There are wings of flesh and feather, there are wings of bone and leather
There are wings of painted paper pinned to polished wooden spars
But wings of force and fire never falter, never tire
And the wings of human knowledge span the void between the stars.
space
When Eagles Fall – Mark Horning
When Eagles Fall
15 years…
Columbia has fallen, from a brilliant azure sky,
And left a wake of smoke and flame, thirty-eight miles high,
And seven of our very best, are gone forevermore,
Flesh and steel paid the supreme price to explore…
[submitted by rocket-song-acoustic]
Hanrahan’s Bar – Anne Harlan Prather & Leslie Fish
I know at least three songs about spaceport bars. Here is one of them.
Surprise! – Gunnar Madsen
Beep beep beep beep…Hello there!
Sputnik sails giggling through the skies,
Red flags, red faces, jump into the race
As the space age begins with a surprise!
“Surprise!” by Leslie Fish, a song commemorating the rather abrupt kickoff of the space race. This version is sung by Gunnar Madsen, with Mitchell Burnside Clapp providing the backing Russian.
Lyrics can be found in the To Touch the Stars CD booklet, available for free download on the Prometheus Music website.
goldpilot22 asked:
Do you think the song “Pioneers Over c” by Van Der Graaf Generator could be considered filk? It’s prog rock rather than folk, but it is about the first astronauts to surpass the speed of light, who then find themselves sort of disconnected from time. I suppose it’s more like speculative fiction in song form than science fiction fandom, though. Idk, that’s why I’m asking y’all.
It is if you want it to be! Because definitions are made up and only exist as long as they are useful to us. I definitely thing filk is a genre doesn’t ever need to sound folk-ish, it just often does because 1) it evolved out of the 60′s folk movement and 2) it’s an easy style to write and perform in for amateur musicians. But heck, there’s rap filk, there’s no reason there should be prog rock filk…except that prog rock typically requires at LEAST six musical instruments and electricity, and so is more conducive to staged concerts than song circles.
….but there’s plenty of filk on concert stages, with electric instruments, with the extensive arrangement, rehearsal, and setup you get in prog rock. I saw a prog rock band at a con, and while it wasn’t billed as filk, being at a con makes you basically filk.
As for whether it’s science fiction fandom music – if you’re in the science fiction fandom, and feel like it’s relevant, and you like it, it’s science fiction fandom music. That’s why songs about cats and Shakespeare are considered filk, even though they have heck all to do with science fiction. They might be pretty far removed from Star Trek, but a whole bunch of people like all of those things, and that unites them. Fandom is about the people, more than the content, in the end.
Anyway, I’d say a case can be made for calling it filk, and if you want to make that case that’s fine by me. It’s a few steps removed from what I might suggest as some kind of archetypal filk song, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t one. It’s like how a dachshund and a wolfhound are both dogs. They’re just very different dogs, and you just have to be aware that traits of most dogs do not necessarily apply to these dogs. If filk had a real dictionary definition it would have a dozen subdefinitions, and one of those would probably say “songs about science fiction concepts” and that’s this!
Long Distance Transmission – Grauntie Scribe
A new sad space song with lyrics by Nate @astriiformes set to the Thaxted tune from Holst’s ‘Jupiter.” Original post here.
Lyrics:
‘Cross the light-scattered starfields, past the moons of planets large and small
‘Cross the belts filled with asteroids comes a message: do you hear my call?
Though it’s faint, I trust you’re out there
Though it’s small amidst the void
We are bonded by friendship, which cannot be destroyedI will not cease the signal, I am still awaiting your reply
I do not doubt it’s coming for a moment, sure as comets fly
There are light-years set between us
There are parsecs in the way
But I know that you’re listening, and your words will find the wayI will dream we’re together, I will wish it every time I can
And just maybe, fate will see us once again joining hand in hand
But if space stays vast between us
If we’re star systems apart
Know I’ll keep on transmitting, you’re always in my heart.
Past the Edge of the Sky – Nat Elster
(or: The Literal Sky Boat Song)
Initially I wrote this intending it to be a sweet song about going home to space, but the original song is about the aftermath of a failed and bloody uprising, and it didn’t lend itself too well to happy. I wrote the current version thinking of the Alderaanian (and Jedhan and Hosnian…) refugees in Star Wars, but it could be applied to any number of science fiction universes, really.
To be sung to the tune of the Skye Boat Song.
[chorus:]
Speed bonny ship like a bird on the wing,
Upward the rockets fly;
Take us away to where the stars sing,
On past the edge of the sky.The atmosphere howls, the thrusters all roar,
The boosters light and flare.
‘Gainst gravity’s grasp, higher we soar,
We’ll soon escape the air.[chorus]
In space dark and wide, past systems we leap,
On countless worlds we’ll roam.
But here we remain, out in the deep;
They’ll never be our home.[chorus]
Burned is our world, exile and death;
Her children refugees.
Yet while our lungs still have their breath,
We’ll fight and never cease.[chorus]
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
“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.
Reblogging one of my favorite ghost stories in honor of Halloween
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 crewA newer recording of one of my favorite classic filk songs, “Dawson’s Christian,” a space opera ghost story, originally Duane Elms.
Reblogging one of my favorite ghost stories in honor of Halloween 🙂
Ship of Stone – Araxie Haldane (originally by Don Simpson)
My voice is dying and my fingers are sore, but I’ll leave you with this one. It’s one of those poignant space songs that filk is known for, and it makes me remember the good things about humanity.
Planetfall – Araxie Haldane & Nana Graye
Another space filk with a bit of a stealth TAZ flavor. My words to a traditional tune, sung by me and @howtotrainyournana
Lyrics:
Oh planetfall, I long to reach you
Away, across the cosmos
Oh planetfall, I long to reach you
Away, we’re bound away
Chasing hope and starlight.The darkness comes, but we keep flying
Away, across the cosmos
The darkness comes, but we keep flying
Away, we’re bound away
Chasing hope and starlight.Our world is gone, there’s no returning
Away, across the cosmos
Our world is gone, there’s no returning
Away, we’re bound away
Chasing hope and starlight.But we will build a home together
Away, across the cosmos
But we will build a home together
Away, we’re bound away
Chasing hope and starlight.
Submitted post: Den tappre kosmonauten Nikolajevs kvalfulla rymdfärd
Swedish nerdy parody songs are not limited to filk or fandom. The most important venue is arguably the Swedish student song tradition, of which this is a fine example. The song exists in several variants, often shorter than this. I usually only sing a single verse and the chorus, myself. For those unfamiliar with the tune, it’s to the tune of the Russian national anthem, previously the Soviet national anthem. And it’s a song which fits squarely into any filk circle.
Rough translation of the song opening (not necessarily fitting with the version sung above):
My name is Nikolayev, a Soviet cosmonaut
I’m flying round the earth in my space rocket
but I’ve suffered a misfortune grave
I forgot to go to the loo before I left
I long for home, home to my planet
to wife and child back home in Soviet
but most of all to a small house with a heart on the door
Home, home to my planet
I don’t want to be stuck in the rocket
where there isn’t a house with a heart on the door
Outward Bound – Echo’s Children
“They’re looking for a scientist,” my buddy said one day,
“‘Course, the only thing that’s smaller than the quarters is the pay,
But it does mean work in orbit–” I said “Get out of my way!”
And it won’t be much longer now.I’ve had a berth on Outward Bound since she was begun
I’ve got a berth on Outward Bound and she’s almost done
I’ve got a berth on Outward Bound and–hey!–I’ve got to run!
Cause it won’t be much longer now.
“Outward Bound” by Echo’s Children, perfect for when you want to bellow along to a space exploration singalong.
Lyrics available here.
Roll the Old Shuttle-Ship Along – Araxie Haldane & Nana Graye
@howtotrainyournana and I singing a space filk of the traditional sea shanty “Roll The Old Chariot Along,” written by Nana.
Lyrics:
Oh we’ll be alright with the sunbeams in our sails
Oh we’ll be alright with the sunbeams in our sails
Oh we’ll be alright with the sunbeams in our sails
And we’ll all hang on insideCHORUS:
And we’ll roll the old shuttle-ship along
We’ll roll the old shuttle-ship along
We’ll roll the old shuttle-ship along
And we’ll all hang on insideOh another loop around wouldn’t do us any harm
Oh another loop around wouldn’t do us any harm
Oh another loop around wouldn’t do us any harm
And we’ll all hang on insideCHORUS
Oh we’ll be home-bound with the engine set on full
Oh we’ll be home-bound with the engine set on full
Oh we’ll be home-bound with the engine set on full
And we’ll all hang on insideCHORUS
Oh a night among the stars is a wonder to behold
Oh a night among the stars is a wonder to behold
Oh a night among the stars is a wonder to behold
And we’ll all hang on insideCHORUS
Oh the captain and the crew try and keep us all from harm
Oh the captain and the crew try and keep us all from harm
Oh the captain and the crew try and keep us all from harm
– And we all respond in kindCHORUS
Oh we’ll be star-bound in our souls and in our lives
Oh we’ll be star-bound in our souls and in our lives
Oh we’ll be star-bound in our souls and in our lives
‘Long as stars and souls surviveCHORUS
