Filk
For those who don't know what a filk is, it's what most other people would call a folk song; the name originates from a typo in the program for a science fiction convention (I was surprised to actually find the word and the history in the OED, no less)
What most SF fans call a filk song is even more focused: it's a popular song whose words have been rewritten, usually with a fandom theme. A filker's great hope is that their work will become so well known that it eclipses the original song. This happened to the following English drinking song:
To Anacreon in Heaven,
Where he gleefully sat,
A few sons of Harmony
Sent up a petition,
That he their inspirer
And patron would be
When the answer arrived
From the jolly old Grecian:
"Voice, fiddle, and flute,
No longer be mute,
I'll lend you my name,
And inspire you to boot.
And besides I'll instruct you
Like me to entwine,
The mantle of Venus
With Bacchus's vine."
I've been filking for a while, and have written the following (the inactive links are filks in progress); within a category, I've listed the filks in the order they were written so you can see the growth (or lack thereof) of my musical talent.
Mathematics and Science Related
The Mathematicians Drinking Song
Aleph One Bottles of Beer on the Wall
Godel's Incompleteness Theorem
Social Studies Related
He'll be riding eight-legged horses (Norse mythology)
Eagle in the Straw (American history)
The Kings and Queens of England (English history)
Ode to the Amendments (American government)
SF/Fantasy
Uplift Us Now Where We Belong
Miscellaneous
A List of Songs by Subject
This is a list of every song I've put on these pages (so far), organized by subject and first line.