| "Love Song for a Vampire" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byAnnie Lennox | ||||
| from the albumBram Stoker's Dracula: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
| A-side | "Little Bird" | |||
| Released | 1 February 1993 (1993-02-01)[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:17 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Annie Lennox | |||
| Producer | Stephen Lipson | |||
| Annie Lennox singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Love Song for a Vampire" onYouTube | ||||
"Love Song for a Vampire" is a song composed and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriterAnnie Lennox. It was recorded forFrancis Ford Coppola's 1992 film,Bram Stoker's Dracula based on the 1897 gothic horror novel, where it plays during the end credits. Produced byStephen Lipson, it was released in February 1993 byRCA andBMG as adouble A-side with "Little Bird" in Ireland, the United Kingdom and several other countries in Europe. "Love Song for a Vampire" received positive contemporary and retrospective reviews. The music video for the song was directed bySophie Muller, featuring footage fromBram Stoker's Dracula.
When Lennox was approached to contribute vocals for theBram 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 includingThe Vampire Chronicles, byAnne 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 dying of leukemia at age six, before she began writingInterview 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]
In the United Kingdom, the song achieved more commercial success than the double-A sided single with Lennox's track "Little Bird" from her albumDiva. It reached number three on theUK Singles Chart in early 1993, while in the US, it reached number 24 on theBillboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It reappeared in 1995 on the UK CD single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", alongside Lennox's covers ofthe Psychedelic Furs' "Heaven" andBlondie's "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear".
In their review of the soundtrack forBram 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'."[5] Mike Ragogna fromHuffPost 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."[6] In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton declared it as a "gorgeous contribution" to the movie.[7] Alan Jones fromMusic Week named it Pick of the Week, describing it as "a simple, mournful, relentless and (appropriately?) haunting song."[8]
In 2022,The Guardian ranked "Love Songs for a Vampire" as Lennox's second-best song of all time, behind only theEurythmics's "Love Is a Stranger" (1982).[9] 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".[9]
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 theBillboardAlternative Airplay charts. Alongside "Little Bird", it was certified Silver by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom on 1 March 1993, indicating sales in excess of 200,000 copies.[10]
The accompanying music video for "Love Song for a Vampire" was directed by British directorSophie Muller.[11] It features Lennox, seen in a darkgarden at night very similar toLucy 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 beholy light shines upon her, very similar to what happens during Dracula's death at the film's end. David Sinclair fromRolling 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]
All tracks were written by Annie Lennox unless otherwise noted.
CD: Arista / 07822 12522 2 (US)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Bird" (Edit) | 4:32 | |
| 2. | "Love Song for a Vampire" (fromBram Stoker's Dracula) | 4:16 | |
| 3. | "Why" | 5:04* | |
| 4. | "The Gift" | Lennox/Buchanan, Bell, Moore | 4:36* |
| 5. | "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" | Lennox/Stewart | 4:06* |
CD: BMG / 74321 13383 2 (UK)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Bird" | 4:39 |
| 2. | "Love Song for a Vampire" (fromBram Stoker's Dracula) | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Little Bird" (Utah Saints Version) | 6:35 |
| 4. | "Little Bird" (N'Joi Version) | 4:46 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[26] | Silver | 200,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
