For space is wide and good friends are too few.
‘A’ is Antimagic Field and
‘B’ for Bigby’s Hands
‘C’ will charm a person, so
You’ll be in high demand…
“M is for Magic Missile,” a Dungeons & Dragons alphabet for all of us who keep forgetting that darn spell name.
Written by Dr. Mary Crowell and recorded with Michelle “Vixy” Dockrey and Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. Lyrics are available on Bandcamp.
The Morrigan dreams old dreams of flight
The Morrigan sees with another sight
The Morrigan builds with flesh and bone
And The Morrigan fills an empty throne
“The Morrigan” by Heather Dale, with vibrant ASL interpretation by Tamyka Bullen.
This is part of a really cool project that Heather Dale is working on with a bunch of awesome Deaf storytellers. For more videos from the series, check out Heather’s YouTube Channel.
I woke up quite certain–today is the day.
Somehow I know things are going my way;
I’m rested and ready, well tested and taught;
Today is the day I will–catch the red dot!
“Today is the Day,” a very determined cat’s song from Cat Faber.
Broken down star drive,
Feelin’ lucky to be alive.
Thought that I’d give old Lando a call.
But Vader was waiting,
With Carbonite plating –
So now I’m right here decorating the wall.
“Tatooine,” a parody for Han Solo by Jeff & Maya Bohnhoff, featuring lead vocals by Kris Bohnhoff.
“Craigslist Ad,” a cautionary tale from Bryan Baker.
You know what I want?
Space mythology.
Saints of the starship and angels that take their true form as nebulae, great and fiery amorphous beings that speak the will of the Universe
Nymphs of asteroid fields and planetary rings, sylphs that fly in the tails of comets and solar wind, the gods of the galactic core
Demons that dwell in black holes and eat the hearts of dying stars, spirits of galactic battles that cause engines and shields to fail when you get too close to their graves
Ghost ships, long MIA, drifting in dark space, an inaccessible monument to those lost
Demigods, Herculean beings forged in solar fire surviving alone and unshielded in the vacuum, on an icy rock so far from a star as to never see its light
Heroes and saints ascending to their gods by dissolving into starlight and void
Just…Space mythology.
YES YES YES
@filkyeahfilk there’s people out there haven’t heard Dawson’s Christian or The Phoenix or [many many more song titles go here] and I’m on mobile and can’t fuss with embed code, help?
Ooo, yes, if you want space mythology, there’s lots of filk for you, my friend.
As @welcomedmachine mentioned, Dawson’s Christian by Duane Elms is a great space ghost story:
The Phoenix by Julia Ecklar is about the soul of a spacefarer reincarnated as the soul of a starship:
As far as other good space mythology songs, the only additional ones I can think of right now are Ghost Ship and Starbound Spirit by Cynthia McQuillin. I know there’s loads more, so people should definitely chime in with suggestions!
“Encounter in Space” at Club Cosmos:
A video of Lars-Göran Johansson performing “Möte i rymden” (“Encounter in Space”) by Sam J. Lundwall at a 2012 club meeting of Club Cosmos, the oldest still extant science fiction club in Sweden (it was formed in 1954). “Möte i rymden” was one of three science fiction themed songs on Lundwall’s record “Visor i vår tid” (“Songs in Our Time”) which was released in 1966, which also contained several more songs that had fantasy themes or were fannish in outlook. It is possible that the song was written as early in 1963, when several of Lundwall’s songs were played at a Swedish con.
Note that the linked video is only available in WebM format. Here is a rough translation to English of the song:
Encounter in Space
We anchored in space by a faraway satellite
that lied in eternal orbit around its star.
In the mess hall I met a thirsty parasite;
||: a childhood friend that I now met again. :||
“Hi, dear Oskar Fikonström, mu old childhood friend!
You old sailor, are you still alive?
What has happened to you, you’re barely recognisable!”
||: “Yes, what has happened I will tell you right now. :||
I ran away from Earth real early as you know,
since I wanted to be on the ocean of space;
and with time I found a berth on an old space rocket,
||: the boss was a devil, but he was a fan! :|| [1]
We traveled to Vega with contraband and liquor,
I was still young and green and rather naïve.
I removed rust at the prow but got hardly any pay –
||: that time was the worst one in my life! :||
Work like a dog at any weather in the black holes of space,
and have the free watch in the terrible reactor light.
Space is filled with monsters that will kill humans,
||: and at all times a spaceman should be at hand! :||
Yes, I’ve seen most things that are here to see;
at Capella I met a beautiful blonde.
We were in her apartment when she exploded –
||: all of her was made up of nitroglycerine! :||
Black from soot and without clothes, all my body as a wound,
I sat astounded there with ashes in my lap
when a man with eight arms suddenly walked up to me:
||: the Earth’s consul with an unfathomable name! :||
I got new oxygen tubes and a decent ray gun
that was filled with death and the power of wild stars.
The consul’s fourth cousin got me a berth to a very far away sun,
||: but that trip wa the worst I ever had! :||
The ship where I got a place was of a strange type,
everything was wrong, and the air stank like a sewer.
Its captain was like an cephalopod with great green scales
||: and with evil-looking eyes at front and back! :||
Twenty light-years from Earth our engine broke down;
the animals in our cargo drank all our supplies.
We had to keep us alive using beer and aspirine;
||: one can hardly believe it’s true! :||
Yes, it was hard years in space, but I managed pretty well,
and though thirty I’m still at full vitality.
So thanks for all the drinks, but now I have to leave;
||: I have contraband in the rocket parked outside! :||
And then we parted in the mess hall with some simple words
and a handshake with my old childhood friend,
while thousands of millions white stars stood above
||: on the cold and black sky! :||
[1] The word “fan” can in Swedish both be used for fen and for the Devil.
There’s a noise coming out of the dog park
And I think it means me harm
There are lights up over the Arby’s
And I wish I’d never left the farm
There’s a glow shining out of the canyon
And I hope it’s gonna get better
From the noise coming out of the dog park
I take you to… the weather“The Weather” by the PDX Broadsides, the first Night Vale filk I think I’ve ever encountered.
Another Night Vale filk is Bob Kanefsky’s Downtown Night Vale, written with his usual brilliance.
Reblogging with addition!
Catnyp came to life one night
Along with all the Pages
Paper dolls with flat and inky smiles
The Pages bring the books to you
Day and night, two by two
But Catnyp tells the mice just what to find…
“Catnyp” by Cheshire Moon. Because while all libraries are magical, the New York Public Library is particularly so.
[for those unfamiliar, Catnyp is the Catalog of the New York Public Library]
Lyrics available here.
A TAZ filk of Simon and Garfunkle’s “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” written by the lovely and talented Nana Graye ( @howtotrainyournana ) and sung by me!
Lyrics:
Are you goin’ to Phandalin fair?
Promises, missions, bonds, and time
Remember me to one who passed there
She once was a true love of mineTell her to make me an umbrella grand
Promises, missions, bonds, and time
That’s dear to the heart and light in the hand
Then she’ll be a true love of mine[On the deck of a ship run by love and bonds true
Tracings of memories; robes red as blood
Wrap all ‘round the travelers from worlds away
Marks them fore-bearers of Hunger’s dark call]Tell her to find me the Light as it falls
Promises, missions, bonds, and time
To split it apart and dampen its calls
So people instead fall prey to its thralls[On a base on the moon on the evening of war
Mem’ries recovered and fam’ly reclaimed
Between the dark void or pale ashes instead
Choose with your heart and trust despite pain]Tell her be patient and hold tight to trust
Promises, missions, bonds, and time
Though mem’ries be static and bodies be dust
Bonds forge again and love once more shines[War bellows blazing with savage delight
The Hunger directs its armies to kill
The world fights against a foe it is blind to
And waits for the heroes hearts hope to instill]Are you goin’ to Phandalin fair?
Promises, missions, bonds, and time
Remember me to some who passed there
They once were dear fam’ly of mine.