She shared: “When I was 13 or 14, I bought myself a book, ‘Palgrave’s Golden Treasury’, and that really turned me on to poetry, lots of different poetry.
“And then there was my English teacher at the convent, Mrs Simpson. I was studying for my A Levels in the year before I got discovered. Very happy. Then I was discovered and never finished them, but I learnt a lot and it never left me, so I had this idea all my life, really, that I wanted to make the most beautiful poetry record with music.”
‘She Walks In Beauty’ was a lyrical poem by Lord Byron and Marianne thinks that Byron’s work is “sublime”.
She said: “It’s very romantic, not like you imagine Byron to be. It’s so beautiful, and that’s why I like it.
“I love the other side of Byron too, but this is really amazing, sublime. And I was very drawn to the ability to do really beautiful rhymes. I think that’s from being a songwriter. It’s incredibly nice. Not what I connect with Lord Byron at all.”
Meanwhile, Marianne previously suggested she may never sing again after battling coronavirus.
The singer was hospitalised for three weeks with the virus in April and subsequently suggested she may never make a full recovery.
She explained: “I may not be able to sing ever again. Maybe that’s over.
“I would be incredibly upset if that was the case, but, on the other hand, I am 74.
“I don’t feel cursed and I don’t feel invincible. I just feel f****** human.”
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