filk

Come To The Garden – Lillie Blue

by

bluespacequeen:

Come To The Garden: an original song inspired by The Adventure Zone, an actual play D&D Podcast by the McElroy Brothers (and daddy). From Magnus to Julia. Lyrics under the cut. Thank you for listening!

Keep reading

Even if you’ve never heard of The Adventure Zone, please listen to this, the tune is absolutely gorgeous

Lady Moon – Talis Kimberley

by

Lady Moon, will you dance with me
Just once while I am mortal?
For there is no woman I would rather
Gather in my arms
And though the price of my impertinence
Be such that after just one dance –
I burn away to ashes, so I choose;
Lady Moon, tell me: what have you to lose?

“Lady Moon,” by Talis Kimberley.  I don’t know why people keep trying to date the moon, I thought Avatar taught us all that was a bad idea.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Just a Dream – Vixy & Tony

by

Dreams can’t hurt you, that’s what parents used to say
But they changed the world forever in New Mexico that day
No one sleeps and no one wakens, no one’s ever what they seem
And the one you thought you knew was just a dream, just a dream
Yes the one you knew was just a dream

“Just a Dream,” by Vixy and Tony, based on the short story “The Minotaur”, by Bill Kte’pi

Filksong Genealogy: Shapes in Shadow

by

(Series: Filksong Genealogy)

Above: “Shades of Shadow,” off the album A Wolfrider’s Reflections, based on the ElfQuest comic.  (The official album songbook is here; lyrics to this song are about halfway through.)  Lyrics by Mercedes Lackey, music by Leslie Fish, sung by Julia Ecklar.  The speaker in this song is Winnowill, a powerful magic-worker and master manipulator.

Below: Bob Kanefsky’s “Shapes in Shadow” is one of those filksongs that can’t really be called a parody of the original song, as there’s nothing comedic or satirical about it.  Like the original, it’s about power.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The River – Vixy & Tony

by

So tell me a story, aren’t all stories true?
Tell me a story and I’ll tell it back to you
There’s always someone else there, up the river, up the river
Got to find my own way up the river

“The River,” a song about trying to make art when it feels like there’s someone upstream in the river of creativity (for example, Bob Dylan), catching all the good ideas before they get to you.  But in good filk fashion, Vixy and Tony point out the bright side – the fact that there are other people fishing means we can help each other.  Idea fish , unlike meat fish, don’t get used up, they grow.

Polly – Talis Kimberley

by

The splendid Scottish folksinger Karine Polwart tweeted one day about witnessing a girl being told not to climb a tree because she was in a very nice skirt. Or maybe just in a nice skirt, it was some time ago, and either way, this little song fell happily out and has been sung a handful of times since.
There is a particularly British distinction, I think, betweem a skirt, a nice skirt, and a very nice skirt. And you can climb trees in any of them, so there.

“Polly,” by Talis Kimberley, a very modern song in a charmingly traditional style.

Fences (A Sheep Shanty) – Talis Kimberley and Chantelle Smith

by

Alfie Purl, Christopher, Ruby and Zack;
Move the sheep and the fences around!
Take the ones from the front and put these in the back
Move the sheep and the fences around.

Why would you write a shanty about sheep?  Why not.  Sung, appropriately, in a field, by Talis Kimberley and Chantelle Smith.  Featuring the names of real sheep!

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Dawson’s Christian – Vixy & Tony

by

There are stories of the Dutchman, the Celeste and Barnham’s Pride
There are stories of the Horseman and the Lady at his side
But the tale that makes my blood run cold, the more because it’s true
Is the tale of Jayme Dawson and his crew
Yes, the tale of Dawson’s Christian and her crew

A newer recording of one of my favorite classic filk songs, “Dawson’s Christian,” a space opera ghost story, originally Duane Elms.