The term “swan song” comes from an Ancient notion that swans are mute throughout their lives, but sing a beautiful last melody as they are about to die. As far back as the Roman Pliny the Elder (in 77 CE), people have known this is not the case, but regardless, a swan song refers to a last great production before exiting the stage – whether in theater or life. What you can hear is Carl Orff’s 1935/6 rendition of a medieval swan song. This is a humorous piece – the Latin lyrics are over-the-top, and take the literal perspective of a swan singing as he is dying from being roasted on a spit, someone’s future dinner. Medieval renegade ecclesiastics wrote this poem, which in English begins “Once I had dwelt on lakes; once I had been beautiful, when I was a swan. Poor wretch! Now black and well roasted!” The tounge-in-cheek lyrics were typical for these monks, who enjoyed pointing out the impermanence and fickleneas of fate with a great sense of humor.
Source(s): Image: British Library Harley MS 4751, folio 41 v. Music from Arapahoe Philharmonic. Information about phrase origin from “phrases.org.uk.” Second image with Latin and English from “tylatin.org/extras/cb12.html .
