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Ballad of John Franklin

from Northern Sightlines by John Spearn

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lyrics

Franklin set sail, they say for the north arctic way,
with the ring of the king on his hand.
He had two fine ships, and ten dozen men,
As a key to the cruel arctic land.
In an age when fear of failure . . . would frighten many a sailor.
But to perish from the bitter chill, in a land with its own free will?
Aboard (H.M.S.) Erebus, and (H.M.S.) Terror, they'd face the cold reality
. . . face the cold reality.
The ships on their way traveled through Baffin Bay,
For the Northwest Passage they did sail.
The glory of the quest, would keep the crew at rest,
But the north wind whistled the tale.
And the endless stories were told . . . of the orient, spices, and gold.
Thirty below on deck, fifty below below . . . This land demanded its price.
Soon those ships would be meals for the ice!
Both ships were locked into the ice.
Outward they marched, marking stones on their quest,
And the dead to their graves they did send.
Main 'nest became a coffin, even for the best,
On the deck was the devil's good friend.
And the long, cold arctic nights . . . dwindling coal was the poor stoker's plight,
When a murderous gale suddenly prevailed! Transforming the main sail,
Into a dangling guillotine of ice . . . a dangling guillotine of ice!
Eighteen months frozen in, now they'd pay for their sins!
Amidst wreckage where they prayed for hell
Overland they did go, it was sixty below. Where they ended up, no man dare tell.
And the puzzle still remains, for what the final message contains.
How the last log reads? We may never see!
A doomed man's will to perceive . . . John Franklin.

credits

from Northern Sightlines, released January 1, 1999

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John Spearn Edmonton, Alberta

You’ll instantly catch these deep influences threaded through John’s fine vocals, lyrics, and rootsy, guitar-mastered songwriting works. This is pure Canadiana: forgotten but deserving heroes, the humility in our international image, and a superb range of tender ballads through to raw, foot-stompin’ stories that need to be told. ... more

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