Folk musician Olivia Chaney has performed the 19th-century British ballad 'Dark Eyed Sailor' countless times, but it was her 2013 BBC Radio rendition that caught the ear of director Emerald Fennell for her new adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights'. The song, about a woman mourning her lost-at-sea lover who returns in disguise, plays as Cathy (Margot Robbie) marries Edgar while pining for Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi).
Chaney's version, recorded during a period of personal heartbreak, was the only voice besides Charli xcx's original soundtrack to appear in the film. 'It was always an interesting challenge singing that song, particularly at that time in my life,' Chaney told Variety. 'I could throw all the emotion into singing it, because one part of me wanted the fairy tale of the song to be real for me, but I also kicked against it.'
The folk singer first encountered 'Dark Eyed Sailor' in the late 2000s through Irish musician Matthew Ord. She modelled the ballad in her own voice, using only a harmonium for the BBC performance that marked her first solo radio session. 'It felt like the beginning of me being me,' she said.
When Fennell approached Chaney about using the song, the singer offered to re-record it, but the director insisted on the original 2013 version. 'There's something about the way that recording was captured — that moment in my life, the emotion that I was feeling, and probably the vulnerability of my first [solo] session,' Chaney explained.
On 13 February, Chaney released an official version of her cover, distributed by the Kartel Music Group. She will perform the ballad during her residency at London's Kings Place from 27 February, and is working on a new album inspired by baroque composer Henry Purcell, tentatively set for release in November.
