The Filk of Joe Hill
Nov. 19th, 2014 09:40 amOn November 19th 1915, Joe Hill was murdered by the State of Utah for the crime of filking.
Taken at face value, it's an absurd statement. But there is a nugget of truth in it.
If a core activity of filking is defined as writing new lyrics to existing songs, where the new lyrics are purposefully set to resonate or being in dialogue with the old lyrics, then the Industrial Workers of the World was one big filking union. And Joe Hill was the finest filker of them all.
The True Fan Girl
This is my attempt to honour both Joe Hill and the girls and women who today demand their right to be fans, despite Gamergate, rabid weasels within SFWA, or people ranting about "social justice warriors". It's based on his original song The Rebel Girl.
And who still gets lots of crap when they do so, or even only make themselves known or present.
The Swedish version of the song is dedicated to Ylva Spångberg, Anna (Åka) Davour, and my wife Therese. It is based on Jacob Branting's translation from 1969.
( En fannisk tjej )
Lyrics, notation, and chords. (I can't guarantee it's error-free, though.)
The English version is dedicated to Farah Mendlesohn, Mary Robinette Kowal, and my daughter Hulda. I'd like to express my gratitude to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thnidu, who critiqued and improved both grammar, metric, and rhyming.
( The True Fan Girl )
If you want to listen to Joe Hill's original, I can recommend the following three versions:
Since the song is not that well-known nowadays, here are PDF Notes and MIDI files (probably using Dickens' revision, sadly). I've also created my own set of lyrics, notation, and chords. If you find any errors, please let me know.
It's a Long Way to the Con Suite
Of course, my filking brain didn't stop there. In 1914, while in prison, Joe Hill was asked to write a song about the souplines for the unemployed in San Francisco based on It's a Long Way to Tipperary. After he received the notes and lyrics, he wrote It's a Long Way to the Soupline. Which I've now filked yet again.
( It's a Long Way to the Con Suite )
Taken at face value, it's an absurd statement. But there is a nugget of truth in it.
If a core activity of filking is defined as writing new lyrics to existing songs, where the new lyrics are purposefully set to resonate or being in dialogue with the old lyrics, then the Industrial Workers of the World was one big filking union. And Joe Hill was the finest filker of them all.
The True Fan Girl
This is my attempt to honour both Joe Hill and the girls and women who today demand their right to be fans, despite Gamergate, rabid weasels within SFWA, or people ranting about "social justice warriors". It's based on his original song The Rebel Girl.
And who still gets lots of crap when they do so, or even only make themselves known or present.
The Swedish version of the song is dedicated to Ylva Spångberg, Anna (Åka) Davour, and my wife Therese. It is based on Jacob Branting's translation from 1969.
( En fannisk tjej )
Lyrics, notation, and chords. (I can't guarantee it's error-free, though.)
The English version is dedicated to Farah Mendlesohn, Mary Robinette Kowal, and my daughter Hulda. I'd like to express my gratitude to
thnidu, who critiqued and improved both grammar, metric, and rhyming.( The True Fan Girl )
If you want to listen to Joe Hill's original, I can recommend the following three versions:
- Mora träsk in a classic Swedish version
- Ronneby folkteater in a rousing, stomping take
- Hazel Dickens' fantastic bluegrass version, with modernised lyrics, but also a changed melody
- Janne Lærkedahl's version using original lyrics and melody
Since the song is not that well-known nowadays, here are PDF Notes and MIDI files (probably using Dickens' revision, sadly). I've also created my own set of lyrics, notation, and chords. If you find any errors, please let me know.
It's a Long Way to the Con Suite
Of course, my filking brain didn't stop there. In 1914, while in prison, Joe Hill was asked to write a song about the souplines for the unemployed in San Francisco based on It's a Long Way to Tipperary. After he received the notes and lyrics, he wrote It's a Long Way to the Soupline. Which I've now filked yet again.
( It's a Long Way to the Con Suite )
