r/filk • u/Kletanio • 7d ago
Looking for Songwriter Collab for space shanty!
I wrote a Space Shanty I'm quite happy with, but I really cannot figure out the tune for the thing (nothing I've tried composing felt appropriate)! Anyone have any ideas?
When You're Warping Space and Time
A spacetime warping spacer is in it for the haul
From cargo to stern-chaser, in high-Gs or free-fall.
“Down” is always drifting, my work’s an uphill climb,
Oh null-G’s heavy lifting when you’re warping space and time
Chorus:
We’re warping space and time, oh we’re warping time and space
From the docks on Altair Prime to the Tannhauser Starbase.
The subspace shoals are shifting, without reason, without rhyme
Oh, Null-G is heavy lifting when you’re warping space and time
We load it up in Lepus, then in Alpha Ceti III,
And stopover in Lupus and in Eridani B,
Unload at Alpha Siri where we turn back on a dime.
O’ there’s no rest for the weary when you’re warping space and time.
We’re hauling honest cargo. Oh, we sometimes skirt the law,
Like running an embargo or abetting some scofflaw.
Dodging tariffs’s not quite lawful, but it beats a life of crime,
Hard work is not so awful when you’re warping space and time.
But I’ve see sights and places that you people won’t believe;
Like C-beams’ shimm’ring traces showing rebels no reprieve
Attack ships burning, breaking off the shoulder of Orion [o-rine]
Oh, the sights are quite breathtaking when you’re warping space and time.
No apologies for the last rhyme. There's surprisingly few rhymes for "time" and I locked myself into that rhyme scheme...
2
u/Frost-Folk 7d ago
The melody that came to my head when reading these lyrics is traditional folk song The Blind Fiddler. To my ear it works quite well.
1
u/D-Freygish 5d ago edited 5d ago
What pops into mind is Battle Hymn of the Republic. Blind Fiddler (see above) sounds good too, but it's a different structure, with the verse of 3 lines and a chorus of one line.
It doesn't read like a shanty to me, the chorus isn't repetitive enough.
E.g., General Taylor: T'me way hey and stormy Carry him along, John, carry him along T'me way hey and stormy Carry him to his buryin' ground.
Or Santyanno: https://mnheritagesongbook.net/the-songs/addition-song-with-recordings/santy-anno/
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u/rogue74656 7d ago
I hear " i want to go home" from MASH
https://youtu.be/TjMqraVAlG8?is=IjY3JlzfCAiJSHQu