fv_poster | Gift for actiaslunaris by frith-in-thorns (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Title of vid: John Childermass - A Tune Like the End of the World
Recipient: actiaslunaris
Vidder: frith-in-thorns
Fandom: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2015)
Music: One More Mazurka by Telling The Bees
Summary:
Content notes: No standardized notes apply
Unsigned length: 06:08

John Childermass - A Tune Like the End of the World on Vimeo.

Lyrics
And how will we know

When it comes to a close

Will the stars tumble down one by one?

The festival’s done

The punters are gone

As fleet as a midsummer moon

Chorus

So take me dancing, like it’s the end of the world

The beautiful freaks are still dancing

Like it’s the end of the world

The toothless old man with the squeezebox is playing a tune, like the end of the world

So darling one more mazurka

’Til it is time to go

The relics are back in their boxes again

The drunks are asleep where they fell

We laughed at the priests

Threw mud at their feet

We did the old carnival well

And where will we go?

Which is our road?

The hare’s path lies over the downs

But ours is the way

So travellers say

That keeps the whole thing spinning round

The lie of the land

An old caravan

We are ready to leave with the light

So tether the lark

Haul back the dark

Just one more dance for the night

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, this is magical. The music choice is so amazing. Perfect thing. Absolutely perfect.

I found his role so interesting in this story so it's great to see this tracing his arc!

This is haunting and lovely! Also, wow, I SALUTE you sustaining a vid for a 6 minute song!

This is so beautifully and thoughtfully layered in meaning. You make such excellent use of the ravens and cards and mirrors as symbols, the measured pace of the song, and how you present Childermass in his initial role of the almost-solitary agent in the dark, but moving forward toward the light to find himself with equal-minded companions. The song works so well also, how it's all about fatally dancing (something that harkens back to the story), but Childermass stands outside that dance at the end, with it having no control over him. I love it, vidder. It's so thought-provoking and I'll be watching it over and over, I'm sure, to find more and more significance in it.