god help us all it's a vid.

[kaydeefalls]

So it's entirely possible I watched all of Merlin just because I knew it would make a good vid with this song. You be the judge, I suppose.


What It Is
edited by kaydee falls
fandom: Merlin
characters: Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Gwen (OT4)
music: "What It Is" by Mark Knopfler
summary: everybody's looking for somebody's arms to fall into -- that's what it is.
watch: embed + lyrics below the cut, or on BAM Vid Vault
download: here (.mov, 66 MB)
disclaimer: not mine, no profit, don't sue.

LYRICS:

The drinking dens are spilling out
There's staggering in the square
There's lads and lasses falling about
And a crackling in the air
Down around the dungeon doors
The shelters and the queues
Everybody's looking for
Somebody's arms to fall into
That's what it is
It's what it is now

There's frost on the graves and the monuments
But the taverns are warm in town
People curse the government
And shovel hot food down
Lights are out in the city hall
The castle and the keep
The moon shines down upon it all
The legless and asleep

And it's cold on the tollgate
With the wagons creeping through
Cold on the tollgate
God knows what I could do with you
That's what it is
It's what it is now

The garrison sleeps in the citadel
With the ghosts and the ancient stones
High on the parapet
A Scottish piper stands alone
And high on the wind
The highland drums begin to roll
And something from the past just comes
And stares into my soul

And it's cold on the tollgate
With the Caledonia blues
Cold on the tollgate
God knows what I could do with you
That's what it is
It's what it is now
What it is
It's what it is now

There's a chink of light, there's a burning wick
There's a lantern in the tower
Wee Willie Winkie with a candlestick
Still writing songs in the wee wee hours
On Charlotte Street I take a walk
And stick for my hotel
The ghost of Dirty Dick
Is still in search of Little Nell
That's what it is
It's what it is now
It's what it is
What it is now

Comments

[fiercynn.livejournal.com]

!!!!!

Okay, haven't actually watched it yet, but that's my reaction just from you posting it. So.

[fiercynn.livejournal.com]

OH OT4. I am ridiculously in love with them, and this showed all their wonderful moments so well. I'm not at my most coherent so all I can really say is that the part in the middle from Arthur defending Mordred through him pulling his sword on Merlin in "Excalibur" (ooh, book-ended, I didn't even notice that until now!) is absolute perfection, especially the dungeon section and the Gwen-to-Merlin-to-Arthur glance also from "Excalibur" - and Gwen in basically the whole video was amazing, and the song did really work, and ohhhhhh. *loves*

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Seeing as this is all your fault, of course. Also, Gwen is always amazing -- that's not the vid, that's just GWEN.

[fiercynn.livejournal.com]

Also, Gwen is always amazing -- that's not the vid, that's just GWEN.

truuuuuufax. But this showed it really well! Yes.

[msilverstar]

OT4 works for me! As does this vid, it's great.

Have they all been in the dungeon cells at one time or another? Huh.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D And, yeah, they've all been thrown in the dungeon at some point. Theirloveissoincarcerated!

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love Knopfler! And I didn't know that song! Lovely.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

It's an awesome song, yes. :D Also, hey, we should hang out.

[shiny-starlight.livejournal.com]

Ok, that was amazing! The song was an absolutely perfect choice. Well done!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad it worked for you.

[cherish4.livejournal.com]

Ok that was bloomin fantastic, loved it!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[bionic.livejournal.com]

This was fantastic! Really great song, and your editing was great too, really seamless and fluid and smooth, like the song! Heh. Loved it.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this vid. You have such an instinctive grasp of musicality and gorgeous parallels. This vid so dearly captures the hopeful innocence of the OT4 in this show. I especially love how they picked up and fought (sometimes really gleefully) at the end. It's uplifting and a really lovely vid. Thank you so much for sharing!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback -- and for the rec on your journal, I appreciate that. :) I'm very glad you enjoyed it!

[vicky-v.livejournal.com]

I really really wish I could be coherent in the comment I'm giving this video but... GUH! I can't seem to get past GUH! (and in this case it is a very positive sound).

Because the song and the editing and the way it all fits together, not to mention the pretty and the limitless awesome that is the OT4. This is brilliant!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That is perfectly valid feedback. :D I'm so glad it worked for you.

[hollywoodgrrl.livejournal.com]

Here from obsessive24's rec.

And this is great! Very lovely and squishy look at our OT4. D'aaaw bbs! :DDD

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! They are indeed very squishable. :)

[mithrel.livejournal.com]

Awesome vid, never heard that song before, but it fits. I'm glad you posted the lyrics, though. Downloaded!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And, yeah, his voice is a bit mumbly at times, it helps to be able to read the lyrics.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

That was beautifully cut and matched! Beautiful!! *goes to watch it again*
And wasn't Douglas Adams right? - Mark Knopfler's voice is indeed the only true, natural aphrodisiac.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

And, ha! I'd never heard that before, but it's very true.

[srin.livejournal.com]

This is awesome! I'd never heard the song before but I'm sort of in love with it now, and the clips and editing are fabulous. I particularly like the paralleling bits, the matching looks and matching dungeon scenes and so forth; nicely done!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love the song -- and I'd watched all of ten minutes of Merlin before I thought of how well the song suited this fandom. I'm glad it worked for you.

[such_heights]

I love this so much, it's really gorgeous!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

:D Thank you so much!

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Wow! This is such a wonderful vid, with so much spark and life. It gives equal weight to the awesome of every one of the four characters, and really portrays them as a team, with all the support and conflict that that entails. I giggled at the brief montage of them all getting thrown in the dungeon - those kids, always getting in trouble! :D This just plays like a love letter to the show, and I really enjoy that a lot. The song was indeed a perfect choice! I'm definitely going to download for repeat viewings to capture everything you did. Great job!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And, yeah, I knew I had to do an everyone-gets-thrown-in-jail bit, it's too obvious. :)

[redbrickrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really love this! OT4!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thanks! They're just all so marvelous together. :D

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

Keep up the vidding! This was quite enjoyable.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I shall. :)

[nightchik.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this. I especially loved the chain of looks around 2:21 - great use of the music. Also the way Gwen's eyes move to the music on 1:15. It was cool how you explored how all their individual relationships tie them together.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad it worked for you.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

I couldn't believe that someone had done a vid to this -- it's been one of my favourite songs in the world for YEARS, and nobody else ever seems to have heard it. So it was wonderful to see you turn it into such a lovely vid :) A great mixture of heart-warming and heartstring-tugging moments.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

I love this song, too, so I'm very glad you thought the vid worked. Thank you!

password?

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,
What is the password for this vid? I just watched your other Merlin vids and they were lovely but I'm not seeing a password listed for this one.

Re: password?

[kaydeefalls]

...huh. When I posted this vid originally, it was hosted by BAM vid vault, and there was no password lock. Apparently that site has changed ownership, and I don't have the password to my own dratted vid. The download link should still work, I hope, but I guess I'll have to reupload this one onto my actual Vimeo account for streaming purposes.

Re: password?

[kaydeefalls]

I've edited this entry with the new vid embed. :)