Monday, July 26, 2010

Song of the Crusades

ii Verse:

It was 1095 all crusaders had donned

Their white shirts with red emblem crosses.

Pope Urban the Second had sent them to war,

To Jerusalem boatloads went sailin’.

The days and the weeks soon the months went on by,

And no land the Crusaders yet sited.

Chorus:

It’s always the pure in heart that stands tall,

When evil like darkness surrounds you.

So pick up the sword, with a calm healers hand,

Making sure that your justice is true!

ii Verse:

But upon the last hopes, and upon the last prayers,

Dusty dunes slowly painted the ocean.

Seven-thousand left ship, marching onward they went,

To their first sighted village, out yonder.

The burning and killing continued for weeks,

Until rewarded the men came upon her.

Chorus…

iii Verse:

The pillaging began, and the killing ensued,

And the children and women were slaughtered.

But one faithful lad who stood strong for the truth

Went and helped the poor peasants who were dying.

His sword became justice, and his lips spoke the truth,

While his hands healed the broken and dying.

Chorus…

iv Verse:

The fires burned down and the killing had ceased,

Still the lad in secret went on healing.

To a monk’s home the lad trudged on deep in the night,

In the shadows he carried his burdens.

In the light of the dawn,the last peasant was brought,

To the monastery up on the hillside.

Chorus:

It’s always the pure in heart that stands tall,

When evil like darkness Surrounds you.

So pick up the sword, With a calm healers hand,

Making sure that your justice is true!

~Written by, Anna Michael~

Chords for Crusades Song are originally played on the guitar to the tune of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” The Chorus, however, is not taken from the original tune, but is played C, G, D, G, C, G, D, Asus 2 . The chords for the verses can be found at http://www.azchords.com/g/gordonlightfoot-tabs-13985/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald-tabs-140089.html

It is found easiest to play this song with the capo on the third or fourth fret. Please note, I do not endorse Gordon Lightfoot nor any of his songs.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Water of the Woods, Chapter 20


"The darkness suddenly enveloped her. Penny stayed her position and allowed her eyes to focus as much as they could. Placing her right hand on the side of the brick wall and her left out in front of her she gradually commenced. It seemed as if the steps continued on for ages, but she tried consoling herself that it only seemed so because of her slow pace in the dark. She glanced behind her, awed at the tunnel of yellow moonlight at the bottom of the steps.
Suddenly, her foot went up and then sank down to the floor below with a sickening emptiness. She groped for the next step but found none. Her hand swung out and slammed into the wall in front of her. The sound echoed in her ears and she felt her blood turn cold. At that moment she abandoned all desires to continue on alone, but greatly wished Malcolm was at her side to laugh or comfort her.
Penny tightened her ponytail and stepped forward an inch.

Sliding her hand along the wall in front of her she quickly recognized that this wall was certainly not made of bricks. She tapped her knuckle up against it listening again to the hollow echo. Apparently this wall was some sort of sliding door made into a wall upstairs identical to the one in the nursery leading down to the cellar. Her head felt a little lighter after coming to this conclusion. She only hoped she was right.
Penny allowed her hands to evenly run along the paneled wall. She searched frantically for the crack but found none. Her heart raced, palms slipping off the wall with sweat, until suddenly she felt it, a groove in the left hand side of the paneled wall. Sliding her fingers into the groove she pulled with all her might. The wall shifted and slid a quarter of the way open. Penny plunged her head out into the open and sucked in air. Something about the dark passageway seemed claustrophobic, almost wrenching at her throat.

But she had found it, the passageway was here, it existed. It was time to find out what was out there in the open, behind the sliding door, and out of the winding staircase."



From: Water of the Woods, Ch. 20, Pg. 230 Author: Anna Michael