‘Crucian Lullaby’

I created and released this video during the worst of the pandemic, and immediately received a lot of pushback. The video features national archive footage of the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, and many people thought that I was being too ‘dark’ or ‘apocalyptic’. However, that was not my aim at all.

The song itself was written after visiting another natural disaster area. The island of St. Croix after they had been hit with two hurricanes. I was struck by their resilience, hope, and even joy in the face of hardship.

The people in the video from 1906 San Francisco are in the same phase of post-disaster rebuilding, similar to what we all are doing now after the worst (hopefully) of the pandemic is behind us.

This video is not meant to be ‘dark’, ‘gloomy’, or ‘pessimistic’. Rather, it is intended to draw parallels between three different natural disasters (earthquake, hurricane, and pandemic) in order to showcase the triumph of the human spirit. Our resilience and adaptability.

I ultimately decided to remove the video from public display because it was so often misunderstood. However, I feel more comfortable sharing it in this context with you. In a place where deeper thinking and listening is possible, free from the noise and vitriol of the internet.

I hope that this song, video, sheet music, and commentary is interesting to you. If you are anything like me, you value deeper meaning and experiences that go beyond the ‘status quo’. I am constantly creating and sharing with this purpose, so please stay tuned for more…

*** Note *** Downloads of audio AND pdf files generally work better on desktop/laptop rather than mobile devices. If you have any problems, or just want to say hi, hit me up at nicholas@nicholaskrolak.com