It has been brought to my attention just today that Frank Christian died on Christmas Eve.
He was a singer-songwriter and amazing guitarist about whom I'm sad to say I don't actually know that much, except that he wrote a song that is very special to me: Three Flights Up.
The version with which I am familiar is the suberb live one below with Frank doing some terrific work on the guitar and Nanci Griffith's beautiful vocals.
It is such a pretty song; simple yet so effective. I love the music and the story in the lyrics. I often wonder if it's a true story from Frank's life, that he once lived or stayed somewhere so special to him that he was inspired to write a song about it.
It is an important song for me personally because I first discovered it just after returning from a brilliant college trip to Montpellier in the south of France in 2011. I had stayed in an apartment that may well have been three flights up, or it may have been two, I can't remember. But there were certainly a lot of stairs.
And far from being a chore, it was a pleasure to walk up those stairs every day because I knew I was going to the apartment which I came very quickly to love and see as a real home-from-home.
In fact walking up those stone steps; the sounds echoing in the stairwell; the promise of my destination: that is one of the clearest and dearest memories I have from that trip, and in fact from Montpellier (which I have since been back to) generally.
When I replay this scene in my head I often get a little twinge inside and wish I could be back there. I feel that a part of me lives on in Montpellier; that this city will always be a part of my life. I love it so much.
Three Flights Up never fails to make me think of Montpellier now; a city I love and the adventure of a lifetime that first time I visited. It is a beautiful song, one I can empathise with so much. Thank you, Frank Christian. May you rest in peace.
Thank you for reading,
Liz x
Song: Three Flights Up - Nanci Griffith - 1993
