After Hurricane Katrina and the failures at all levels that compounded the disaster, I wanted to write a filk about it. But something I learned from Asimov (see the introduction to “Rain, Rain, Go Away” in Buy Jupiter) is that it's best to avoid contemporary references unless you want to date a story. So I didn't want to write a filk about Katrina; rather, I wanted one that applied to Katrina but was more timeless.
Some history: Richard the Lionhearted is, in the popular mind, considered The Great King of England. Yet during his 10-year reign, he spent less than six months actually in England; most of the time he was off on (a mostly unsuccessful) crusade. Indeed, while Bad King John was a less than exemplary monarch, much of the blame for John's taxation policy can be laid at Richard's feet. So in theory, this could be a song about Richard. One advantage to not writing about Katrina: no one's blasted me for “getting my facts wrong.”
This was another fast filk: I got the basic idea on the Sunday evening after Katrina destroyed New Orleans, and finished it on Wednesday. This might mean I'm getting faster.
Now all I have to do is get better...after I posted it to rec.music.filk, Kate Gladstone gave me some very good suggestions for strengthening the meter, scansion, and audibility of the song. Subsequently I went back, got a copy of the Greensleeves, and between Kate's suggestions and my rewrites after hearing how badly my original scansion was off, this is the result. Since part of what I hope to do is to make this a “How (Not) To Filk” site, I want to show what a good critique can do for a song, and I've flagged the places where I adopted some of her suggestions.
A few weeks later, I decided I didn't like the tone of it (basically it was too negative for my own taste), so I added the last pair of verses.
The tune is Greensleeves. This arrangement by Passport Designs and available at Lesley Nelson's folk music site.
Alas, my friend you've done me wrong, To treat my home so discourteously, You've burned and pillaged while I was away, Oh what I have done to thee? “You've shown me the prosp'rous life With things you have made in far-off lands, Then you've kept them all yourself, So I'll steal what I want when I can.” Alas constable you've done us wrong, And failed to protect in our time of need, Your men have taken what they desire, In a display of unbridled greed. “Rich men can take care of themselves, Tradesmen and merchants hence did flee, None cared for those left behind, And there's no one to take care of me.” Alas my Duke you've done us wrong, Your wall's decayed from lack of repair, And when a mighty foe breached the wall, You and your men were not there. “I was away on important tasks, Hunting and hawking and planning campaigns, Good walls require corvees or gold, But a good wall brings me little fame.” Alas my King you have done us wrong, And gone to war in a far-off land, When there's so much to be done at home, Where your very own people stand. Wrongs to right, and the sick to heal, And many still live in daily fear, The war you wage inflames our foes And you've not won your battles right here. So thanks, dear friends, who have served us well And given more than some ill-planned schemes You've given us hope and helped rebuild Our lives, our homes, and our dreams. You've shown there's still good in the world Where evil and apathy seem to prevail Rise up to engage these foes, In this battle we dare not fail.