|
Songs I've Written Darth's Dilemma (1977) One of the quickie filksongs I wrote for the Star Wars Filksongs book. If you practice, you can make it scan.... I moved stanzas around from the original song (but it's not that hard to figure out which tune goes where) and didn't do the intro (if I ever cared enough, I might write one). I do like the sentiment, though; Leia is stronger than Darth Vader or Moff Tarkin and all their power.Darth Vader Lives! (1977) When I was in grade school, my class did a play using the script from Disney's Pinocchio. I was a mermaid and, along with other mermaids, sang a song about Monstro the whale. I had no idea that song wasn't in the movie, although it was written for the movie. So when I wrote a filk song to that tune (which of course I hadn't heard for years), I didn't know no one else (whom I knew at the time) had ever heard of it. So here's a YouTube rendition of Monstro the Whale, just to prove the song really exists (and so if you actually want to know how this song goes, you've got the tune). Ding, Dong, the Death Star's Gone (1977) Another quickie Star Wars filk. Don't Ever Love (fully chorded) (midi) (mp3) (1978) This was written for an SCA bawdy song contest; it's not actually bawdy, but people do seem to like it. I once, out on the web, found someone who'd written more verses for it (fantasy, if I remember right), but I can't find them right now. For those who don't know, m.k.a. means 'mundanely known as' in the SCA. Gathering Shards (2011) (rough mp3) Written for 50/90, this song retells my short story "Gathering Shards," which was published in Oceans of the Mind, Issue XII, Summer 2004. The zils in the background are the little cymbals that Lasai hangs in the trees to attract uneasy souls, so he may ease them. Homecoming (1980) (midi) (mp3) This is the other side of medieval warfare, the woman who's waiting for her lord to return. The Horses of Manon (2010) I wrote this as a children's rhyme for one of my novels, and figured I really needed the tune so I'd know how people (in my novel) actually sang it! I Play FarmVille Now (2011) Another 50/90 song. When I realized how much time I spent playing FarmVille on Facebook, I remembered W. Scott Snyder's song about his Magic card addiction, and this song is the result. Killing Off the Big Boys, SG-1's Gloat Song (2007) My family are all Stargate SG-1 fans. This song is probably only funny (or intelligible!) if you've watched it. In the show, the 'bad guys' in the first eight seasons are the Goa'uld System Lords, who have taken on the personae of various gods of Earth. SG-1 kill off a lot of these 'gods,' and that's what the list in the song is. I never actually liked the song this is filked off until, one day, my daughter and I realized that you could add the names of all the dead System Lords in here and do a filk. She made the list of "dead bad guys," and I wrote the rest of the song. Note 1: Yes, we know there are probably lots of Ba'al clones still alive (who knows about the original?), but several have been killed, so we're counting him. Note 2: Technically, it was Replicator Sam who killed Yu, but we're counting him anyway. Replicator Sam probably killed a bunch of other Goa'uld System Lords at the same time, but Yu was most important to SG-1 (and we see Replicator Sam kill him), so we're only counting him. Lay, Lady! (2011) The incorrect usage of 'lay' in "Lay, Lady, Lay" has driven me nuts for decades. I hate songs that use bad grammar, because then people sing them and think that incorrect usage is okay! (I guess I'm somewhat grammar police-y, and the lie/lay problem is rampant.) So I have made the joke about, "What kind of egg was she laying?" for years. During 50/90, desperate for an idea, I wrote this silliness. Mutants (1987) (mp3 from A Breeze Through the CONduit, 1992) (mp3 from UFO: First Contact, 2010) In 1978, Utah fans held a one-day mini convention (Shakercon). At the filking, the group began this song as an instafilk. Later, I finished the lyrics when I was really bored at Air Force Reserves watching training films. This one is popular at filk sings, because it's silly and really easy to sing along with. Neville, or, The Ensorcelled Son (1977) (midi) (mp3) Back in my early days in the SCA (A.S. XI), the nearest groups were Caerthe (Denver, Colorado) or al-Barran (Albuquerque, New Mexico). So we did a lot of road trips. Once when we were visiting Caerthe, Robert and Leah de Spencer (who later became baron and baroness of Loch Salann, the group in Salt Lake City, Utah) acquired a ferret from a local breeder, and we got to smell him all the way home in a very small, crowded car. (Ferrets have a very distinctive musk.) Somehow, during those long hours, this song sort of happened. Some years later, at a "Come as You Aren't" event, my husband attended as Neville de Spencer. Of Two Unicorns (1979) (mp3) Before unicorns were everywhere, back when they were shy, rare beasts, my roommate collected unicorns. I wrote this song for her birthday. The black and white unicorns were hand-made plushies I had for years, until my children loved them to death. Once I Had Blood (2011) Written for 50/90 in 2011. Filking existing tunes is much easier than writing original tunes, and this silliness came to me as I was sitting at the laundromat waiting for my laundry to be done. If you don't know the original tune, it's on YouTube. An Outlands Herald and An Artemisian Herald (1979) (mp3 for "An Artemisian Herald") For years I was a herald in the Society for Creative Anachronism. I don't know if heralds in other places are known as terrible punsters, but in the Principality of the Outlands (Kingdom of Atenveldt) back in A.S.XIII we certainly were. Years passed, kingdoms changed, and when the Outlands became its own kingdom, and my local group remained in the kingdom of Artemisia, I changed the song to reflect my current kingdom. Radioactive Tumbleweeds (1999) (mp3) When I read an article about how radiation was escaping from underground storage containers in Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State, and it mentioned radioactive tumbleweeds, the tune for "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" instantly leapt into my head, and I had to write this filk. The mention of "hot frogs" of course, references "Hot Frogs on the Loose," written by Fred Small, about small radioactive frogs in ponds near Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Remembrance (1979) (midi) (mp3 from A Breeze Through the CONduit) (mp3 from Rhonwen Sings) I wrote this song when I was in Caerthe (Denver, Colorado) in Air Force Tech School, to sing at an arts and sciences competition. It is sort of autobiographical for my SCA persona. I sang it as a lullaby to my kids when they were young. Notes: A crwth is a bowed string instrument used in Wales. Glyn Dwr is Owain Glyn Dwr (Shakespeare called him Glendower), a Welsh prince who was trying to take Wales back from England in the early 1400s. His rebellion was eventually quashed, but he had a great following of Welshmen, as this song relates. Cadwaladr was a very early Welsh leader (ca. 655 a.d.) whose exploits became the stuff of legend. Bran is a legendary Welsh king, written of in the Mabinogi, and known as "Bran the Blessed." Llywelyn was another historical Welsh leader in the early to mid 1200s, a prince of Gwynedd who became de facto king of Wales. The Sea-Man (1979) (midi) (mp3 from Breeze) (mp3 from Rhonwen Sings) I heard the original song, and really liked the tune but was not that fond of the original words. The idea for this song came to me at the bus stop, and I wrote it at work in the minute-and-a-half waits I had after entering insurance data and waiting for forms to print (yeah, it worked that way back in the 70s). Shades of the Dead (2016) (rough mp3) I wrote this song for a Coursera free songwriting course (I think it was this one). Having filk in there with all the mundane songs really confused some people (students in the course grade each others' work). It's from the point of view of the main character in one of my novels--well, not just one novel, a whole trilogy. Which right now is incomplete; I'm currently re-writing the novel this actual story is in. Two Little Rebel 'Droids (1977) This song was written really quickly for the Star Wars Filksongs book I was putting together. I hadn't actually listened to The Mikado for years, but seem to have got the stanzas correct! Ultra Disturbing (2011) Another silly 50/90 song. Have you seen the TV ads where cartoon bears wipe their butts on TV? My daughter was singing the song from the ad (it's a catchy little jingle) and I immediately filked it. (The ad is available on YouTube if you really want to see/hear it.) Upgrades (2011) (rough mp3) Another Stargate SG-1 song. Specifically about the episode "Upgrades," which is one of the funniest episodes in the series. Whatever (2008) This isn't purely my song. A group of us from UFO wrote it after we'd done a concert at a local science fiction convention and were getting silly. We sang it, with great hilarity from the audience, at OVFF in 2011 (the punch line involves the Pegasus Awards, which are given out at OVFF every year). Why is it called "Whatever"? Because when we'd have a "pick, pass, or play" type circle at CONduit, and we'd ask someone to pick a song, newbies would often say, "Whatever." Now we have the perfect song to sing. Wings Against the Sky (2014) (SoundCloud) Another song written for the Coursera songwriting class. Wonderful Thing (1978) (midi) (mp3) I wrote this for an SCA bawdy ballads contest. It won, even though it's only suggestive, not actually bawdy. |
|
Created 10 March 2021 Last updated 13 March 2021
|
|