(I realized I’m dumb and can just add them here, I’ll still tag though, jic @lesbianomens)
A disclaimer: As far as I know, the one you have above is the only explicitly gay filk song with recordings available online. I am 100% sure others exist!! But, I’ve not found them (if anyone has links to more, PLEASE send them my way!) SO, the songs here are ones I’ve got tagged as queer/gay/lgbt in my library, sometimes for textual reasons (Archetype Cafe, It Suits You), sometimes for thematic (noted below), and sometimes just because the #vibes are undeniable.
If there’s an ** next to a song, it’s filk more broadly, not necessarily a space shanty, but the pickins are slim and they’re all good songs. This fall mostly into the sea/space songs sub-genre of shanty (in that they would be sung when the crew is at leisure, not while they’re doing work. hence the lack of a pulling/pushing rhythm for most).
Signy Mallory by Heather Alexander/Leslie Fish (written by Mercedes Lackey; not explicitly gay, but oh man the Vibes)
Somebody Will by Sassafrass (Look, LOOK, this song changed my life. I’m not kidding. It’s all about fighting for a future you may never see, but knowing that someone out there will live that future, again, not explicitly gay, but thematically)
Long Distance Transmission by @astriiformes (No pronouns, a song of longing and wanting someone who’s far away, hopeful and sad all at once)
In Flight by @idiopathicsmile (written by @soemily, inspired by star wars (Poe Dameron I think specifically?))
**I’m Your Moon by Jonothan Colton (technically about a literal moon, spiritually though? about saying fuck societies expectations and being who you are and with who you love)
The Seas of Space by Mark Heiman (again, no pronouns, a song about traveling out into the wonders of the vast expanse with your beloved at your side, also about helping each other through the loss of your old home, ultimately hopeful I think)
In the true sea shanty genre there are some obvious gay™ choices that could be easily rerecorded as space shanties (The Handsome Cabin Boy (warning for possible gender dysphoria issues, not sure how to tag/warn past that?), Leave Her Johnny Leave Her (technically the ‘her’ is a ship, but uh, I’ve never heard this sung as if that were the case), and Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate, to name a few). So, if anyone out there is less tone deaf than me, do us a favor huh? There are even more if we step outside f shanties into traditional folk (which was sung on ships as well) but this post is already long enough.
A minor correction: while that recording of Seas of Space is sung by Mark Heiman, it was originally written by Suzette Haden Elgin.
The only other Gay Space Shanty I can think of is Make it So by Annwn. While the lyrics aren’t *explicitly* set in space, it’s not so subtle Picard/Riker slash.
But yeah, thank you for pointing out that there are tragically few songs in this genre, I now have a document open titled “the gay space shanty project” and am brainstorming trad shanties I can adapt to fix that…
Hey! Among the many thing I never expected to happen was to become the technical person for a fandom radio station. We are growing from a single fandom station to All Fandom All The Time. We are fan supported and make no money. Though one of the station owners pays the ASCAP license so we can play those tracks if needed.
I’m currently looking for more artists who are willing to give us permission to play their music on the station. No downloads and I’m not asking for freebie tracks – I’ve bought any tracks for new artists that I’ve reached out to. In the past I would have reached out to Harold (I knew him as HMS on Livejournal) to find willing artists but sadly he’s no longer with us.
Currently we have Tom Smith’s permission, Seanan McGuire, and Vicky & Tony. I can’t afford all of Tom’s stuff yet, and Creature Feature is out of print, but I’ve added any other tracks of theirs that I had. Would it be possible to get a hand through you to find willing artists?
The plan is to have a full artists reference page for anyone we have in the rotation. I just have to work out some sort of database on the back end.
Final caveat – the station started life as a Brony (My Little Pony) fan station. But we aren’t any more. And it’s adding filk as fast as I can get permission. (In between day job, injuries, family illness, etc. )
— RandomGreymane on Celestia Radio
If any filk artists want to have their work featured on a fan radio station, get in touch with admin@celestiaradio.com! You can listen to them at celestiaradio.com
We are incredibly excited to announce that in anticipation of our upcoming concert this month, Scribe and I have put together a short EP of some of our music available on Bandcamp.
This website has been instrumental in helping us move from posting the occasional lyrics to songs to “Hey, maybe we could actually…” to becoming a full-fledged filk duo, so for people who’ve been with us for that journey, we’re excited to finally get to share the fruits of that with you.
(And even if you haven’t, we’d of course still be thrilled if you wanted to take a look at our songs!)
The offerings on this EP include:
A lullaby for the Opportunity rover
A song about fighting perfectionism through unicorn metaphors
A song about missing long-distance friends as told through music metaphors
And a song that’s definitely totally about our D&D party but also about found family in general
In the time of rising mountains
In the age when life was new,
The trees were the rulers of life on earth
And the world as a forest grew.
I posted an old recording of this a while ago, and I’m so happy to find one now that’s not a grainy cassette rip – and with some new instruments and harmonies that give this song some truly magical depth. “Caretakers,” written by Bill Sutton, performed by Bill and Brenda Sutton. It’s the kind of song that shifts between realism and fantasy in a beautiful way…and the kind of song that makes me cry.
I was looking at the Pegasus Awards brainstorming results poll (keep an eye out for the final ballot here!) and saw this song on there. Playing Rapunzel will be at OVFF this year! This song is haunting and beautiful and I may or may not have included it in my nominating ballot. >_> <_<
Only three left, and there’s power in threes:
In the stories I tell, there’s never a doubt
That the third one is different, the third one has magic
But what will I do, where will I be
What will become of me when the stories run out?
It’s a mystery where they came from, and they’re not a common breed,
And maybe, if I’d known at first, I’d never have agreed.
But somehow it seems right to raise these rabbits on my farm,
To guard them with my life, to see that nothing brings them harm.
“Vampire Bunnies,” by Blake Hodgetts. I dunno, it’s a song called Vampire Bunnies, what more do you need?
Vor is the name we won from our fathers.
Vor is the love that our mothers provide.
Vor is the honor we share with our brothers.
Vor is the duty that keeps us alive.
“Vor,” by Bill Sutton – a good, old-fashioned space hymn for the Vorkosigan Saga. This version features Bill and Brenda Sutton, plus Betsy Tinney on cello, Chas Somdahl on guitar, and Dave Clement, Becca Leathers, and Michelle Dockrey providing backing vocals – including a beautiful Russian counterpoint, written by Michelle.
We dig too deep
Trying to rival the deeds of our fathers
We dig too deep
The children of giants, trying to stand on their shoulders
“Legacy,” by Michael Kelly. He mostly does SCA events and the like, but I (dog mod) met him at a post-apocalyptic event, and he’s not only an amazing singer, but incredibly supportive and encouraging. He got me to sing into a microphone alone for the first time (in the desert, for people wearing only leather and spikes), which took some coaxing, so I feel obligated to plug his Patreon, where he releases new recordings regularly for donors.
This one’s for the dwarves of Middle Earth, hence the beard. But don’t let the beard fool you! It’s a beautiful song. Lyrics and chords under the cut.
