Cobourg, Ont.-based Celtic folk duo Lo & The High Road has released “Salem,” a new single inspired by the Salem Witch Trials and the final words attributed to those who were accused and executed. The track appears on the duo’s sophomore album, Standing Stones, scheduled for release Oct. 2.
Written by Lauren Halász and Colin McMahon, “Salem” marks a shift from the fantasy and folklore that have frequently shaped the duo’s songwriting. Instead, the musicians draw on documented history to examine fear, persecution and the consequences of targeting marginalized groups.
Sarah Good’s Final Words Inspire “Salem”
Halász said the song began to take shape while she was researching the Salem Witch Trials. During that process, she encountered a collection of final words attributed to people accused of witchcraft and repeatedly returned to the statement associated with Sarah Good, one of the first three women condemned.
According to historical accounts cited by the band, Reverend Nicholas Noyes asked Good to confess shortly before her execution. She responded, “I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink.”
The words became central to the song’s chorus.
“In a way, Sarah Good was my co-writer,” Halász says.
“Salem” expands on that history by connecting the events of the 17th century with broader questions about fear, power and social division.
“I never signed the devil’s book, but I start to think that you did,” Halász sings, before the chorus turns the accusation toward those responsible: “All ye who stack up the stones, God will give you blood to drink, tear innocents out of their homes, God will give you blood to drink.”
Song Connects Historical Persecution With the Present
The bridge shifts the track from anger toward a call for understanding.
“I will call out this pain through the centuries, using the voices of those who still remember me, and we will cry out for peace, we will cry out for empathy, when you repeat the pages of our history.”
For Halász, the song is not intended simply as a condemnation of historical events. Instead, it examines how fear of people portrayed as outsiders can be amplified by those in positions of authority and how similar patterns can reappear across generations.
Lo & The High Road Moves Toward Indie Rock Sound
Musically, “Salem” moves further into indie rock than much of Lo & The High Road’s previous catalogue.
Electric guitar and a full drum kit take a more prominent role than the folk instrumentation commonly associated with the duo’s recordings. Halász also layered forceful backing vocals beneath the lead performance during the “God will give you blood to drink” refrain, an arrangement the band recreates during live performances.
Halász and McMahon also layered the bridge melody over elements of the pre-chorus and chorus, creating vocal counterpoint that emerged during the recording process.
Like the rest of Standing Stones, “Salem” was written and recorded at the duo’s home studio in Cobourg.
McMahon produced the track and performed guitar and mandolin. Halász provides lead vocals, with additional vocals from Christine Dando, percussion from Martin Gladman and background vocals from Amanda Weatherall. Abbey Spear created the single’s cover artwork.
Standing Stones Expands Duo’s Folk Storytelling
Halász, who handles songwriting, vocals, bass and bodhrán, and McMahon, responsible for songwriting, arrangements, production, guitar, mandolin and bouzouki, have built an international audience around their Celtic folk sound.
Their 2023 debut album, Jackalope Tales (& Other Stories), has generated more than 2.8 million Spotify streams across nine tracks. Its songs explore themes including childhood wonder, resilience and growing up.
The duo says its audience has grown to more than 200,000 fans worldwide, with its music finding listeners through tabletop role-playing communities, woodland weddings and Renaissance fairs.
New Album Features 14 Tracks and Guest Musicians
Standing Stones contains 14 tracks, including four traditional songs and 10 original compositions drawing from Greek mythology and historical events.
Previously released material includes “The Fawn & the Huntress,” featuring Lunar Bloom, and “Dance of the Dryads.” Other tracks include “The Weaver,” the title track and “Salem.”
Guest performers on the album include Christine Dando, Jordan Baldwin, Saskia Tomkins on nyckelharpa and Steáfán Hannigan on uilleann pipes, bodhrán and Irish flute.
Lo & The High Road toured Eastern Canada this year, travelling from Toronto to Halifax and appearing at Kingston’s Ironwood Fantasy Fair. The duo is also scheduled to perform at Port Hope’s Cultivate Festival, joined live by Dave Finneran on guitar, Dando on vocals and Baldwin on violin.
With “Salem” now released and Standing Stones arriving Oct. 2, Lo & The High Road is expanding its established mix of Celtic folk and storytelling by turning from mythology toward historical events and their continuing echoes in the present.