UNLEASH THE ARCHERS Explorer’s EP (2019) Napalm Records Vancouver / British Columbia / Canada
NORTHWEST PASSAGE
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
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
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 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
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 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 did show a path for me To race the roaring Fraser to the sea
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
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
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
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
Band: Brittney Slayes - Vocals Scott Buchanan - Drums Grant Truesdell - Guitar / Vocals Andrew Kingsley - Guitar / Vocals
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS on “Northwest Passage”: “This song means a lot to us as a band, we like to put it on during those long drives on tour and it always brings us right back home. We originally recorded it to be a bonus track for our last full length album Apex, but we loved the track so much we knew it needed special treatment. We held on to it for a bit and eventually decided to release it as its own 7" vinyl EP with another Canadian cover song as the B side. The song “Northwest Passage” is all about touring through Canada, which Stan Rogers did a lot, and how it equates to being an explorer looking for the passage all those years ago. It really hits home with us, we've toured through Canada too many times to count, so we know just how Stan was feeling. That's where the name of the EP came from too; every time we hit the road on tour it's like we too become Explorers, with the great big unknown stretching out before us.”
- necro69mancer -
