Submissions for the Contata 8 songbook are officially open! Got a song you want to contribute? Click here to find out where/how to submit it.
Also: this year at Contata we plan to have at least one jam session. Want to suggest a song to play? Watch this space for updates.
Please signal-boost this in your other fannish communities, or wherever else you think appropriate.
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Gilbert’s Greatsword – Annwn
Braw and bold, he went a-raiding;
stout and strong, he went to war.
Long his lady will be waiting;
Gilbert’s greatsword strikes no more.
Apparently, there was an SCA contest for best elegy, so Leigh Ann Hussey wrote a song for the “death” of a player in “Steal the Sheep” earlier that day, a game where teams compete to move a stuffed sheepskin across a field.
“Gilbert’s Greatsword,” or “Elegy for Gilbert de Langspee,” by Annwn. The percussion on this is tabla, played by Aditya Gurajada.
The Bard’s Exhortation to the Salaryman – Annwn
“Come away to the hills:
come away where the wine of life distills,
to the healing of your heart’s ills
come away, come away.”
“The Bard’s Exhortation to the Salaryman,” by Annwn, which sounds like a serious song, but apparently, the singer wrote this to make fun of banjo player, because he had a real job and she didn’t.
This album, for a long time only available from a website with low-quality downloads, is now back in print! It’s available on Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes, and all profits will go towards making more of Annwn’s music available.
Rich Fantasy Lives – Rob Balder & Tom Smith
Rich fantasy lives.
Our peace-bonded knives and our hyperspace drives.
Until that steam engine to Hogwarts arrives,
We have rich fantasy lives.
I posted this ages ago, but at some point the link got hecked up, so here is it again. “Rich Fantasy Lives,” by Rob Balder, performed by Rob Balder and Tom Smith. Chords and lyrics available here.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Creatures of Dream – Batya the Toon
For all of you who have been asking me for a recording of “Creatures of Dream”: BEHOLD.
Released as part of a four-song single, or ~quadringle~, entitled Subversive Ciphers by Jesse Dangerously & Friends. If you liked my song, you might do well to listen to the others; I feel like it’s in good company. (Probably of particular interest to some of you will be the first track, which is a tribute to the classic fantasy film Labyrinth.)
Lyrics below the cut.
We Are Who We Are – Vixy & Tony
I usually prefer to get studio recordings when I can, if only to make it more likely that all the words will be intelligible but…this one is special. They set out to create a geek anthem, and boy did they ever.
Michelle Dockrey said this about writing this song:
Background: this was commissioned by Tony, who wanted a geek anthem. I got partway through writing it and found myself blocked. Thinking of all the things still wrong, and things that were going on at the time both in and out of fandom– harrassment, backlash over representation, lack of protections still for so many– I just didn’t see how I could write a song about how much it got better.
I confessed this tearfully to Tony, who said, essentially, “write it the way you see it.”
“We Are Who We Are,” by Vixy & Tony, lead vocals by Michelle Dockrey with Tony Fabris on guitar, Betsy Tinney on cello, Sunnie Larsen on violin, and the attendants of FilkCONtinental 2014…as themselves. Lyrics and more information here
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
The Paper Feed Is Broken
The filk song of Swedish fandom, “Pappersframmatningen är trasig” written by David Nessle (ttto “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”) and performed by Erik Andersson in a recording from 1980.
Rough translation:
The paper feed is broken
The papers are squished into small small balls
Oh, the fanzine will come out too late
(Cause) the paper feed is broken, so brokenThe subscribers will be angry
If the fanzine isn’t out by Friday
Oh, then I will get lots of hate mail
(Cause) the paper feed is broken, so brokenThat I don’t know how I
Can get the fanzine out on time
Before it gets far too late
Cause my mimeo is far too weakThe paper feed is broken
The papers are squished into small small balls
Oh, the fanzine will come out too late
(Cause) the paper feed is broken, so broken
That I cannot stand it no more
I think I want to gafiate
(mod note: this is the best day of my life, also I’m a little ashamed I had no idea what “gafiate” meant and thought it might have been mistranslated)
Beyond the Shire – Rowan and the Tudor Rose
As you leave these gates behind, carry forth the love and laughter
Be the vessels of the light we share, the keepers of the fire
Let our stories entertwine, be our happy ever after
Let your queen and country live beyond the shire.
I got this song via a submission, but then I had to be an ass and go find a version with a bit less ambient noise and a closer mic. Also there’s some children singing along at the end, it’s adorable. The submitted recording is this one (worth checking out, if only for the costumes, and there’s nothing wrong with the performance, just a lot of wind).
A sweet and moving song about Renaissance faires, “Beyond The Shire,” by Rowan and the Tudor Rose, to the tune of Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage.”
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Paper Cranes – Hello, The Future!
But it’s not pain that I’m feeling, it’s more like a thirst for revenge
And I really want to text you
What happens at the Red Wedding
I really really really really really want to ruin your year.
There are a decent number of nerdy love songs in the world, but surprisingly few angry nerd breakup songs. This is one of those. “Paper Cranes,” by Hello, The Future!
Seahaven – Annwn
To the seahaven is a long, hard haul,
but I’ll leave soon as I may,
for I’m tired of treading the hard earth down
among land-loving sods who hide in towns
when tempest and wind make the breakers pound –
oh no, that is no life for me!
An SCA song Leigh Ann Hussey wrote for a friend, performed by Leigh Ann Hussey, Mark Ungar, and Elton of Annwn