “unruly” women for 18 months. The rules were strictly enforced, and for minor infractions she was forced to sleep in the neighboring home for the elderly.
“I will never experience such panic and terror and agony over anything as I experienced in that place,” she said. SPIN in 1990.
Holmes claimed that before her death on July 26, he and O’Connor were working on her 11th studio album. While filming, The woman in the wall producer Susan Breen told him she was a fan of O’Connor. This exchange prompted him to call the singer.
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“I told Sinéad the script was unlike anything anyone had done on the subject, and it had Ruth Wilson, one of the best actresses in the world.” said Holmes Guard. “Sinéad said, ‘I believe you. Give them ‘The Magdalene Song’.”
Holmes admitted he has “great regrets” that the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer never saw the end results The woman in the wall.
“She would be proud,” he told the publication. “Some people criticized the dark humor in the script, but growing up in Belfast I saw the dark humor people use to get by.”
“It’s crazy that the last laundry didn’t close until the 90s,” added Holmes. “Those girls were tortured. I have never been able to understand the collective evil of those nuns.”
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Source: HIS Education