The Mummers' Dance
Encyclopedia
"The Mummers' Dance" is a single by Canadian
Celtic
Singer Loreena McKennitt
from the album The Book of Secrets
in 1997. The song was a surprise hit in the United States
, reaching #3 in Adult Top 40, #17 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks
chart and #18 on The Billboard Hot 100
.
The song is the theme song of the TV series Legacy
. It was also featured in the trailer for the film Ever After
, starring Drew Barrymore
, and in the soundtrack of the Brazilian telenovela
Corpo Dourado
. The song was also made into a music video.
The song refers to seasonal Mummers Play
performed by groups of actors, often as house-to-house visits.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
Singer Loreena McKennitt
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
from the album The Book of Secrets
The Book of Secrets
The Book of Secrets is an album by Loreena McKennitt released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.The album is...
in 1997. The song was a surprise hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, reaching #3 in Adult Top 40, #17 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart and #18 on The Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
The song is the theme song of the TV series Legacy
Legacy (TV series)
Legacy is an American western drama series starring Brett Cullen which aired on UPN for eighteen episodes from 1998-1999. The series is set on a Kentucky horse farm soon after the American Civil War. Cullen's character of Ned Logan is the 42-year-old widowed patriarch of the family...
. It was also featured in the trailer for the film Ever After
Ever After
Ever After: A Cinderella Story is a 1998 film inspired by the fairy tale Cinderella, directed by Andy Tennant and starring Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston and Dougray Scott. The screenplay is written by Tennant, Susannah Grant, and Rick Parks. The original music score is composed by George Fenton...
, starring Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, and in the soundtrack of the Brazilian telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
Corpo Dourado
Corpo Dourado
Corpo Dourado is a Brazilian soap opera produced by and shown on Rede Globo from 12 January 1998 through 21 August 1998. The 191 chapters were written by Antonio Calmon and directed by Flávio Colatrello Jr, and later Marcos Schetchman.-Synopsis:...
. The song was also made into a music video.
The song refers to seasonal Mummers Play
Mummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
performed by groups of actors, often as house-to-house visits.
Track listings
Peak positions
| Chart (1997-98) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
18 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
17 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 14 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 83 |