That song meme that's going around right now

[ng_moonmoth]

A number of people on my reading list have done this one. The goal is, starting with a list of topics, to find (ideally without searching for) a song with a title matching the topic. Everyone who's put out a list has mined their listening habits for songs. Most of those are filled with artists and groups that are familiar to many people.

There are some outliers, though. One I enjoyed was completely filled with arias from well-known operas. I'm another outlier. The music I'm most familiar with comes from the filk community, in which I am an active participant. (Read about it here, and here. Be aware, though, that the first article is twenty-five years old, and the second article reflects to some extent the biases of its author and does not, at least to me, properly acknowledge that the apparent diminuition of the styles of the community's roots is more that the genre is alive, thriving, and expanding well beyond its origins.) Sticking to filk, I only had to cheat a bit on the last topic; there don't seem to be that many songs in the community with days of the week in them, so I searched the catalogs of a couple of friends to find one I liked.

Some people who read me know of, or know, many of these people. It's pretty much a "Who's Who" of filk -- many of the songs and artists are award-winners. For those who would like more information, I have aimed to thoroughly link everything. Links on the title go to the lyrics. A link to a recording, or a place where a recording can be found, follows. Links on the lyricists and composers go to short biographies.

A Place: Falling Down on New Jersey (music) - Mitchell Burnside Clapp/[origin obscure]
A Food: Bouncing Potatoes (no music) - Poul Anderson/James Barr (composer of the tune which became "Waltzing Matilda")
A Drink: Carrot Juice is Murder (music) - The Arrogant Worms
An Animal: Stray Dog Man (music) - Bill Sutton
A Number: Threes (music) - Mercedes Lackey/Leslie Fish
Something to Wear: In a Gown Too Blue (music) - Brenda Sutton
A Color: Emerald Green (music on "Thirteen", available here on their website) - Vixy and Tony
A Boy's Name: Edward (music) - Kathy Mar
A Girl's Name: Joan (music on "Perpetual Gift - free download here) - Heather Dale
A Profession: The Ferryman (music) - Mercedes Lackey/Leslie Fish
A Vehicle: Rocket Ride(music)  - Tom Smith
A Day of the Week: Black Thursday (no music) - Steve Savitzky/J.P. Webster (composer of the tune which became known as "Wildwood Flower")

If you like what you heard, the best thing you can do is support the artists who are bringing it to you by buying their music. Nobody makes any money from filk, and many of the artists featured here are doing it for love. But some of them are professional musicians in other genres, and are hurting for bookings in this pandemic era. Links to Bandcamp pages or personal websites offer options to purchase their music.

Comments

[mdlbear]

Haven't thought about that song in years -- thanks. It was a throw-away; too topical and not good enough to even be performed, let alone recorded.

[ng_moonmoth]

Could be, but filk songs with days of the week in the title are about as scarce as rain is right now in California. Nothing of note came to mind, and the only other one I found checking catalogs of folks I know was a Kanef parody of "Another Saturday Night" -- also old, nothing I've ever heard performed, and to my sense of such, cheaper.