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.

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.