An albatross is a metaphor for a psychological or social burden (most often associated with guilt or shame) that feels like a curse. It is an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798), in which a dead albatross is tied around the neck of a sailor who has brought misfortune to the crew.
Origin
In the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross follows a ship setting out to sea, which is considered a sign of good luck. However, the titular mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, an act that will curse the ship and cause it to suffer terrible mishaps.
Unable to speak due to lack of water, the ship's crew let the mariner know through their glances that they blame him for their plight and they tie the bird around his neck as a sign of his guilt. From this arose the image of an albatross around the neck as metaphor for a burden that is difficult to escape.
Literature
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818, Robert Walton mentions the poem by name and says of an upcoming journey that "I shall kill no albatross", clearly a reference to the poem by Shelley's close acquaintance, Coleridge.
Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick alludes to Coleridge's albatross.
Charles Baudelaire's collection of poems Les Fleurs du mal contains a poem entitled "L'Albatros" (1857) about men on ships who catch the albatrosses for sport. In the final stanza, he goes on to compare the poets to the birds — exiled from the skies and then weighed down by their giant wings, till death.
In Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, first published in 1870, an unnamed crewman unwittingly shoots down an albatross during the first undersea outing the characters enjoy. Several misadventures trouble the ship until Professor Aronnax, Ned Land, and Conseil make their escape as the ship is caught in the Maelstrom.
The Oxford English Dictionary catalogued Coleridge's use of the albatross in 1883.
In his poem Snake, published in Birds, Beasts and Flowers, D. H. Lawrence mentions the albatross in Ancient Mariner.
The cover art for Michael Spivak's A Comprehensive Introduction to Differential Geometry, Vol.2, is a painting by the author featuring a sailing ship beneath a dark stormy sky, full of dead jesters and a single living jester having three albatrosses hanging from ropes around his neck, respectively labeled "Cartan", "Riemann", and "Gauss".
In C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the ship is caught in the supernatural unnavigable darkness of the Island of Dreams. In a moment of desperation, the character Lucy prays for help and the ship is guided by an albatross in a shaft of light, representing Aslan.
Film
In the 1939 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Professor Moriarty (George Zucco) baits Holmes by mailing him a drawing of a man with an albatross hung around his neck. In the 1940 film The Sea Hawk starring Errol Flynn, Albatross is the name of Captain Thorpe's pirate ship. In the 1979 film The Fog by John Carpenter, a radio-station promo is possessed by ghostly forces to speak out and the word albatross is used to tell of the curse on Antonio Bay. In the 1982 film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, there is an Albatross sketch. In the 1987 film "Tin Men" Ernest Tilley, played by Danny de Vito, refers to his unfaithful wife as "An albatross around my neck! You're welcome to her. Keep her, and may you both rot in Hell!" In the 1987 film Hot Pursuit starring John Cusack, Robert Loggia, and Wendy Gazelle, Albatross is the name of "Mac" MacClaren's sailboat. In the 1996 Ridley Scott film White Squall, a fictionalized account of the Ocean Academy's ship Albatross, the ship's captain Christopher Sheldon makes mention of the albatross being a very good omen which "embodied the spirits of lost sailors". "Only bad luck if you kill one," he added. In the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, as the wind picks up and the ship finally breaks out of the doldrums, an albatross is spotted following the ship. When an attempt is made to shoot the bird, the ship's doctor is shot instead. In the 2005 Joss Whedon film Serenity, Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of Serenity defends the notion that River Tam is an albatross to the crew and later to the Operative. He says that the albatross was good luck until "some idiot killed it". When Malcolm is speaking, he then adds to Inara, "Yes, I've read a poem. Try not to faint" in a reference to the Coleridge poem. At the end of the film, he calls River "Little Albatross". The 2011 film Albatross, by Niall MacCormick. In the 2014 film Against the Sun, Gene shoots an albatross, which they eat. Chief Dixon is notably upset about this, saying, "I can't believe you shot an albatross." In The Handmaid's Tale, Season 6 – Episode 4, Serena Joy refers to her previous husband, Fred Waterford, as "more of an Albatross", a comment on her struggles towards the end of their marriage.
Music
In music journalism, the term albatross is sometimes used metaphorically to describe the mixed blessing and curse of a song that becomes so popular it overshadows the rest of the artist's work.
Musical The musical Thoroughly Modern Millie refers to the albatross in a song called "Forget About the Boy". The musical Kinky Boots refers to the albatross in a song called "Not My Father's Son".
Songs (alphabetized by artist) Song and album titles including "Albatross" The band Attalus has a song called "Albatross". The metalcore band Anterrabae has a song titled "An Albatross Around the Neck". The band Alesana has a song called "Heavy Hangs The Albatross". Swedish DJ AronChupa has a song titled "I'm an Albatraoz" which contrasts the attributed personalities of a mouse and an albatross as an allegory of personal growth and female empowerment. South Korean boy group B.A.P have a song titled "Albatross" on their 5th EP Carnival. Bert Weedon has a song called "Albatross". The band Besnard Lakes has a song called "Albatross". The Canadian rock band Big Wreck has an album titled Albatross containing the lead single also titled "Albatross". The band Brave Saint Saturn has a song titled "Albatross". Rapper Chester Watson released a song referencing the poem called "Dead Albatross" in his album Past Cloaks. The post-hardcore band Chiodos has a song titled "We Swam From Albatross, The Day We Lost Kailey Cost". The band The Classic Crime has an album titled Albatross. The band Clutch refers to an "Albatross on your neck" in the song "(In The Wake of) The Swollen Goat" on the Blast Tyrant album. Corrosion Of Conformity refers to the albatross in the song "Albatross". The mathcore band Converge has a song called "Albatross", in the album Petitioning the Empty Sky. The band Fleetwood Mac has a song entitled "Albatross". The band Floater has a song titled "Albatross". The band Foals have a song titled "Albatross". Using the metaphor "You've got an albatross around your neck" The band Foxing has an album called "The Albatross". And reference the word albatross on the songs "Bloodhound", and "Tom Bley". Gorillaz refers to the albatross in the song "Hip Albatross", as a metaphor for the burden of the undead. Judy Collins uses albatross as a metaphor in the song, "Albatross" in 1967. The UK dark wave band Lebanon Hanover has a song entitled "Albatross", from the album Why Not Just Be Solo (2012). The lyrics of the song use the bird as metaphor. Madeon played a song entitled "Albatross" as part of his Pixel Empire tour, as well as during his DJ sets. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band has a song called "Albatross, Albatross, Albatross". The band Public Image Ltd as a song entitled "Albatross" as the first song on their second studio album Metal Box Port Blue has an album entitled The Albatross EP The Sweden indie-pop band Sambassadeur has a song titled "Albatross" on their 2010 albums European. Sarah Blasko has a song called "Albatross" on the 2006 album What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have. The band Slowdive has a song entitled "Albatross". The band Skylark has a song entitled "Albatross". The singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has a song The Albatross as the nineteenth track on her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department. The band Wild Beasts has a song entitled "Albatross". The band Thrice has a song entitled "Albatross".
Lyrical and other references Aaron Lewis in the song "Lost and Lonely" sings about "I'm an albatross hanging around my own neck". Aesop Rock references the albatross on the song "Dorks" The band Alter Bridge references wearing an albatross around one's neck in the song "Wouldn't You Rather" from the album Walk the Sky. The band Badflower references the albatross in the song "Animal". The band Bastille references the albatross in the song "The Weight of Living Pt. 1". American singer/songwriter Carolyne Mas has a song titled "King of the U-Turn" that uses an albatross as a metaphor. The rock band Chevelle uses albatross as a metaphor in the song "Face to the Floor". Demon Hunter uses albatross as a metaphor in the song "Cross to Bear". The band Erra uses albatross as a metaphor in the song "Dreamwalkers". The band Flogging Molly uses reference to the wearing of the albatross in their song "Rebels of the Sacred Heart". The band God Street Wine in the song "Epiphany". In Graham Parker and The Rumour's B-side single Mercury Poisoning, the song opens with "No more pretending now, the albatross is dying in its nest". The indie rock band Guided By Voices reference wearing an albatross around the neck on the song "Peep-Hole" from the album Bee Thousand. The heavy metal band Iron Maiden references the albatross in their song "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which is based on the poem of the same title by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Jeff Williams' song "Bad Luck Charm" contains the line "I'm a cursed black cat, I'm an albatross, I'm a mirror broken, Sad to say, I'm your bad luck charm". Josh Ritter refers to a lingering albatross in his song "Monster Ballad". The characters are lost in the desert after having been lost at sea. The Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band The Legendary Pink Dots references an albatross in the song "Twilight Hour", a song with strong reference itself to the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The Little River Band has a song called "Cool Change", which contains the line: "Albatross and the Whale are my brother". Christian Emocore band mewithoutYou references the albatross in their song "Bear's Vision of St. Agnes". Nightwish refers to albatross in their song "The Islander". Owl City refers to the albatross in the song "Hello Seattle". Pink Floyd refers to the albatross in the song "Echoes". In "Albatross", the first track on Public Image Limited's 1979 album Metal Box, the cryptic reference to "Getting rid of the Albatross" is repeated throughout the song. Rhett Miller's song "This Is What I Do" references everyone having "an Albatross". The song "Morter" from Canadian electronic group Skinny Puppy's 1996 album The Process alludes to the albatross as a burden of truth. The band Starset references the albatross in their song, "Diving Bell," with the lyrics, "the albatross crash-lands." The band Stornoway refers to the albatross in the song "Knock Me on the Head". The band Weezer refers to "a boy and a girl Albatross around their necks" in the song "Wind in our Sails" off Weezer (The White Album). Get Cape Wear Cape Fly refers to the albatross in the song "Waiting for the Monster to Drown". Alternative musician St. Vincent references "the albatross smouldering on my shoulder" in her song "Teenage Talk". The Boston post-hardcore band Pile references an albatross circling the narrator's house several times on the song "Making Eyes" off the 2017 album A Hairshirt of Purpose