Sinéad O’Connor Reinterprets 19th Century “The Skye Boat Song” for ‘Outlander’ Series

Sinéad O’Connor has shared her interpretation of the 19th-century Scottish song “The Skye Boat Song,” which will run as the theme song to season seven of the Starz series Outlander.

O’Connor’s is the latest in the different versions of the theme song that have been used for the series since it premiered in 2014. Set to music composed by Bear McCreary, previous versions of “The Skye Boat Song” were performed in French, and with more Caribbean and colonial American sounds.

“We are honored to have Sinéad O’Connor performing ‘The Skye Boat Song,’” said Matthew B. Roberts, executive producer of Outlander. “Her rendition is, for me, a reminder of all that’s beautiful about ‘Outlander.’ She is talented beyond measure. Hers is a voice of the ages, one which pierces heart and soul, and embodies the spirit of the show.”

Along with the one-and-a-half-minute opening clip featuring the new theme song, which premiered on Valentine’s Day, are scenes from the upcoming season, which is scheduled to premiere this summer. The show, based on a series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, and starring Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan, follows the story of a WWI military nurse who is transported back to Scotland in 1743.

Season seven of Outlander will include 16 new episodes and is the second to last for the series, which will end after its eighth season. A spinoff of the series, Blood of My Blood, will follow and center around the love story of the parents of Heughan’s character Jamie Fraser.

First written in the 1870s by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet, the original lyrics of “The Skye Boat Song” follow the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie who, with the help of Flora MacDonald, disguises himself as a maid to escape the Jacobites in 1745.

Often played as a waltz or lullaby, the song has also been covered by Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Tori Amos, and Paul Robeson, among other artists over the years.

Photo: Gus Stewart/Redferns