"Nightingale" is a song by British progressive metal band Haken. It is the second track on the band's 2023 album Fauna.
It was the first single released for the album, releasing on 26 April 2022.
Basis
"Nightingale" is likely based upon the fairytale of the same name an emperor who prefers the
tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, the nightingale's song restores his health.
Production
Nightingale was the first song recorded for the album, recorded around 10 March 2022. Upon the single's announcement the band held an art competition, the winner of which would
have their art used as the single artwork for the song, as well as recieve autographed memorabilia from the writing sessions and two tickets to any upcoming concert. The eventual winner
of such was Rein Van Oyen.
On 19 April 2022, a week before its release, the song was teased with a 20-second clip of the song to anyone who pre-saved the song.
During a Q&A while at Cruise to the Edge in May 2022, The band stated that the song was written primarily by Pete Jones and Richard Henshall.
Lyrics
| "Nightingale" lyrics [Click here] |
No perception of passing time
The words struggle to escape her mind
New perspectives to redefine
Birdsong awakens her from the storm
Shuffle the sequence of old paradigms
The rhyme and metre still misaligned
Another page lay burning in the fire
The ink and the feather hold their secrets well
Nightingale I dream in daylight
(Bell toll me back into my soul)
One fateful night
Unspoken binds unravelled
I'm ever of the chosen
My signal fire still burning
I feel like I'm guided by my inner totem
Poetic justice arriving after all
When characters and places start to form
A sullen emperor endures his requiem
Can he live with this lament?
A mechanical animal, a dangerous game
That clockwork song it sings will send you to your grave
Now heed the nightingale's cautionary tale
"Away, away for I will fly to thee"
One fateful night
Unspoken binds unravelled
I'm ever of the chosen
My signal fire still burning
I feel like I'm guided by the totem inside
Dig in with your claws
I push my talons into your skin
Heal me with your song
You are forgiven for all of your sins
Dig in with your claws
Sleep now in blissful anaesthesia
Heal me with your song
Still no perception of passing
Nightingale I dream in daylight
Nightingale mine, see me take flight
One fateful night
Unspoken binds unravelled
I'm ever of the chosen
My signal fire still burning
I feel like I'm guided by the totem
One fateful night
Unspoken binds unravelled
I'm ever of the chosen
My signal fire still burning
I feel like I'm guided by the totem
We'll gather as the birdsong plays
The calling of the nightingale
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Personnel
Haken
- Ross Jennings - vocals
- Richard Henshall - guitars, keyboards
- Charlie Griffiths - guitars
- Peter Jones - keyboards
- Conner Green - bass
- Raymond Hearne - drums
Production and Design
Quotes from the Band
"We enlisted Jens Bogren to mix Nightingale and, as always, he's blown us away by capturing every detail while delivering power and energy. We couldn't be happier with the finished product."
-Haken
"Lyrically, the song reflects on the creative process itself; with a message that although it may be difficult of late, we must remember to be thankful for the positives in life; be they big or small."
-Haken
Trivia
- "Nightingale" is the first Haken release to feature fan-submitted artwork.
- It's possible that the line "One fateful night outspoken minds unravel I'm never of the chosen" alludes to the band's legal name, "Of The Chosen LLP".
- The song is the first to feature Peter Jones as a band member since 2007's "Snow".
- "Nightingale" is the first song since the release of Aquarius to be performed live prior to the announcement of its album.
- The font used on the single cover is called Bauhaus Bold. (Slightly different from, but in the same font family as, those of Affinity, Vector and Virus.
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| "Nightingale" |
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| Single by Haken |
| Released |
26 April 2022 |
| Album |
Fauna |
| Genre |
Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock |
| Length |
7:23 |
| Live Plays |
23 (#30 [tied]) |
| "Nightingale" music video |
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