Copyright 2005 by Jeff Suzuki
This one got started because I was dismayed at the high handed tactics of those in power. Since I try to avoid writing songs too embedded in contemporary references, I wrote a song that would allow two different listeners to be absolutely certain the song's about two entirely different power mad lunatics (and by implication, be applicable to any other power mad lunatics who come along in the future).
I'd like to think that I've done a nearly perfect job of it, except I'm not that self-deluded...
It took me about a day to rough this one out; the next day I listened to the exemplar over and over and over and over again to make sure the scansion worked out; the result was a few changes in the lyrics. Once again, after I posted it to rec.music.filk, Kate Gladstone gave me a number of very useful suggestions, some of which I adopted (and others of which I adapted)...as in other songs, I've flagged some of her suggested changes.
The tune is Lilli Burlero.
Ho, brother John, dost hear the decree? Sent by the king throughout all the land. That we shall have a new deputy. Who will ensure united we stand. Chorus Our thoughts are our own if kept to ourselves And never allowed on our tongues or our shelves Our thoughts are our own but our tongues won't be still Until we're all free from the kings on the hill. If we protest in print or in speech Green and gold guards will point out our crime. The king will decide, when told of our breach Whether to banish, imprison, or fine. Chorus Said the proud king, "The winner was me! My coronating was done by you folks. Freedom you hate if you misagree, Under assent, or turn down my blokes!" Chorus"If you want change, then pick up a sword Enter the list, and win a crown fight. If you're too old, too weak, sick or poor, You'll have no say, 'cuz might makes us right." ChorusProphecy said a king we enthroned Would break a proud land, and win lasting fame. Lo and behold, the land was his own So now and forever, we will curse his name! Chorus
The Footnotes
My completion was the rather execrable “and never alowed to fly from the shelves.” I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote it, though I was probably thinking of the “get library circulation record” proviso of the Patriot Act.
Colors are amazingly powerful labels: for example, the black and tans, as anyone up on their Irish history knows, were among the most notorious groups used by the British to suppress the IRA; for some reason, they have been commemorated as a drink using Guinness. But nowadays it's almost impossible to use a color without referring to an ethnic group. Fortunately no one is green and gold, so it's clear that the “green and gold guards” refer to guards wearing uniforms of green and gold.
The original lines were:
If we should err, in print or in speech Men of the king, our error will find.
Kate pointed out that 1) this sounded like the king was a grammar fanatic, and 2) it rhymed “find” with “fine”, a very weak rhyme. She suggested another line which (it seemed to me) had too many syllables, but it did encourage me to rewrite the line.
This was originally:
Said the proud king, ”The people crowned me! Though I'm uncouth and speak bar-bar-bar. If you dissent, if you misagree, You can go hang for all that I car.”
Kate pointed out a few problems with it. First, it made fun of people who spoke funny. While it's very classical (see the etymology of the word barbarian and idiot), it's rather mean-spirited to poke fun at those who have speech impediments or who speak with a foreign accent. Next, not even You Know Who, rhymes bar with care, so the allusion would be lost (more precisely, people would begin to wonder “Gee, who rhymes 'bar' with 'car'?” and be distracted). She suggested:
He proudly proclaims: "The nation--that's me I got coronated by will of the folks: You threaten the realm if you misagree Or under-assent, or don't laugh at my jokes."
Which I thought was hilarious, but it didn't quite get what I wanted (the haughty arrogance). One of the earlier versions of the song had the king declaring “The winner was me,” so I resurrected the line; you can see how the final version is a mixture of her version and mine.
These verses are for use within the SCA, as they don't make too much sense outside of it. The original verses were:
"You are against, if you're not all for If you want change, then go out and fight
In the SCA, you are “king by right of arms” by winning a crown tourney. Exactly what this gives you is a subject of much debate; a strict constructionist would say that it's a purely honorary position (the original title was “king of love and beauty” or some variant thereof). Recently there has been a movement towards “I am king, therefore my word is law...” but the problem with this viewpoint is that there is not a shred of historical support for such a viewpoint: a modern president has far, far, far more power than any medieval king ever had, and if any medieval king tried for the “my word is law” argument, he would have found that his word is law so long as it happens to agree with what a rather sizable group of high ranking nobles thought was law. It was by no means democratic, but it was very far from autocratic.
Once upon a time, Croesus the King of Lydia sent to the Oracle of Delphi to ask what would happen if he attacked his neighbor, the Kingdom of the Medes. The Oracle told him, “A mighty kingdom will be conquered.” This sounded great to Croesus, who attacked the Medes, and only afterwards realized he should have asked whose mighty kingdom would be conquered. So now you know how to be a Delphic Oracle...
Kate caught the reference on the first go, and suggested an alternate first and fourth line that I've put in (with minor modifications).