Tam Lin

from Bestiary by The Forgetmenauts

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 USD or more
Buy the Full Digital Album
CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
High quality CD of our first album, "Bestiary", featuring the artwork of Wren Nowan. Eco-pack with plastic sleeve professionally printed by Atomic Disc.

Orders ship through USPS First-Class mail. No returns will be accepted, but we will issue refunds or replacements for items lost or damaged during shipping.

Includes unlimited streaming of Bestiary via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

lyrics

It was late, quiet, a Friday at the crossroads
It was cold, autumn, the fires burning low
As I followed a trail of flowers through the wood
Each one shaped like a rose with the color and the fragrance of snow

And all the whiskey was drunk and the music dying down
As I took one in my fist and I tore it from the ground
And there was blood on my palm from where the thorns cut in
And I thought of the lover I thought I’d never see again

Then he stood there before me, a man with hollow eyes
He looked half-asleep, half-human, and only half alive
And as my legs on their own bore me gently towards him
My lips parted and I murmured the name of my darling, my lover, my long-lost Tam Lin…

He looked just the same as ten years before
When he was torn from my bed in the midst of a storm
By a woman whose name we don’t speak in this town
Who wears the bones of her lovers
And their blood in her gown

And then with a cold wind that woman was there
A beauty unparalleled with stars in her hair
That shattered and danced like fire on her skin
The lover, the captor of my darling Tam Lin

As I held him closer she smiled like death
Told me I’d have him back if we both passed her test, said
“He’s no longer the man who laid in your bed,
But why bother with words when I can show you instead?”

And then in my arms, I held a lion
That clawed at my eyes until i couldn’t see
And then a host of maggots all seething and writhing
As his voice cried out in terror "Just let go of me!"

But I held him close though his body kept changing
A serpent, a bear, his cells rearranging
Said “I’ll never let you go again, my darling Tam Lin
Though you break all my bones and you serrate my skin”
And all through the night though broken and sore
I clung tight to monsters each worse than before
As the wicked queen who tore him from me laughed at the sight
Of my darling, my lover, skinning me alive

Then dawn broke, and silence, I opened my eyes
They were whole and undamaged, and there by my side
Was my darling Tam Lin, pressed his lips to my own, said
“Though Death do us part, I will never let you go…”

“Though Death do us part, I will never let you go,
Though Death do us part, I will never let you go,
Though Death do us part, I will never let you go,
My darling, my lover, I will never let you go…”

credits

from Bestiary, released August 23, 2019
Lyrics: Walker Staples

license

about

The Forgetmenauts Berkeley, California

The Forgetmenauts weave folklore and mythology into a strange, fresh, and rich soundscape. Their musicality is orchestral, folksy, alternative, and punk all at once. Their lyrics spin old tales and new into exciting and poetic songs that weave together love and queerness, longing and revenge. Come for the Marriage of Bigfoot and Mothman, stay for the Gay Werewolf Murder Ballad. ... more

contact / help

Contact The Forgetmenauts

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like The Forgetmenauts, you may also like:

Ulysses Dies At Dawn
by The Mechanisms

supported by 30 fans who also own “Tam Lin”

greek legend but sci-fi. good! listen immediately. watch out the mechanisms that was nearly a happy ending jonnydville
go to album
The Bifrost Incident
by The Mechanisms

supported by 30 fans who also own “Tam Lin”

If I had a nickel for every time Jonny destroyed the universe by opening a door, I'd have two nickles. sauleline
go to album
Once Upon A Time (In Space)
by The Mechanisms

supported by 29 fans who also own “Tam Lin”

excellent narrative album containing space pirates, reworkings of classic folk tunes and a fascinating retelling of European fairy tales jonnydville
go to album
Pete Yorn Sings The Classics
by Pete Yorn

On his new LP, Pete Yorn offers his take on classic songs by The Pixies, Roxy Music, The Beach Boys, & more. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 17, 2021
go to album
Wooden Cave
by Thin Lear

Thin Lear's sophisticated rock music is tempered with soaring chamber pop accents and an undeniable gift for melody. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 30, 2020
go to album
Pete Yorn Live At The Troubadour
by Pete Yorn

A sprawling, 25-song set from Pete Yorn complete with covers of Springsteen and The Smiths capture him at his unguarded best. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2020
go to album
High Noon Over Camelot
by The Mechanisms

supported by 28 fans who also own “Tam Lin”

This is a great adaptation of Arthuriana and a brilliant narrative album. I love how the queerness of the characters is handled as an integral part of the narrative and plot development without it being the end all be all of the characters themselves. my boy Gawain deserved better though maritarvaniti
go to album