                                                                     Page 295
                                                                     SONG





              Maggie's Circle Song

                By: Margery de Bray


         All our lives we've been uncomfortable,
           like sailors apart from the sea.
         Our souls they did hunger; but not any longer
         We've found now where we want to be.
         Where our presents and pasts come together.
         What we were and are now can agree
         Though I can't explain how; I know here with you now
         We've somehow bridged eternity.

         Chorus:
         So cross your arms on your chest.  Lift your eyes and say "yes".
         Join hands with those by your side.
         I can feel the love flowing.  I can feel the power growing
         Of emotions we don't need to hide.
         Like a celtic circle entwining, in time no beginning or end
         There's a smile on each face, for we've here a place,
         In this kingdom with brothers and friends.

         Beneath the moon and stars tonight, or 'neath the bright southern sun
         My heart wants to sing, as here in this ring,
         I've found love strong as rivers that run.
         A lofe for nature's bearty, a love for the iron that sings,
         And honor so strong, for art and for song,
         And a love for our land and our king.



                                                                     Page 296
                                                                     POEM

              Stephen of the Grove


                Copyright (C) 1988
                  by Dierdre Mulleabhar
                  mka Debra Eccles


          He fares forth from the Emerald Keep
          With fire and with wit
          And when he juggles in the court
          Attentively we sit
          For he casts spells that entertain
          With action and with word
          His quiet ways command respect
          Though his voice is gladly heard
          Perhaps he'll do a play today
          Tomorrow maybe rhyme
          But when he entertains it seems
          Too quickly passes time
          He feasts in barony and shire
          As the kingdom he does rove
          His slender form's a welcome sight
          He is Stephen of the Grove.



       This was written several years ago, when I lived in the shire of
       Emerald Keep.  I'm just now releasing it because I had been too shy,
       or something, before, but several people have told me that I should
       put it into the bardbook.




                                                                     Page 297
                                                                     POEM
              Walking

                 By: Robert Fitzmorgan
                     mka Scott Fridenberg

         Walking, ever walking,
         always walking without stopping,
         Walking onward without rest
         Our hearts pounding in our chest.
         Though we're choking on the dust
         We walk on because we must,
         Walking onward ever onward ever more.

         Together hand in hand
         We came to free the Holy Land.
         In the land of our Lords birth
         Moslem blood would stain the earth.
         Then finally came the night,
         With their sentry fires in sight,
         Fired with faith we'd face the foe upon the morn'.

         At last! The break of day.
         With our troops in close array.
         We moved boldly towards the foe.
         The wrath of God the soon would know.
         With our faith to lead us on,
         In the early light of Dawn.
         We did battle for the glory of our Lord.

         Well the fighting it was fierce.
         Many a man was cruelly pierced.
         Many a man in that cruel strife,
         Was deprived of limb and life.
         And when victory seemed most near
         They attacked us from the rear.
         And God's army soon became a fleeing mob.

         It was barely one in five,
         Of our men escaped alive.
         And the Saracans give chase.
         As tworads the coast we race.
         In the battle fiercly fought
         All our prayers availed us not.
         God gives victory to the strong.  Not the pure.



                                                                     Page 298
                                                                     FILK

             The Wabbit Belongs to Me.

                By: Robert Fitzmorgan
                    mka Scott Fridenberg
                Tune: Tomorrow Belongs to Me

         I once was a weak ineffectual wimp
         Till the Hoard made a man out of me.
         Now I'm a Mongol Fierce and Bold.
         And the Wabbit belongs to me.

         A Mongol's no Mongol or so I am told,
         Unless he has a Trusty stead.
         The Tasmanian Devil's the mount I ride.
         And the Wabbit belongs to me.

         I'll have Daffy the Duck A La Orange tonight.
         Tomorrow Foghorn Fricassee.
         Sylvester can have the Tweety Bird,
         But the Wabbit belongs to me.

         Pepe la Pew's a wet spot on the road.
         The Coyote's his own enemy.
         I sent Granny a serenade sung by Yang.
         And the Wabbit belongs to me.

         The Monster's out fighting Yosemite Sam.
         Perhaps that will keep them Busy.
         If not then I'll deal with them both myself.
         Cause the Wabbit belongs to ME!

         Road Runner's been saddled by Speedy the Mouse.
         And he rides alongside of me.
         Let Buggs try to outrun the two of them!
         The Wabbit belongs..
         The Wabbit belongs...
         The Wabbit belongs to me.



                                                                     Page 299
                                                                     SONG


              Drastic Changes

                 By: Robert Fitzmorgan
                     mka Scott Fridenberg


         As I roved out one May morning, One May morning so free
         I overherd a fair pretty maid weeping by the sea.
         I stepped up to this fair pretty maid saying
                                       what can the matter be?
         She Jumped with suprise,
         And she dried her eyes.
         And this is what she said to me.

         My - y - y Johnny is a sailor lad and he sails accros the waves.
         He loves me very tenderly and all his pay he saves.
         And we are to be married when next he comes to shore.
         But it's been two years,
         And I do fear,
         That he sails the ocean floor.

         I stepped up to this fair pretty maid, and to her I did explain,
         This lad that you are weeping for, I am the very same.
         I've come to claim my own true love and Johnny is me name.
         She stepped back a pace,
         And she studied my face,
         And this is what she did proclaim.

         My - y - y Johnny he was six foot tall you're but five foot two.
         His eyes were such a lovely green, you're two eyes are blue.
         My Johnnys hair was sandy blond and your's is firey red.
         Isn't it strange
         What time can change?
         Come now let's off to bed.



                                                                     Page 300
                                                                     FILK

              The French Jesuit's Song

                 By James Qui Connait
                    mka James Bristol

                 Tune: If I Only Had a Brain (Wizard of Oz)


         I could while away the hours
         In dungeons and in towers
         Inflicting horrid pain.
         I would work the inquisition
         And enhance my own position
         If I only lived in Spain.

         I'd have hot irons and thumbscrews
         For heretics and the Jews;
         Confessions I'd obtain!
         Hear the sounds of chains a clinkin'
         At the stake a body's stinkin'
         If I only lived in Spain.

         I..could tell you why
         Torquemada's a fun guy
         I could make you cry to God on high,
         I've got a rack, on which you'd fry.

         I could help you see the reason
         The True Faith is so pleasin'
         And Heaven you could gain.
         I'd no longer chat "Vobiscum"
         I'd yank guts out, then I'd twist 'em
         If I only lived in Spain....




                                                                     Page 301
                                                                     FILK



              The 'I Want To Be In Period, But Haven't Got The
                 Money Blues'

                 By Morgan Wolfsinger, copyright 1989


         Well, I joined the SCA just the other week.
         I liked the clothes and food and they way they speak.
         Thought it'd be so easy to act the same,
         But it's been hard, and the cost is to blame.

         CHORUS:
           I got the 'I want to be in period,
             but haven't got the money' blues.

         Byzantine I tried, 'cause I liked the style;
         Embroidery and color on color they'd pile.
         But they all wore silk, so that came to an end
         'Cause all I could afford was a rayon blend.

         CHORUS

         'Lizabethan was next, all those fluffs and frills,
         But I dropped it fast when I saw the bills.
         Velour can't match that old velvet touch,
         And sewing it together was just too much.

         CHORUS

         Next feast you go to, just look in the back.
         I'll be the one wearing the burlap sack.
         It's scratchy and rough, and it's hot to be in,
         But I haven't got the figure for bunny skin!

         CHORUS



                                                                     Page 302
                                                                     SONG
              HARP SONG OF THE DANE WOMEN

                 By: Rudyard Kipling


                 "The knights of joyous venture"
                  Puck of Pook's Hill

          What is a woman that you forsake her,
          And the hearth-fire and the home-acre,
          To go with the old grey Widow-maker?

          She has no house to lay a guest in -
          But one chill bed for all to rest in,
          That the pale sun and the stray bergs nest in.

          She has no strong white arms to fold you,
          But the ten-times-fingering weed to hold you -
          Out on the rocks where the tide has rolled you.

          Yet, when the signs of summer thicken,
          And the ice breaks, and the birch-buds quicken,
          Yearly you turn from our side, and sicken -

          Sicken agan for the shouts and the slaughters.
          You steal away to the lapping waters,
          And look at your ship in her winter-quarters.

          You forget our mirth, and talk at the tables,
          The kine in the shed and the horse in the stables -
          To pitch her sides and go over the cables.

          Then you drive out where the storm-clouds swallow,
          And the sound of your oar-blades, falling hollow,
          Is all we have left through the months to follow.

          Ah, what is Woman that you forsake her,
          And the hearth-fire and the home-acre,
          To go with the old grey Widow-maker?



                                                                     Page 303
                                                                     POEM
              The Warrior's of the West

                 By: Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin

         We went out to fight An Tir, on a morning bright and clear,
         And a mighty army stood across the way;
         And they might have spilled our blood into Adiantum's mud,
         If the mosquitoes hadn't drained it all away.

         We're the warriors of the West; head for head we are the best,
         And we do with what we've got the best we can,
         And if Mars and all the gods would only give us even odds,
         We could sweep the field from here to Al-Barran.

         There were ninety-nine of them, and there were forty-nine of us--
         Maybe fifty, if I trust my recollection--
         But a dozen of our lights took out the Prince and all his knights,
         And sent them cursing back to Resurrection.

         We're the warriors of the West; body for body we're the best,
         And because we're few we try exceeding hard,
         And if Thor and all the gods would only give us even odds,
         We could sweep the field from here to Mountain Garde.

         "Man to man if they should meet us, they will definitely beat us;
         Stay in groups," they said, "and never drop your sword;"
         But we caught them on their knees in the shade beneath the trees,
         And we drowned them in the lonesome river ford.

         We're the warriors of the West; man for man we are the best,
         And we rally to our colors when we're called,
         And if Nirgal and the gods would only give us even odds,
         We could sweep the field from here to Drachenwald.

         Maythen called a convocation at the Resurrection station,
         Where they'd driven us in orderly retreat;
         "Hats on, gentlemen!" she cried; and when everyone had died
         She was lying there with twenty at her feet.

         We're the warriors of the West; woman for woman we're the best,
         If you give us half a chance, the same we'll take,
         And if Bellona and the gods would only give us even odds,
         We could sweep the field from here to Cooper's Lake.

         No shit, there I was, and . . . .

         There were ninety-nine of them, and there was only one of us,
         A javelineer who's all of four-foot-ten;
         And before they cut him down, he had taken out a Crown,
         Two Dukes, six Knights, and twenty-seven fighting men.

         We're the warriors of the West; pound for pound we are the best,
         And we'll kill you if we can before we die;
         And when you've laid us all to rest, we'll sink slowly into the West,
         And we'll meet you in the mead-hall in the sky.



                                                                     Page 304
                                                                     SONG

              MERIDIES

                 by Rathflaed DuToutNoir
                    The Black Bard of Meridies


                D                           A
         In the ember's red glow, when the fires burn low,
              G                           A
         My thoughts turn to places I've roamed.
                     D                                A
         Though my journey's been long, there's one thing keeps me strong,
                      G             A           D
         That's the thought of the land I call home.

         Where the forests are green, and fair people are seen,
         Good folk for miles around.
         Simply ask what you need and there you'll receive,
         For the fruits of my homeland abound.

         Chorus:
              A                        G
         And though I've roamed far, following my star,
                 D                          A
         You've been in my thoughts all my days,
              D                        G
         For wherever I've roamed, so far from my home,
              A           G  D
         My heart's in Meridies.

         Up from Arenal Shire, where the ocean rolls higher,
         Southdowns across to Axemoor,
         You'll find fighters so bold, and great stories are told,
         Of the ladies with beauty and more.

         The Arts, they're not bad, the finest mead I have had,
         Iron Mountain, you have all I wish.
         And the service, tis true, tis better than the brew.
         From the Salt Keep way up to Grey Niche.

         Chorus:

         You'll find Chivalry rare, and ladies so fair,
         With a smile that can turn gray skies blue.
         Such ladies galore and if fortune is yours,
         Perhaps one will smile at you.

         Now I must be gone and far shall I roam,
         From mountains to valleys to sea,
         But for all of my days, my heart's Meridies,
         And perhaps one will smile at me.

         Chorus:



                                                                     Page 305
                                                                     SONG




              In The Current Middle Age

                By Yaakov HaMizrachi

                copyright 1992 by Harold Feld
                Permission to use and republish this
                in any SCA publication is granted.
                However, the author would really appreciate
                a copy if it is published.


         See the Tudor in his pride
         And the Celt there by his side
         And behind him is a Viking who's a knight
         For there are nine and sixty ways
         To play in the SCA
         And every single one of them is right

         In the Current Middle Age
         Mighty Battles we do wage
         (Tho' we looks like little boys what play with sticks)
         I was never very fond
         of the warriors of Nippon
         For I've always said that East and West don't mix

         Then the swishy-pokey tramps
         Tried to come into me camp
         And they said my helm and armor didn't match
         For they said there is no place
         Where a helm with open face
         Would be paired with metal plate and leather patch

         So I fixed 'em with a sneer
         An said: "You haughty Cavalier"
         "You've the nerve to come and try to play our game
         For you foolish foppish dupe
         Your entire ensemble's OOP."
         And I harangued him 'til 'e 'ung 'is 'ead in shame

         But when word of what I sing
         Came before our noble king
         He did say to me in court that very night
         "There be nine and sixty ways
         To play within the SCA
         and every single one of them is right!"

                  (Continued, next page)



                                                                     Page 306
              In The Current Middle Age (Continued)                  SONG

                By Yaakov HaMizrachi



         "See the dances that we know
         both from Playford and Arbeau
         Though a hundred years may lie betwixt the two
         And you wouldn't think it coarse
         Of a Pict or Jarl or Norse
         To wear shoes from when the Tudor line was new."

         Still in this current Middle Age
         Folk my fly into a rage
         When they see something with which they don't agree
         When they see something with which they don't agree
         And will run and shout "It's Schism!"
         When it's just anachronism
         Born of ignorance or maybe poverty

         Some are in here for the fun,
         And have been since A.S. 1
         While still others love the research and the work
         But whatever you enjoy
         Don't the other you annoy
         Or you'll find that EVERYONE thinks you're a jerk

         Here's the most amazing thing
         I learned then from my king
         Though I don't claim to have exceptional insight
         "There are nine and sixty ways
         Of playing in the SCA
         AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS RIGHT!"




                                                                     Page 307
                                                                     SONG


              LEGEND'S BIRTHING ("court version")

                By: Amra M'Chib Bakerian,
                    of House Dreamwind of the Shadowed Moon


         France, she may have the great Charlemagne
         England, both Arthur and George
         El Cid shall be hero for far dusty Spain:
         Our legends are yet in the forge!

         Italia claims one called Rolando by name
         And Greece yet Achilles adores:
         *Our* heroes yet struggle in life's ruddy flame
         Battling yet on the far shores.

         Siegfried to Germany's heart is still dear
         The slayer of Fafnir and wielder of swords
         King David yet Israel loves with some fear:
         Still, much of *our* legend is words.

         Hail, Ansteorra, the Land of Black Star
         And your heroes who are yet a-borning
         One thing can we say to the lands near and far
         Of these stalwarts you'd better take warning

       Optional coda:
         From Nord in the North, to the Isles of the South
         A kingdom's young glory I see
         And as bard I remember the taste in my mouth
         To sing of these legends to be


     Copyright reserved for commercial purposes by Kihe Blackeagle
     (Permission to copy in electronic form or manually transcribe using
     traditional pen / brush & ink, or pencil, hereby granted to
     not-for-profit enterprises and private persons. Please do not abuse
     additional capabilities of your computer.) This song / poem has been
     granted normal SCA reprint priveleges previously.  Additional
     permission is hereby granted for inclusion in any and all archival
     files associated with the FidoNet FILK Echo.



