What prayers can
stir the gods of space who dwell beyond the stars?
What mortal
words can help or heal an engine without power?
And will we
drift forever lost between the stars? We strive
To find a single
planet with fuel to feed the drive
Cynthia McQuillin’s “Fuel to Feed the Drive” is a “classic” in a very specific filkish way. That way is I heard multiple songs that referenced it before I managed to find a recording, but it’s finally on YouTube!
It also, typical of classic filk of a certain age, has a parody (by Jordin Kare) that’s perhaps even better known than the original – and it is helpfully included in this recording.
Lyrics to both versions and my best stab at the chords under the cut:
Sun of Vulcan grant that I may be restored
I do not seek nor understand, what I am fighting for
Have you always wanted to hear a heartfelt song about Pon Farr? Would you like some genuine, vintage, archival quality Spirk content? Yes, yes you would.
“Sun of Vulcan,” by Debra F. Sanders & Cynthia McQuillin
Lyrics below the cut, since they’re not readily available online. Thanks to @aaaaaicantthinkofaname for the transcription!
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!