Category: Song-a-Day 2021

what makes it work

 
When did I ever think that it would ever be easy
When did I ever dream that it would ever be easy
And the older that I get, the harder it becomes
to do the things I should, to do the things I must
And I will push along, now that I know that I have to
And I will move along, now that I know that I should
You are part of why I keep trying to be better
You are a lot of why I decide to stay here

And that’s because of how much
I really love and respect you
And that’s because of how much
I really love and respect you

for Jeff Sept 8 2009

Dandelions dreaming

 

The international symbol of filking (well, Kathy Mar’s, lol) is the dandelion. I wrote this after John died, so it is in part in remembrance of him.

Blow you winter winds
blow where you please
hang your icy bunting
on the barren trees
decorate the windows
with capricious lace
send your storm clouds flying
cross the lunar face

Dandelions dreaming
underneath their banks of snow
Soon they will be blooming
Soon enough the seeds will blow

Blow you winter winds
gales and chills
howl around the hollows
echo through the hills
Bringing snow and fog
bringing ice and rain
A moment of the sun
then all is dark again.

Blow you winter winds
blow where you will
Now my spirit feels
oh so small and still
Soon we’ll close the door
on your bleak refrain
For we will rejoice
and we will sing again

Blow you winter winds
mark my skin
Soon I will be warm
with my loves and kin
Two foot and four foot
All will be within
There’s a roaring fire
at the Dandelion Inn

Dandelions dreaming
underneath their banks of snow
Soon they will be blooming
and soon enough the seeds will blow

She

She, that instant and immortal she
always standing where you want to be
she moves the backdrop falls away
the pleasure centre yells hooray
she’s a blip on your detector
a bogey on your scope
she’s coming for you
how will you ever cope
you can’t drown her in alcohol
or dodge her with dope
you better learn to pray now
it’s your only hope

She that anchor in a rolling sea
redefines this brief reality
The waves may crash the wind may roar
and all you’ll ever want is more, more, more
she’s a blip on your detector
a bogey on your scope
she’s coming for you
how will you ever cope
You’re standing on a cliff edge and
you just ran out of rope
you better learn to pray now
it’s your only hope

 

Wrote this in Montréal. Although it’s just a midi piano line here, try to imagine it as arena rock, because that’s how I hear it.

Live at GAFilk – Dishing with Joyce

 

You think I haven’t got a clue
I’m telling you it’s no small task
to be the Slayer’s single mom
well how hard can it be
I’m glad you asked
She’s constantly in trouble
and spoiling for a fight
but if my girl’s out kicking demon ass
I guess the world will be all right

I tell her get your homework in on time
try hard to be home by nine
if I ask how you are, say ‘Fine!
I just saved the world, again!’

I’ve been assaulted and enchanted
I take hellmouth stuff in stride
and you may think that I’m demented
but parenting’s a way more scary ride
I want her to be happy
I want her to be good
But here in Sunnydale we’re just not living
in that kind of neighborhood

I tell her get your homework in on time
try hard to be home by nine
if I ask how you are, say ‘Fine!
I just saved the world, again!’

It wasn’t all disastrous, there were moments I quite like
I get all misty-eyed about the time I clobbered Spike

Well every season brings a change
the scoobies fight a new ‘big bad’
and rabid fans won’t think it’s strange
if you won’t watch ‘the body’ ’cause it’s sad
(aside Legit the saddest episode in tv history up until that point)
It’s all about the teamwork
it’s all about fair play
so I’d appreciate if you’d not talk about
my fling with Giles today

I tell her get your homework in on time
try hard to be home by nine
if I ask how you are, say ‘Fine!
I just saved the world, again! I just saved
the whole damned shiny Whedonverse again”

spoken That’s my girl

 

Fucking mandolin would not stay in tune because I took Blind Lemming’s advice and loosed the strings before travel (i love the hoomin and I’d take a bullet for him but I’m still pissed about that) and then THE FUCKING BRIDGE MOVED and I couldn’t get it set properly and I then made my handler drive all over Atlanta in the rain finding me new strings and Christ it was stressful. If I don’t sound stressed that’s a miracle. Sorry about the tag into the next song on the end, I can’t be arsed to fix it.

It’s just so Nice When Someone Knows your Name / single verse

Technically this is a Brooke Abbey song, but I messed with it two ways; I added a verse, which you can hear, here, and I made it PSYCHOBILLY, so it’s keyed differently and about 40 beats a minute faster. So I don’t feel bad about extracting a single verse from my live performance at GAFilk (which alas Brooke was not able to attend because the poor hoomin was migraineing almost the whole weekend) and reproducing it for you. Also I asked him if I could do it.

I’d like to get caught doing something on CCTV
which then breaks to the Internet dispersing virally
I would be world famous, be global entertainment
but sadly notoriety does not come with much payment
and it’s just so nice when someone knows your name!
Your inbox it is always full but you are not EMPLOYABLE
man it’s so nice when someone knows your name!

Shopping song (a love song to Toronto in the 80s)

It’s autumn in the city and I am scuffling
unsavory
sitting across from the everything store

(Holt Renfrew on Bloor

I love to watch the people going in
I love to watch them coming out so much more
I ask them did you find what you want
do they stock in your size
did you find you have eyes bigger than your wallet
did they serve you in style?
did the waitperson smile
it’s a fix, now, no matter what you call it

I saw 60 dollar silk blouses in the garment
district
700 dollar virgin wool suits uptown
it’s this always always wanting and never having
and not deserving
especially the not deserving that’s getting me down
I tell myself Will you never grow up?
Don’t you know good things aren’t cheap?
all the fine things in life always have their price tag
but it’s wearing me out
I want to strip off my self doubt
and go out
and buy some brand new nice rags

After window shopping it’s back to my rooftop,
my skyline
the pulse of the waves, the insomniac geese
Like a jewel box broken and spilled open sideways
it lies there
from the highway to the towers that lie in the east
I cry
will you always be there
will you never fall down
why do I see you best coming up for night time
There’s no cash in my coat
and the wind’s at my throat
but it’s dusk
and I’m in the right place at the right time

a filker’s life for me

Early one morn on a unicorn well I launched a rocket ship
and I wore my silks and tie dyes and gave mundane life the slip
And it cost me more than I could afford but I had to take the trip
and I have myself to thank that I’m a filker
For we sing the sweetest music and we laugh the loudest laughs
The robots sell their spares to hear, the wizards pawn their staffs
the circle calls in the function halls for a chorus fine and free
You can keep your wretched autotune it’s a filkers life for me!