Frank Nicolas - A Cross and Across
A video for 'A Cross and Across', the third song on Frank Nicolas 'Free Advice for Sale' EP.
More at http://www.franknicolas.nl
Thanks to:
-Rowland V. Lee for directing the 1945 Captain Kidd movie that is now in public domain so that I could splice together the wonderful maritime warfare footage.
-Tijmen de Vries for recording the music and some video live in Holysloot
-Mirte de Graaff for contributing her 'fiddle fu' to this song
-Drone Addicts for some beautiful B-Roll footage of Zaansche Schans on Vimeo with a CCBY license.
-Tim for letting me record at the sawmill 'Het Jonge Schaap'
-Frank Pietersen, Julian and Cynthia for recording some live footage during my concert in said windmill
-Jesus for being a handsome piece of wood
-Beach Front BR for freely contributing some natural scenery shots
-Krista for having the patience to help me film a slab of wood from every imaginable angle in every possible lighting condition for hours on end. For holding the lights and being the light.
-National Film Archive for the wood raft scene
-The Libéma company for accidentally burning down the replica of the Prins Willem in Den Helder in 2009 so I could film it back then.
Lyrics:
There’s an old piece of wood here
Once the heart of a tree
It’s seen winters in norway
Now it’s looking at me
In every crack is a story
A tale in every stain
I hear the voice of the ages
Whisper a weathered refrain
I’ve been around the world twice
I’ve seen centuries pass by
I’ve been across the Blue ocean
And here I lie
They felled me one morning
Spring of sixteen-o-four
They hauled me off to the shoreline
To Bragernes Drammen port
And then on to the North Sea
Past the Frisian Isles
We rolled in through the Pampus
To the old river Zaan
Where the windmills drove sawblades
Through every inch of my trunk
Up, and down and up again
Chunk by chunk
Then they left me to dry out
Until the ship-builders came
They took my heart to the shipyards
Put my scraps to the flame
To be part of the ship’s bow
When my body was bent
They poured a cup of wine on me
And away we went
We sailed ‘round the good hope
On a westerly breeze
We brought pepper and nutmeg
From the far, far east
Robert Holmes made a bonfire
Burning ten dozen ships
Vows of vengeance and cries for war
Were on everyone’s lips
Tubes of bronze were upon me
The smell of death in the air
Sailors clutching my edges
On a dying prayer
With the cannonballs raining
Down on splintering wood
We sprung a leak and were towed away
They stripped all that they could
For a woodworker found me
Carved a nice figurine
But his wife quoted Calvin
Saying I was obscene
So he chiseled my legs out
Gave me a thorny crown
He did a half-hearted paint job
And the church paid him down
I’ve been around the world twice
I’ve seen centuries of loss
I’ve been across the blue ocean
I’ve been nailed to a cross