the slack channel has been discussing the current shanty craze, and one thing led to another led to me rewriting Northwest Passage into a loyalist rallying song that would probably get you hanged anywhere on Tojima. And then recording myself trying to be four people at once! (But only for the first thirty seconds because wow is recording that labor-intensive).
I’m not 100% satisfied with this but I hope it’s a fun listen. Click here for the MP3.
Lyrics:
Ah, for just one time I would make the Northern Passage
To find the hand of Katherine reaching out across the sea
I would reach her side, and to sail for her advantage
I would make the Northern Passage to the queen
Did you see the blood that spilled, the day the war began?
In the waters of the harbor, from the sword in Katherine’s hand
Who raised her flag triumphant, and did show a path for me
To race the loyal souls across the sea
[chorus]
Each woman has a choice to make, who wears salt on her skin
To overcome their fear and find their loyal heart within
To sail back in glory, or to softly sink alone
In a sewn-up hammock weighed down by a stone
[chorus]
Will you slip away and find them, those who dared to pass this way?
In the footsteps of brave Stanton, called to throw it all away
To take the Northern Passage, and to bring her home at last
With the blue and gold still shining from the mast
[chorus]
The sailors of the Northern Fleet know where our duty lies
It’s our lot to hear the Fisher call and it’s our lot to die
But it’s not for a pretender that we’ll take the singing road
To be twisted in the murky depths below
[chorus]