Anne Boleyn? O Death Rock Me Asleep

I am so excited to share my performance of this song with you. “O Death Rock Me Asleep” is commonly attributed to Anne Boleyn, and it is said that she wrote this while imprisoned in the Tower of London awaiting her execution. Of course this story is disputed, but while there is no conclusive evidence that it was definitely written by Anne Boleyn, I don’t think there is anything that has completely discredited it either. And research has shown that the poem did exist in the Tudor Era as early as 1536. Even if this was not written by Anne Boleyn herself, the writer does such a splendid job of putting the performer into her shoes that it is chilling to sing and perform. The repetitive and solemn accompaniment feels almost hypnotic and draws both the performer and the listener into the tunnel visioned existence of Anne Boleyn in her final days, focussing her mind and attempting to calm herself enough to face her end with the dignity that she is reported to have achieved on the scaffold.