Not a Bard

I’m running out of Leslie Fish songs, this is actually another of the Rudyard Kipling poems that Leslie set to music. Perhaps I will learn some more as part of my A&S 50 Challenge. I’m only up to six Challenge songs so far though this weekend I found several more Irish songs that would go well in the repertoire. The poem first appeared in Puck of Pook’s Hill in 1906. The words posted are the original poem though they don’t quite match up with my version.

I’m not sure if you can hear it but the guitar on this song sounds much better to me. I decided to replace my old Dean Markley Pro-Mag pickup with a new one because the Pro-Mag had a buzz from the plug having separated. The only acoustic pickup the store had was an $80 DiMarzio, which was more than I wanted to spend but I thought I’d give it a try. OMFG is the sound ever better. I’d say it was worth the price. It sounds so good that one of my first thoughts was, “I need to go back and rerecord all my songs with this new pickup.” Uhhh…I’ll get back to you on that.

Remember that Leslie’s music is copyright to her (copyright 1983 by Leslie Fish, assigned to Random Factors,) though the poem is in the public domain in the US. More information about Leslie can be found at her website, www.lesliefish.com. Leslie’s music can be purchased there or from from Random Factors. This song is on the Cold Iron CD which is still available.

A Pict Song – Lyrics: A Pict Song

A Pict Song by Glen E Hammer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.lesliefish.com.

Well, I made it to Scots/Welsh War last weekend but it was a bit chilly. As the sun began to go down it was getting too cold for the guitar so I had to pack up early. Next weekend I’ll be at Golden Lily in Meridies. It’s supposed to warm up a bit for the weekend, maybe into the 50s. =)

Posted in Song of the Week
Tags: SCA, Song of the Week

Another song from the inimitable Leslie Fish, this one is off the album “Serious Steel.” I assume it is based on a “True Story” though there are a lot of apocryphal tales like this in the SCA,

Words and music are Copyright 1991 by Leslie Fish, assigned to Random Factors. More information is available at www.lesliefish.com. You can also purchase CDs at Leslie’s site including “Serious Steel.” The album is also available at her publisher, Random Factors which has a number of other albums available too. There is certainly a lot of good music at the site, including re-releases of some of Leslie’s (and filkdom’s) first recordings.

True Story Lyrics: True Story

True Story by Glen E Hammer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.lesliefish.com.

Posted in Song of the Week
Tags: SCA, Song of the Week

I learned this one from my pirated copy of the An Tir Songbook. (Where I also learned most of my Baldwin of Erebor songs.) I was surprised to discover it had been written by David Bigelow, the husband of an acquaintance of mine from SF fandom in the northwest. It is one of two great songs about Falshire Faire and I appreciate David allowing me to use it here.

Knight at Fallshire Faire

The Knight at Falshire Faire by Glen E Hammer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Words and Music copyright David Bigelow

Posted in Song of the Week
Tags: SCA, Song of the Week

This is another song by Master Iosef of Locksley, m.k.a. Joe Bethancourt. The tune is the Traditional “Leatherwing Bat.” I think I got this off a tape somewhere but not sure which one. Joe has a CD called Celtic Circle Dance for sale on his website, that includes the song (and others.) Of course he also has many other recording available too, including some of him and Leslie Fish. Joe’s main site is http://www.whitetreeaz.com/

When I sing this song, the refrain is different every time. I think it is imitating a bodhran (drum) with the syllables. I try to match my strumming to the syllables to reinforce the idea. Because of this, I had to record it differently than the previous pieces. I usually record myself playing and singing through a song and then re-record the singing on the third track. This gives better quality vocals because I can concentrate on them more if I’m not playing. It also leaves a fourth track to add a rhythm if I choose. This time because I would not be able to match the syllables with the strumming if I re-recorded it, I had to keep the original vocal track. I can tell the difference but hopefully it’s not too jarring for the rest of you. =)

Celtic Circle Dance – Lyrics – Link to the song in Joe’s Songbook

Celtic Circle Dance by Glen E Hammer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.whitetreeaz.com/. Words copyright 1984 by W. J. Bethancourt III

Posted in Song of the Week
Tags: SCA, Song of the Week