For space is wide and good friends are too few.
“Black Eye, Yellow Eye,” by Annwn, a filk-rock band that I recently discovered. This song is a description of the lyricist’s journey through the American Southwest and a Native American reservation, told through fantastical imagery. I had no idea this song existed until it was on the brainstorming poll for the Pegasus Awards. I’m so glad I checked it out.
Have you heard the ghosts of stone
Speaking in the dust you raise,
Whispering to you alone
As you thread the maze?
This is a straight-up protest song, spurred by the Trump Administration’s decree that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not allowed to use certain words in any documents pertaining to the agency’s budget ( goo.gl/35oBLX ).
lyrics
The ones in charge are livin large,
You might say they have a dream:
They rule the world, but still want all the money,
And no tactic’s too extreme.
They don’t care for our people or laws,
New outrages every day,
And just so you know, there’s a brand new low –
They’re taking our words away.They make a big point of sayin’ this is just for
Discussion of the budget for the fiscal year.
But if they take one word, four words, seven words,
What makes you think that they’re gonna stop here?
Only allowed and approved information,
Even if it happens to be false and wrong
You think that chemistry, physics, biology,
You think the whole world is gonna go along?The science doesn’t care,
The universe doesn’t care,
The government doesn’t care,
Where do we go from there?Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.
Not letting us discuss reality, keeping us ignorant, in our place.
Stay far away from the real agenda, cutting off our noses to spite their face.
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.Denying science, ignoring evidence
Won’t make an oil pipeline un-spill.
Calling a fetus a baby doesn’t give it
Any health care when the mom falls ill.
Diversity just means people are different,
The great American melting pot,
Being transgender just means feeling in your
Heart that you’re something they say you’re not.People moralize,
See through fanatic’s eyes,
Use God to bolster lies,
Why are you so surprised?(transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based)
Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.All of the masters have brought disaster,
Listenin to the ravings of a crazy clown.
They’re already rich, so they think they
Deserve all the money that’s layin’ around.
Entitlement sounds like somethin’ for nothin’,
But all you’re entitled to is tricklin’ down.
They want to take We The People to the bathtub
And hold us under until we drown.They tell you what to hate,
They tell you who to fear,
But I swear it’s not too late
To sing out loud and clear.Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based,
Not letting us discuss reality, don’t let the opposition make their case.
Misogyny, bigotry, money, supremacy, all it’s gonna cost is the human race.
Transgender fetus entitlement diversity vulnerable evidence- and science-based.Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
How long till there’s nothing left to say,
Takin’ our words away.Takin’ our words away,
Takin’ our words away,
Nothing left to say….released February 4, 2018
image nicked from Science March Seattle, twitter.com/scimarchseattle
“Filk in the Lobby” by Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff, which I can only assume is based on a true story. The songs referenced in the lyrics are Fire in the Sky by Jordin Kare and March of Cambreadth by Heather Alexander.
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.
so i recorded this song months ago, and am finally posting it now because
(1) i am currently hardcore procrastinating on my schoolwork, and
(2) today marks two months since i first started T, and when i was listening to this track again i realized just how much my voice…doesn’t sound like that anymore.
it was the first moment that really hit home just how much things are changing in my life right now. i’ve come so far, and i am so different from the person i was just two months ago – who will i be two months from now? how can i know, until i get there?
…so, existential crisis aside, enjoy! once again, shout out to @rabbittmouth, @dog-of-ulthar, and tom lehrer for inspiration. lyrics are below the cut!
Please don’t ask me to smile
Please don’t tell me to cheer up
This is my face and it isn’t your place to tell me how
I should use it
No don’t ask me to smile
Because it isn’t kind it’s creepy
I just wanna be me
Angry, sad or carefree and
I’m fine with me
So I don’t see a need to excuse it
“Smile!” by the PDX Broadsides, a song in response to a directive that most of us who’ve ever been gendered as female have had to deal with at some point.
I like comics and spaceships and cats-es
and I’m barely holding the panic in
I’m afraid of eye contact and taxes
bartender, please extra gin
“Extra Gin” by the Doubleclicks, or the most personally relatable drinking song the brain mod has ever encountered.
Dinosaurs were just really, really big chickens
Growing up is just being a really big kid
“Really Big Chickens,” a reassuring reminder from the Doubleclicks.
Lyrics available here.
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.
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.