Come Cover Me: Herr Mannelig

I first heard this song upon listening to Haggard's Eppur Si Muove, a band and an album recommended to me by someone on Metal From Finland. I loved this immediately: so atmospheric, so achey, so beautiful...And I didn't understand a single word!

According to Wikipedia, Herr Mannelig is a Swedish ballad about a female mountain troll who wants to marry a knight. The lyrics can be found here, in both Swedish and English. Wikipedia says that Haggard performs the song in Italian, even though they are a German band.

Here is "Herr Mannelig" being performed in Swedish by the band In Extremo, a German medieval metal group.



Here is a Belarusian version done by Litvintroll, a folk metal band from that country.



And here is my favourite version, sung by Haggard! And yes, I chose the LoTR video on purpose!



Which one do you prefer? I think all of them are interesting in their own way, and as a good cover should do, each band brings their own character into the song. But I have a special place in my heart for the Haggard version because I think it really captures the emotion of the lyrics. I also love the sound of the guitar in this song; it's so crisp.

Come Cover Me: Hijo de la Luna

The first time I head this song was on Sarah Brightman's CD, La Luna, which I bought when it came out in 2000. I am grateful to my grandparents, of all people, for getting me into Sarah Brightman to begin with! Anyway, this is still such a rewarding album for me to listen to and I have always loved Sarah's version of "Hijo de la Luna", which is Spanish for "Son of the Moon." According to Wikipedia, "Hijo de la Luna" was first performed by a Spanish band called Mecano. Since then, it has been covered numerous times in addition to Sarah Brightman's version.



One of my favourite folk metal bands, Lyriel, also has a cover version of this song I really like, and I was so pleasantly surprised when it appeared on their Autumntales album.



Then there is Haggard, who does perhaps my favourite cover of Hijo, which appears on their Tales of Itheria album.



Finally, I just discovered a Finnish version of this song, performed by Katra, and named "Kuunpoika." I honestly wasn't too sure what to think of Katra when James first introduced me to her, but I have to admit, she is growing on me. This version of Hijo is good, but I find it a bit slow for my taste. It does have a nice guitar solo in it, though, which is quite cool.



What do you guys think? Which is your favourite version?