Eleanor Crossing the Water


By: Peter Lancellotti
Posted on: December 11, 2024

Before leaving New England to drive across the country and settle on the west coast, this was the last song I wrote and recorded in a studio there. The engineer who mixed the song, a drummer, seemed to like the Roland TR-707 track (yes, that’s how old I am) to the point of crossing into the red zone. That’s not the crossing from the title. I did my best to clean it up. Please feel free to comment.
 
I’d been reading a lot about Eleanor of Aquitaine at the time, a powerful woman who owned one of the richest provinces in France. Once married to King Louis VII, having only two daughters, she was able to have their marriage annulled as they had no son for an heir. She went on to marry Henry, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy only weeks later. He became King Henry II of England in 1154 and she became queen. However, after having eight children and becoming enthralled in a dangerous political battle of wits, Henry imprisoned her for 16 years and only let her out for holidays and state occasions. She’d come over from various castles in a barge crossing the Thames (also called the River Isis), hence, Eleanor Crossing the Water. The song is a modern depiction of her crossing to wherever Henry wanted her to be. The formal structure of the piece is demonstrative of how her mind worked, more than a wild nature for a woman during that time period. The queen’s free-spirit is depicted in the improvisation of the guitar track.


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4 responses to “Eleanor Crossing the Water”

  1. Kym says:

    This is incredible 😲! It’s absolutely brilliant!

  2. Awesome prog track, full of originality … along with a smidgeon of ELP keys and (still) rather overpowering drums that sound like a robotic Phil Collins on acid. The guitar is stand out … or would be if the drums weren’t so distracting. I’d probably try to so something further about those, and mix across a wider stereo field … but maybe that’s just me? Loved hearing this, all the same.

  3. Love this! The turmoil and intrigue is palpable! Very moving and inspired! Thanks for sharing.

  4. Aaron Leet says:

    Love this

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