The Riptide Movement release "Changeling"

The Riptide Movement release new single “Changeling”from their Top 5 charting album “Ghosts”, available now. 

Inspired by the story of Bridget Cleary – the tale of the last witch burned to death in Ireland - “Changeling” was written by frontman Mal Tuohy in an effort to capture how our belief systems, instilled from early childhood, can shape our view and be potentially corrosive and destructive to society.

In Irish mythology, Changelings are said to be Faerie creatures left in the place of human babies. They were even known to take full-grown adults, leaving exact-duplicate Changelings in their place. After performing some rituals to exorcise the faerie creature within, which usually ended in death, the body or 'changeling' would then be buried in an unmarked grave. It was a gruesome solution to an inconvenient truth, an escape from the public humiliation and social stigma.

Drawing from early Irish mythology and other historical cases involving the culture of Changelings, Mal lyrically paints the backdrop of the song;

 “Using Bridget's story and other mythical characters as the backdrop, I wanted to highlight how our belief systems can be dangerous and corrosive to society and humanity, and how perceived righteous, religious and spiritual beliefs can be detrimental. Basically I want the listener to question their own belief systems, what do they stand for and believe in strongly and why do they believe so strongly in their beliefs?” says Mal.

He continues; “I wanted to highlight the role these belief systems have on society as a whole and the pressure that puts on society to conform to the norm and how it can create a culture of repression, a repression of self expression”.