Alice Tanner - Where Basil Grows | Inspired by John Keats' poem "Isabella"

“Where Basil Grows” is a dark, haunting love song inspired by John Keats' Isabella, or the Pot of Basil; one of the great tragic poems of the Romantic era. When her beloved is taken from her, she searches for his body and finds him buried beneath the ground. Unable to accept his death, she takes his head and places it within a pot of earth, growing basil over the remains as an act of remembrance. Where Basil Grows explores the darker side of romantic devotion: when mourning becomes indistinguishable from madness, and when the only way to keep someone alive is to carry them into the world of the living through memory. 🌿 Inspired by John Keats Lyrics We met in secret, hands and thread You worked below, my world was red They said your name like it was sin But I let all their warnings in They took you far, they took your breath Their silver knives, your quiet death I searched the woods, I dug the ground And found you where no heart should sound Now basil grows where sorrow spills A garden fed by dreams and wills They said let go, I said not yet I water grief, I can’t forget And though the world would call me mad You were the only love I had I keep your voice inside the soil Your name in tears, your soul in toil Each night I speak, and though it’s still Your ghost leans in, and time stands still They carved your fate in cold regret But I will mourn what they forget Now basil grows where sorrow spills A garden fed by dreams and wills They said let go, I said not yet I water grief, I can’t forget And though the world would call me mad You were the only love I had A pot of earth, a heart inside A promise no grave can divide My tears are roots, my love is bloom This garden is our waiting room Now basil grows, and I remain A girl who walks with love and pain You sleep beneath, and I above A broken world that once knew love #WhereBasilGrows #JohnKeats #Isabella #PotOfBasil #DarkRomance #GothicFolk #DarkFolk #TragicLove #GothicMusic #RomanticPoetry #OriginalMusic #LiteraryMusic