Northwest Passage

 

Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers.  Performed by the Water Boys.

[Chorus]
Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

[Verse 1]
Westward from the Davis Strait
'Tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient
For which so many died
Seeking gold and glory,
Leaving weathered, broken bones
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones

Chorus

[Verse 2]
Three centuries thereafter
I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelso
Where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me
Then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer
Driving hard across the plain
Chorus

[Verse 4]
How then am I so different
From the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life
I threw it all away
To seek a Northwest Passage
At the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again

[Chorus]
Ah, for just one time
I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line
Through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Sailing Through the Northwest Passage

I really enjoyed watching the documentary about people sailing the Northwest Passage in the Arctic realms of Northern Canada.  The documentary is now on Netflix and is titled "The Polar Sea."  

Because of global warming the ice is melting in this polar region with a dramatic effect on the landscape, animals, and humans. 







Stan Rogers (1949-1983) composed this song, "Northwest Passage."






"Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient for which so many died
Seeking gold and glory, leaving broken weathered bones
And a long forgotten lonely cairn of stones

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Three centuries thereafer I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelso, where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me, and behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer driving hard across the plain

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
To make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west
I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts
and showed a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea

How then am I so different from the first men to this way
Like them I led a sheltered life and threw it all away
To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a northwest passage to the sea
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea."
-  Stan Rogers, 1981

Looking for a Place to Happen with the Tragically Hip

The Place was Dodge City, Kansas; and the Happening was in June of 1972. 

Karen and I, driving in our orange Volkswagon bug, at the 100th meridian.

Driving for hours. Incredible thunder and lightening in Kansas.  Nervous.  Country kitchen breakfasts. Delightful lovemaking in small town motel rooms.  Smiling Americans.  Being young.  Wheat and Big Spaces!!! 

Karen and I have never been to Winnipeg in Canada like the Hip band, but we've been across parts of the Great Plains and the Great Basin and Mojave deserts many times.

“At the hundredth meridian,” by the Tragically Hip band, 1992.

“Me debunk an American myth?
And take my life in my hands?
Where the great plains begin,
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian,
Where the great plains begin.

Driving down a corduroy road,
Weeds standing shoulder high
Ferris wheel is rusting off in the distance
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin.

Left alone to get gigantic
Hard, huge and haunted
A generation so much dumber than it's parents came
Crashing through the window
A raven strains along the line of the road,
Carrying a muddy, old skull
The wires whistle their approval,
Off down the distance
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin
At the hundredth meridian.
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin

I remember, I remember Buffalo
And I remember Angelo
It would seem to me I remember every
Single fucking thing I know.

If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me,
They bury me some place I don't want to be,
You'll dig me up and transport me, unceremoniously,
Away from the swollen city-breeze, garbage bag trees,
Whispers of disease and the acts of enormity
And lower me slowly, sadly and properly
Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy,
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin.”

At the Hundredth Meridaian, the Tragically Hip band. Writers: Gord Downie, Robert Baker, Paul Langlois, Johnny Fay, Gordon Sinclair. 1992. 

"I've got a job, I explore, I follow every little whiff

And I want my life to smell like this
To find a place, ancient race, the kind you'd like to gamble with
Where they'd stamp on burning bags of shit

Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way

Wayward, away we go, it's a shame to leave this masterpiece
With it's gallery gods and it's garbage-bag trees
So I'll paint a scene from memory, so I'd know who murdered me
It's a vain pursuit but it helps me sleep

Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way
Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way
Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way

Jacques Cartier, right this way, I'll put your coat up on the bed
Hey man, you've got a real bum's eye for clothes
And come on in, sit right down, no you're not the first to show
We've all been here since, God, who knows

Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way
Lookin' for a place to happen, makin' stops along the way

Jacques Cartier, right this way, I'll put your coat up on the bed
You've got a real bum's eye for clothes
Come on in, sit right down
We've all been here since, God, who knows."

Looking for a Place to Happen, by the Tragically Hip band. Writers: Gord Downie, Robert Baker, Paul Langlois, Johnny Fay, Gordon Sinclair, 1993

"Long Time Running is a Canadian documentary film, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, the film profiles the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip during their final tour in 2016, the Man Machine Poem Tour." The lead singer, Gord Downie, passed away from brain cancer at age 53 in October of 2017.


The two songs shared above by the Tragically Hip band where from the compilation album Fully Completely released in 2014.