Olivia Chaney's 2013 BBC Radio performance of 'Dark Eyed Sailor' was featured in Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights'
The 19th-century ballad was excluded from three of Chaney's albums but found its place in the film
Chaney performed the song during a period of personal heartbreak, adding emotional depth
The song's themes of lost love and reunion mirror the film's narrative between Cathy, Edgar, and Heathcliff
📖 Full Retelling
Folk musician Olivia Chaney's haunting 2013 BBC Radio performance of the 19th-century British ballad 'Dark Eyed Sailor' has been featured in director Emerald Fennell's adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights,' which is now playing in theaters in 2026, with the melancholic song capturing the emotional essence of Cathy's (Margot Robbie) conflicted journey between marrying Edgar (Shazad Latif) while pining for her true love Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). The song, which tells the story of a woman mourning her lost-at-sea sailor lover who eventually returns in disguise to test her faithfulness before revealing his identity and marrying her, resonated deeply with the film's narrative of love, loss, and reunion. Interestingly, despite being mastered and ready for release, the track was excluded from three of Chaney's albums, including her Grammy-nominated 'The Queen of Hearts,' as she felt it didn't quite fit with the overall concept of each project. Chaney revealed that she performed the particular rendition featured in the film during a period of personal turmoil, which allowed her to channel complex emotions into the performance that has a 'wholesome ending' she both desired and struggled with.
🏷️ Themes
Music in Film, Folk Revival, Literary Adaptation, Emotional Authenticity
Wuthering Heights is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two extensive upland estates and their landowning families on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons; and their turbulent relationships wi...
Emerald Lilly Fennell (; born 1 October 1985) is an English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
Fennell first gained attention for her roles i...
Olivia Chaney (born 1982) is an English folk singer, pianist, guitarist, harmonium player and songwriter. Her first two solo albums, The Longest River (2015), and Shelter (2018) were released on Nonesuch Records. . She recorded Offa Rex with The Decemberists in 2017 and released her third solo recor...
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Feb 26, 2026 10:00am PT ‘Wuthering Heights’: Meet the Folk Singer Whose Obscure Radio Performance of a 19th-Century Ballad Captured Emerald Fennell’s Ear By Arushi Jacob Plus Icon Arushi Jacob Latest Ann Godoff, Penguin Press Founder and Editor, Dies at 76 17 hours ago Nate Bargatze’s New Game Show Premieres Tonight: Here’s How Watch ‘The Greatest Average American’ Online 19 hours ago ‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ Sets Season 4 Premiere Date on The CW (TV News Roundup) 22 hours ago See All Folk musician Olivia Chaney has performed “Dark Eyed Sailor” more times than she can count. The 19th-century British ballad about a lost love returning was on her proposed track list for three separate albums, including her Grammy-nominated record “The Queen of Hearts”; each eventually ended up on the cutting floor despite being mastered. Chaney sang it at numerous gigs in London and around the world, delivering an especially haunting rendition for a BBC Radio set in 2013. Over a decade later, that specific cover found its way into Emerald Fennell ’s sultry adaptation of “ Wuthering Heights .” The film, now playing in theaters, primarily features an angst-ridden original soundtrack from pop superstar Charli xcx, including “House” and “Chains of Love.” Chaney’s is the only other singing voice to appear in the film, performing the soul-stirring melody as Cathy (Margot Robbie) crosses the moors to wed her future husband, Edgar (Shazad Latif), all while pining for her best friend and true love, Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). “Dark Eyed Sailor” is near-Odyssean in context, telling the story of a woman mourning her lost-at-sea sailor lover, only for him to return in disguise to test her faithfulness before revealing his identity and marrying her. It’s only fitting that it plays while a distraught Cathy promises herself to another, and later, when she finally reunites with Heathcliff. It also seems apt that the version Chaney recorded during her own period of heartbreak was the one that made the fil...
