Not precisely a filk...

[kitanzi]

Well, I was doing a mind numbingly repetitive task at work today, and decided to make it a little more tolerable by working on memorizing more lyrics at the same time. I've always loved Cheryl Wheeler's song Arrow, and ACat plays it very well, so I thought I'd work on that. I printed the lyrics and put in a couple hours off and on with that along with the files. As all so often I find happens, the lyrics started to mutate on me. I wouldn't count it as a filk, and it's not exactly a parody either, for all that I stole the tune. (And, for those who would ask, it does *not* reflect my mood!)

Warning: Arrow is a very melancholy love song. This is no love song, but...


Hawk’s Lament
Ttto: Arrow by Cheryl Wheeler

I wish I could climb up to the sky,
I’d find unfettered freedom, oh I know I would.
And I’d soar above the rainbow, just to show I could,
Up high, up high.

I wish I could flex my wings and dive,
To stoop toward the horizon and feel so alive,
To hurtle through the sunlight as an arrow flies,
In endless skies.

Oh, I remember life before I was tamed,
Building a nest for eggs I would lay,
And now I wish I knew more of those freer days,
Hunting so silently, seeing prey run from me.

It was only last night in the winter dark
I dreamed of how I soared in all my innocence,
And I’ve never known a truer, freer feeling since,
Or a wilder heart.

Maybe these dreams are leaving me,
Maybe freedom’s slipping gently from my memory.
Maybe time and wistful half-remembered history
Will break my heart.

Oh, I remember life before I was tamed,
Building a nest for eggs I would lay,
And now I wish I knew more of those freer days,
Hunting so silently, seeing prey run from me.

I wish I could flex my wings and dive,
To stoop toward the horizon and feel so alive,
To hurtle through the sunlight as an arrow flies,
In endless skies.

I wish I could climb up to the sky,
I’d find unfettered freedom, oh I know I would.
And I’d soar above the rainbow, just to show I could,
Up high.

Comments

Yang Worship Word

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

Oh good, you're writing again. Nice one, though I'll admit to not knowing the original. Puts me in mind of
Virginia Taylor's "The Alleycat". What is it about predators and freedom? :)

"I wouldn't count it as a filk"

Why not? You know what they say - from n number of filkers, you'll probably get n + m definitions of filk.

Ann O.

Re: Yang Worship Word

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Well, because my definition of filk wouldn't include it. I'm not sure why I bothered commenting on that, though, since it generally incites a discussion/argument about everyone's definitions, and I don't see much point in that eternal question. If you like the song, that seems more to the point to me. :)

[mrpsyklops.livejournal.com]

I like it, though I don't know the original. I look forward to hearing it.

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I may do that... though both the original and this one tend to make me tear up, which isn't great for singing.

[stevieannie.livejournal.com]

It's a lovely song, and certainly counts as a filk, I think. It could apply to a number of books/films I've seen (but then I adore falconry, so watch and read about it a lot).

I've got a follower for it too, which isn't currently worked up - but addresses a local news item about a man who had flown a hawk called "Willow" for years, but always wondered what it must be like to fly with her. So he learned how to hang-glide and now he flies side by side with her. The thing that got me was that she was free to do whatever she wanted, and when he wasn't in the air, she flew like a bullet. When he was with her, she never left his side.

They say that hawks don't love, but I swear I saw love in Willow's eyes...

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a great story and an amazing image. I'd love to hear the song you do for that, when/if you do! As for it being filk or not - there's an interesting question. I wasn't thinking of it as filk when I wrote it but if you come up with a fantasy/science fiction story that it fits, does that make it found filk? *G*


(And is there a good word for a song using someone else's tune that isn't a parody, and isn't a filk?)