chords

Legacy – Michael Kelly

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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.

Read moreLegacy – Michael Kelly

Molly’s Wake Song – Drake Meed

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Say it once, say it
twice, say it so you won’t forget
Live a life, live it
hard, live each day without regret

“Molly’s Wake Song,” written and performed by Drake Meed (@makingcosplay on Twitter) at the Hour of Honor Critical Role meetup at GenCon 2019.  A touching tribute to a fallen friend, and Drake left an equally poignant comment on the video:

“Thank you all, so incredibly much, for listening and allowing me to
share this. And, more importantly, sing this. Share it. Pass it forward
with anyone who will listen, if you feel so compelled. It was written as
a bardic and in the spirit of being carried on.”

In the spirit of that, full lyrics are under the cut, as are the chords Alvaro Alemparte figured out and put in the YouTube comments.  The transcription is mine, so take it with some salt.

Read moreMolly’s Wake Song – Drake Meed

Livejournal Shanty – Brooke vs. John

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And it’s way hey, me lads, click on refresh again
There might be a new posting by one of your friends
Yes it’s way hey, me boys, leave a comment or two
It’s not like you’ve got something better to do

“Livejournal Shanty” by Brooke Abbey with John Caspell. Because as Brooke puts it, “I wanted to write a sea shanty. But I don’t exactly spend all day working on the sea. Or working on anything, really. ‘Gee,’ I thought to myself, ‘what DO I do all day?’ Oh. Oh yeah.”

And as the lyrics prove, while many of us have migrated away from Livejournal, it’s not like things have changed that much.

Lyrics (with chords!) available on Bandcamp.

He’s Dead, Jim – Julia Ecklar

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He’s dead, Jim.
He’s gone and died.
He’s croaked off,
I don’t know why.
Some weird disease we’ve found
Has put him six feet down.
Cremation
Has claimed him.
He’s dead, Jim.

“He’s Dead, Jim,” an early song by Julia Ecklar, which is… pretty much what it says on the tin.

Lyrics, chords, and sheet music are included in the Traveller Songbook, which is available for free download from Prometheus Music as a scanned PDF.

Yehudi Mind Tricks – Benjamin Newman

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I was raised in a desert country
Where the sun burns double and it seldom rains,
So we drew our water from the meager trickle
In the narrow places that became our chains.

Then a cry for rescue was heard in the wasteland,
In the plain disguise of a restless stray,
And this revelation at the edge of freedom:
You have to lose your bearings to find your way.

“Yehudi Mind Tricks” by Benjamin Newman, a gorgeous Jewish interpretation of Luke’s narrative in Star Wars.

Chords, lyrics, and mp3 are all available on Ben Newman’s website.

Disenchanted – Cheshire Moon

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You can keep my hair
I don’t need it to feel pretty
You can keep my tower
I don’t need it to be strong
I’m racing out to find the place where the sun and the moon
Have coffee when you can’t see either one at all

“Disenchanted” by Cheshire Moon, a song for all the unwilling Rapunzels out there. Lyrics and chords available here.

Broken Dreams of Uplift – Benjamin Newman

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Crawl out of the mud, ongoing but slow
For the path that is easy ain’t the one that lets us grow
Climb the ladder rung by rung and never looking back
On this track we walk alone

Composed after Andy Eigel’s “Uplift”, and may be sung against it (as in this recording).  Lyrics and chords available here.  Words by Ben Newman, to the tune of…you’ll figure it out.