I didn't see any similar topic on this board, so here is a thread where you can share songs from your worlds, and maybe discuss what they mean.

Lihiri's Hymn

One day, we'll be able to handle the truth,
Our mem'ries will cause us no pain,
No more will we mourn for the things we've lost
Our lives will be ours again.
The fruits of our labors will be ours alone,
By hands unencumber'd by chains,
Our babes will be born of flesh and blood,
Our lives will be ours again.
The hands that oppressed us will be struck clean off,
The minds that unsex'd us restrained,
The Empire will fall, and we will rise,
Our lives will be ours,
Forever more,
Our lives will be ours again.

I got the idea for this song after listening to the Dragon Age: Inquisition Tavern Songs album, and wishing that my own setting had folk songs. Those of you who've participated in the Worlds Fair CDT might recognize the name "Lihiri". For those who haven't, she is a Zinji, a member of an oppressed elven race. Her people were rounded up by the Azikath and subjected to magical experiments intended to make them into slaves. The end results stripped the Zinji of their ability to reproduce and much of their sentience (Lihiri herself managed to reacquire sentience, but is a Cloud Cuckoolander.)

At any rate, the first verse is about Lihiri's wish that she could remember her life before the experiments, or at least stop remembering the pain of the experiments or the years that she spent as a slave. The second verse imagines a future for the Zinji where they work only for themselves, and where they are once again able to bear children. The third verse imagines the Zinji rising up and getting their revenge on the Azikath. This progression is very deliberate; on the surface, Lihiri is optimistic and sweet, but she does have a certain amount of rage buried deep within her. She's also absorbed some militancy from her girlfriend Nioba, a recovering Knight Templar from a religion that preaches militant abolitionism...

I do not yet have a melody for the song (my talent is words, not music) but it can be sung to the tune of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me".

edited 11th Feb '15 11:21:55 PM by StrixObscuro

-one sec, editing-

Edit: Okay, never mind, I can't figure out how to format my lyrics into stanzas. They keep coming out as long unbroken lines of text, instead of blocks of separate lines.

edited 13th Feb '15 2:15:21 PM by Tungsten74

Put two backslashes at the end of each line.

I would be hugging you through the internet if I didn't have to run out and catch the bus in maybe three minutes.

People always forgot that con-worlds have pop charts, too.

Seriously, I love you or something.

Made up a lullaby/kid's game for my Urban Fantasy Moonflowers, which I made after listening to the Pans Labyrinth lullaby for mood-setting.

Moon's cradle, moon's cradle, how do you do?
Silver ladle, silver ladle, is my gift to you.

The King Under the Hills is a-wandering the wood
And his white horns are too big for his red hood.

Moon's cradle, moon's cradle, what shall I bring?
Find the smith, find the smith, and buy an iron ring.

The King Under the Hills is a-riding with his men
And a hundred of them all are tramping through the glen.

Moon's cradle, moon's cradle, what shall I wear?
Mayblossoms, mayblossoms, wreathed upon your hair.

(Alternate: Moon’s cradle, moon’s cradle, shall I wear my best?
Turned-in, turned-in, or sorely you’ll be pressed.)

The King Under the Hills is a-knocking at my door
And his eyes are as green as the grass upon the shore.

Moon's cradle, moon's cradle, how shall I greet him?
Kindly, kindly, but do not let him in.

The game involves at least two kids—one is the King Under the Hills, and one is the singer. To start the game, the singer throws stuff into a body of water (or a spot designated as such). Then the singer will either get the items from other kids to throw into the moon's cradle, or the King will hide the items before the game officially starts if there's only the two players.

In some regions, it's combined with tag where the King Under The Hills chases the singer and tries to tag them before they can 1) throw stuff into the moon's cradle, or 2) get the stuff from the other kids. For the last verse where you don't get anything, you have to climb a tree or get behind a fence and wave politely.

This is an imitation of adults making offerings for protection from The Fair Folk. "The King Under the Hills" is the leader of The Wild Hunt (the horns refer to the antlers on his deer-skull mask, while the "hills" refer to the fairy-mounds that the Fair Folk dwell in), and the "moon's cradle" is a body of water that adults would throw offerings into, often when the moon is full (therefore "holding" the moon).

Normally may/hawthorn trees are unlucky to cut down because they're sacred to the fairies, but when the mayblossoms bloom, the bad luck is nullified and in some places, mayblossoms actively ward off the Fair Folk, hence the advice to wear them in your hair. The non-holiday version of that verse advises you to turn your clothes inside-out.

It's the first third of a longer ballad that describes the pursuit of a young man/woman by the Fair Folk, which horrifies the kids when they age up to high school and realize it's actually talking about torture/rape/murder, seeing as The Wild Hunt isn't very nice to humans.

Yes, I made up a kid's game for my story. No regrets.

edited 18th Mar '15 3:08:21 PM by Sharysa

Another entry - She Holds All, a Zynobian spiritual that is essentially their version of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"...

She Holds All

She holds all in Her hands,
And She loves and guards it with Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands.

She holds all the children in Her hands,
And She soothes them and rocks them with Her hands,
She holds all the children in Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands.

She holds Her people in Her hands,
And she arms them and trains them by Her hand,
She holds Her people in Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands.

She holds all the slaves in Her hands,
And She breaks all their chains with Her hands,
She holds all the slaves in Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands.

She holds all the elves in Her hands,
And She'll break them and crush them in Her hands,
She holds all the elves in Her hands,
She holds all in Her hands.

She holds the Liberators in Her hands,
And the wicked shall fall by their hands,
She holds the Liberators in Her hands,
And the Liberators are Her hands.
And She holds all in Her hands...

As should no doubt be apparent, the Zynobians worship a mother-goddess figure, represented by the bandurza, a beast native to Zynobia that resembles a cross between a lion and a bear. A large part of their religion concerns the spreading of social justice, at swordpoint if necessary, hence the references to an armed populace and the freeing of slaves. The bit about the elves refers to their Cold War against the elvish kingdom of Kurnoz Kralluk, which occupied Zynobia centuries ago. The Liberators are Zynobian militants, and of course, the last verse puts a very sinister spin on the whole song - in the setting, Zynobians are generally good, but in a very Good Is Not Nice way...

edited 3rd Dec '15 10:24:17 PM by StrixObscuro

Mask your weakness

Don't stop trying, even when quitting makes too much sense. And don't cry, no matter how hard it gets. Haters lying, they undermine your defense. They see you're dying, and their plans commence. And I realize you're down and, your work's washing away. Won't deny that your love, it made you easy prey! But I feel that I've fallen, time and time again, so that I could rise, strong as I am today!

The enemy chatters, they plant fears in your head. But don't dwell on it, not even the truths they said. Always rest easy, even when the ground is your bed. Brush it off if from yourself, mosquitoes and ticks were fed. Smile as they scatter, bloated with your fluids! I promise you this, they'll soon be dead! And they thought they'd be satisfied, at seeing my blood shed. Could have seen so much more, had they not turned and fled!

edited 5th Dec '15 5:25:51 AM by IndirectActiveTransport

“In a galaxy, where the United Earth Government has fought a civil war, losing several worlds to the Southern Cross and had a war with the Alien Cay Union, hope rides in a ship called Victory ”

Captian Thomas Emil and the commander of his strike force Lieutenant colonel Minori Taira TA-349 are Those Two Bad Guys and The Rival to the crew of the starship Victory.

Minori revived an "old Earth song" as the strike force's official song, she calls her version:

"We Marines March to The Front"

The Marines march to the front.
And all the others follow
First ones in, last ones out
We drop, we march we fight!
We plant our boot on the ground
And we laugh at fate!

We are the assault troopers,
Defenders of Mother Earth
Tomorrow holding up our flag
As victors we travel
We have not only our weapons,
But also death walking with us:
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Fighting down there, we fall in behind him
The rebel never gets to rest.

For this destiny of Earth
Honor and loyalty,
We are proud Children of the Sun
and we burn the hand of fate.

We are the assault troopers,
Warriors of the old Corps.
Tomorrow holding up our flags
As victors we travel.
We have not only our weapons,
But also Death walking with us:
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Because our old brothers in arms are
Fighting down there, we fall in behind them.
The rebel never gets to rest.

Honor is our law.
Combat is our creed.
We care about nothing around us,
And the galaxy can
Curse or praise us,
Just as it pleases.

We are the assault troopers,
Defenders of Mother Earth
Tomorrow holding up our flag
As victors we travel.
We have not only our weapons,
But also death walking with us:
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Fighting down there, we fall in behind him
The rebel never gets to rest.


It's an old Nazi SS tune that was used by the French Foreign Legion. Minori likes to substitute "the rebel’s face" for "ground" . The "rebels" are the Southern Cross, colonies that broke away from Earth. The song is also blasphemous to the the Marta and some other aliens because it mentions death and fate. That Minori and Thomas are xenophobic jerk asses means that they either missed the Unfortunate Implications of the song or the robot Minori did a Critical Research Failure. The Earth Defense Force Inspector General didn't believe that, her staff tried to get those two fined and relieved of command but was blocked every time. Some say that Minori has the ear of someone high in the chain of command or Earth's senate. The only punishment so far has been to send Minori to Joint Security Area that borders Southern Cross space. So far the punishment hasn't worked because Thomas and Minori relish a fight with the "Southies".

The poor crew of the Victory will have to deal with this PR nightmare as they try to keep the peace in Joint Security Area.

edited 13th Dec '15 8:48:33 AM by TairaMai

A revolutionary song from my Dark Fic verse. It's an adaptation of The Battle Cry of Freedom from the American civil war.

Our flag is proudly flying on the land and on the main,
Shout! Shout! The battle cry of Freedom!
Though we once may have been conquered, we will conquer once again!
Shout! Shout! the battle cry of Freedom!

Chorus:
Red Dusk forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the tyrants, and up with the skull;
While we rally round the flag, boys, we rally once again,
Shout! Shout! the battle cry of freedom!

We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,
Shout! Shout! The battle cry of freedom!
And we'll fill our vacant ranks with a million freemen more,
Shout! Shout! the battle cry of freedom!

Chorus

They have laid down their lives on the bloody battle field.
Shout! Shout! The battle cry of Freedom!
Their motto is resistance – "To the tyrants never yield!"
Shout! Shout the battle cry of Freedom!

Chorus

We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,
Shout! Shout! The battle cry of freedom!
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave,
Shout! Shout! The battle cry of freedom!

Chorus

edited 13th Dec '15 12:06:02 AM by dvorak

"The Far Distant Hill", an anti-war folk song set to the tune of "A Tramp on the Street"...

There once was a young man, so healthy and fair,
He lived on the good land, and breathed the good air.
They made him a soldier, and taught him to kill,
Then sent him to die on a far distant hill.

He'd been a brother, and he'd been a son.
Now he was a sword and now he was a gun.
It ate all his courage, devoured his will,
But he didn't die on that far distant hill.

Now he is broken, and now he is lost,
He sits there unspoken, for coins to be tossed.
He can't stop shaking, maybe never will,
He wishes he'd died on that far distant hill.

Edited by StrixObscuro on Jun 23rd 2021 at 3:35:01 PM

Holy Thread Necromancy, Batman! This was from 2015!

There are a couple of major musical traditions in my setting.

• Some of my people use perfect-fifth (quintave) equivalence as opposed to octave equivalence. One big subculture is essentially the Georgian system of four divisions of the quintave; the main culture is eighteen such divisions (it's essentially the Carlos Alpha scale with an additional layer deep's worth of semitones).
• Where octave equivalence is used, I have been considering basing the musical tradition on Jeths' mode.