‘Wynter Waxeth,’ Ethel Cain’s Song for ‘Werwulf,’ Is Here

Happy Friday to all my gothic heroines: Your anthem for Werwulf Winter is here. Your favorite haunted songstress, Ethel Cain, has teamed up with director Robert Eggers and composer Robin Carolan for “Wynter Waxeth,” a song for the upcoming Werwulf score. Eggers and Carolan previously collaborated for Nosferatu and The Northman.

This is Cain’s first song for a feature film, although you can hear her throughout the Werwulf soundtrack. “It’s always been my dream to score a horror film in some way, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect first opportunity than getting to work with Rob and Robin on a song for Werwulf,” Cain said in a statement on Friday. 

She adds that she, Eggers and Carolan were “immediately creatively aligned.” Carolan explained the song was a team effort mainly because Eggers’ films are “immersive” and accurate to the time period. “I knew the only way the song would work within the film was if Ethel and I consulted with Rob about the language and the words we use, as they not only needed to sound right, they also had to tie directly in with the story he was telling,” Carolan said. Because of this, the lyrics to “Wynter Waxeth” are in Middle English, to reflect Werwulf’s 14th-century setting. Cain and Carolan listened to medieval music, which included an instrument called the psaltery. “I bought one online and wound up plucking out this simple little harp line on it and that’s where the song began,” Cain said.

The composer knew they struck gold immediately, saying Cain laid down “the most haunting vocal melodies that on first listen gave me genuine goosebumps.” Even before Cain, Carolan and Eggers released their collaboration, “Wynter Waxeth” was already getting awards buzz. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Cain had a chance of winning Best Original Song, just like Charli XCX’s “House” with John Cale () or “When I’m Home” by James Blake, Ludwig Göransson, Christopher Nolan and Travis Scott ().  Listen to and read the here.