# This Mortal Coil — Song to the Siren

This Mortal Coil’s Song to the Siren (1983) appears on 2 of our lists — Dream Pop and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 1 in Dream Pop. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1983
- **Label:** 4AD
- **On:** Dream Pop and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [This Mortal Coil](https://waxonia.com/artist/this-mortal-coil/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/this-mortal-coil--song-to-the-siren/

## What 2 lists say

### No. 1 in [Dream Pop](https://waxonia.com/genre/dream-pop/)

Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie covering Tim Buckley, with almost nothing behind the voice but a treated guitar. The record that told a whole label what it was for.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

Almost nothing behind the voice but a treated guitar, and it is still overwhelming. A cover version that has effectively replaced the original.

## Analysis

6 sections, the first drop of 4 at 0:30, 14% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 123 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** Bb major
- **Dynamic range:** 12.3 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 3:32

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy
- `0:27` B · **steady** (bar 14), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: vocals
- `1:07` B · **steady** (bar 35), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: vocals
- `1:33` B · **peak** (bar 48), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: vocals, other
- `1:53` B · **breakdown** (bar 58), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: vocals
- `2:50` C · **steady** (bar 87), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: vocals

**Drops** at 0:30 (bar 15), 0:56 (bar 29), 1:33 (bar 48), 2:37 (bar 81). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/This%20Mortal%20Coil%20Song%20to%20the%20Siren) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=6GFteqnmoxg)

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