The Poet and the Muse

The record player with the LP of "The Poet and the Muse"

The Poet and The Muse is a song performed by the fictional band Old Gods of Asgard. The song is a summary of the story of Thomas Zane and Barbara Jagger. The Poet referring to Thomas, the Muse to Barbara. The refrain is meant to explain how Dark Presence can be defeated. In Episode 4: The Truth, Alan Wake and Barry Wheeler find the LP with the song in Anderson Farm after the Anderson Brothers tell Alan to go there for answers. Alan Wake deciphers that the refrain refers to Cynthia Weaver as the Lady of the Light and he needs to find her to rescue Alice, who is being referred to as your love. Alan and Barry decide to go looking for her in the morning. This concludes Episode 4.

Lyrics

There's an old tale wrought with the mystery of Tom
The poet and his muse
And the magic lake which gave a life
To the words the poet used

Now the muse she was his happiness
And he rhymed about her grace
And told her stories of treasures deep
Beneath the blackened waves

'Till in the stillness of one dawn
Still in its misty crown
The muse she went down to the lake
And in the waves she drowned

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light gone mad with the night
That's how you reshape destiny

The poet came down to the lake
To call out to his dear
'When there was no answer
'He was overcome with fear

He searched in vain for his treasure lost
And too soon the night would fall
And only his own echo
Would wail back at his call

And when he swore to bring back his love
By the stories he'd create
Nightmares shifted in their sleep
In the darkness of the lake

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light still ravin' in the night
That's how you reshape destiny

In the dead of night she came to him
With darkness in her eyes
Wearing a mourning gown
Sweet words as her disguise

He took her in without a word
For he saw his grave mistake
And vowed them both to silence
Deep beneath the lake

Now if its real or just a dream
One mystery remains
For it is said on moonless nights
They may still haunt this place

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light gone mad with the night
That's how you reshape destiny

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light still ravin' in the night
That's how you reshape destiny

Speculation

• The song suggests that The Anderson Brothers, as they came in contact with The Dark Presence, also came in contact with Thomas Zane. The first possibility is that the Anderson Brothers got all the information from Thomas and they put this information into the song.
• Another theory is that Thomas Zane wrote the lyrics himself and The Anderson Brothers only wrote the music for it. It seems that the Anderson Brothers stayed in town to make sure they could tell Alan the lyrics were a message. The refrain shows that Thomas was already aware of many future events, including Cynthia's madness and the taking of Alice.

Trivia

• This song is heard in Episode 4: The Truth. The first time it can be heard is after you turn on the power in the Anderson Farm. The second time is in the ending credits.
• This song is actually written and performed by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall, the band who wrote all of the Old Gods of Asgard songs.
• The song is number 8 on the Official Soundtrack that comes with the Special Edition of Alan Wake.
• This song, along with all the other songs in-game, is playable in the song menu.

Video

The Poet And The Muse video