The eery tale of Princess Ronkonkoma
DC SpaceDog is an award winning singer / songwriter and piano player with a very broad interest in several musical genre including pop, rock, country, and jazz.
Story behind the song
A few years ago, I heard the legend of Princess Ronkonkoma, the Lady of the Lake. The sad eery tale of denied love between a Native American woman and a English woodsman.
We took special care to write a compelling song but remains respectful of the legend and culture. I also carefully studied early american music and the folk genre to get an authentic sound and feel for the song.
Here's what Wikipedia had to say.
A supposed Native American woman that committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake during the colonial era. There are several variations of the legend, most of which lead to the woman intentionally drowning herself. It is said that at least once a year, a virile and attractive male between the ages of 18 and 38 is "taken" by the lady to be her lover. Mysteriously, there is truth to the claims that at least one male within that age range drowns in the lake at regular intervals, but drownings are common in any lake that is open to the public. It is perhaps the accuracy that it is typically a male within that age range that makes the story more mysterious.
The most widely acknowledged interpretation of the legend is that a Native American woman fell in love with a European settler. Forbidden to pursue such love, the woman was forced into an arranged marriage but their love persisted. One evening, she tried to swim across the lake to her lover, suffered fatigue and drowned. She returns every year to claim a man to be with her at the bottom of the lake. Other interpretations say that she rowed to the middle of the lake in a canoe to await the coming of her lover, but when he did not come for her she commit suicide by drowning herself. Another similar variation of the legend states that she rowed to the middle of the lake to await him, and as he swam out to her, he fatigued and drowned. Overwhelmed with grief, she drowned herself to join him. Another still states that the woman was so overwhelmed with grief and sadness that she was to be in an arranged marriage, she drowned herself in protest.
Lesser known variations of the legend indicate that her tribe was assaulted by European settlers, one among them being her lover. Betrayed, she drowned herself in grief. Possibly the least known of all the variations is that the woman willingly sacrificed herself by tying herself to a heavy stone and pitching herself off the side of her canoe. This was to appease the god Manitou who had beset her tribe with a terrible curse.
For all intents and purposes, the Lady of the Lake is not malicious. Her claiming of men is out of love and need, for she does not understand that she is also condemning these individuals to death. Her loneliness overwhelms her and she reaches out to these men in desperation. Some men, likely in the mood to cause a stir, claim that when they swim beyond the boundaries of the designated swim area (marked typically by buoyed rope), they feel "cold fingers" touch and try to grasp at their ankles.[citation needed]
There is a mural dedicated to the Lady of the Lake on the side of the strip mall on Rosevale Avenue, painted and updated regularly by a local artist, Michael Murphy. Photo attached.
(source: Wikipedia)
