Hear Gerard Way’s take on a 17th century English folk song

Last spring, we informed you that Gerard Way would be reimagining a centuries-old folk song, “O Waly Waly” (or “The Water Is Wide”), for Kevin Smith’s new Walrus-themed horror film Tusk.

“[T]he song…is very old and public domain, though I did re-arrange and re-write some lyrics,” Way had tweeted then to quell misguided excitement that the song would be an original piece from his then-unheard Hesitant Alien material.

Director Smith called Way’s take on the song, which dates back to the 1600s, “achingly beautiful” and “haunting.”

“Gerard turned the piece into this achingly beautiful, haunting declaration of undying, hopeless love,” Smith said back in April. “If you’ve ever been in that kind of love, this song will crush you. It’s such a heartbreaker, you can’t help but well up with tears. You could play this track at a wedding or at a funeral and it would be equally appropriate in both places.”

With the film’s having been released last week, the song is now circulating among fans, and you can hear it below:

So far, we have not heard whether Tusk will have a soundtrack or if this song will be released officially.

Gerard Way releases his debut album Hesitant Alien next Tuesday, September 30 via Warner Bros. Records. Not sure if you’ll dig is post-My Chem material? You can stream it in advance.