Help me, Father, I've rhymed again!

From: owner-glorantha_at_hops.wharton.upenn.edu
Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 21:14:33 -0500


Boris here, posting from his wife's account.

Yes, once again I was inspired (if that's what you call it). This is hopefully not such complete doggeral as the last.

I think the fourth verse especially needs work, but would appreciate advice on any of it. If the meter seems a bit variable, blame Don McClean; I tried to match the original line for line.

The Day The Fire Died
(to the tune of American Pie)

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how the free winds always used to blow. And I knew that if left alone
That we would then cause harm to none
Except perhaps a cattle raid or so.
But that there red moon makes me shudder With each barbaric "Yolp!" I utter.
Chaos in the lowland
It seems more than I can stand!
As I recall it took my breath
When I heard how fared the House of Death And it divided kin and kith
The Day the Fire Died.
So

ch:
Bye, bye! Time to fight now or die.
Tell my Pappy I'll die happy,
Tell my Mamma don't cry.
Us Sartari boys will grab our swords, shields and try To pull that red chaos bitch from the sky! We'll pull the red bitch from the sky!

Well have you heard the Princes' Tale
And do you recall how Boldhome fell
As the godi tell it true?
And do you believe in Sartar's Flame?
Can you name every prince by name?
And can you paint the runes in woad so blue? Well you know that you are Orlanth's son 'Cause you feel the storms in your blood run! It's time to take your spear,
And fight for all you hold dear!
We are all Sartari fighting thanes,
>From the Far Point gors to the Swenstown plains,
Recall now all our wounds and pains
The Day the Fire Died!
Let's go singing
ch:

Now for nineteen turns we've shed our tears, And rust grows red on our swords and spears, But that's not how it used to be,
When the Princes fought here for you and me, When they fought to keep Orlanthi free,
And the Flame burned bright for all to see. But when Terasarin scaled the height
A moonbeam came and stole his sight.
He fell down to his doom!
No corpse in royal tomb!
And while godi sang his shade to rest,
Slain by the moon we all detest,
The seers foretold we'd fail the test
The Day the Fire Died
They were singing
ch:

Flying, dying, Red Moon defying,
The ram fought off the Granite Lion
Sent to stop Prince from taking crown.
The heirs then took Humakt's vow
The Household of Death refused to bow
To the Empire, which was sworn to cast them down. Now the Boldhome siege was sorely pressed, And the Red Moon Hags flew o'er the crest. The Bat filled all with dread,
But a dragon killed it dead.
Dread Halsalter faced the Moonson's ire, Gave mortal wound, and from geas expired And Dragonewts then quenched the Fire
The Day the Fire Died
We were singing
ch:

And there they came all at one time
To break the Storm Victorious shrine
And we just had to stop them then.
We called Starbrow to lead us, Starbrow Queen! Starbrow, Kallai, and Hofstaring!
We kicked out the Lunars once again!
Then Wideread came through Furthest Gap, He wiped Duck Point right off the map!
Treeleaper dragged to Hell;
A foul chaotic spell!
And then he offered peace, "Lay down your arms! "Swear to your Prince, go to your farms!" The ducks got blamed, took all the harms Since when the Fire Died!
They stopped singing
ch:

I met a bard who sang of wind
And I asked if they'd blow free again,
But she just wept and turned away.
I went up to the sacred hill
To feel the free winds blowing still,
But the godi couldn't call the sylphs to play. And in the fields the stagnant air
Just steals my breath when I'm out there. No skalds are now heard singing,
The wind chimes hang unringing.
And the three kings then that led our host, Kallai, Kalyyr, Treeleaper most,
They're dead, or fled, or damned, poor ghost. Since when the Fire died.
And they'd been singing
ch:
- ----
Boris

End of Glorantha Digest V3 #101


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