The Lovely Sirens

The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured to be part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was all but irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens portrays three ideas: the Sirens? beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the danger that befalls the sailors. This danger is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots; represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal gets increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors are smitten with the voices of the Sirens and are headed for their demise.