The Filk of Joe Hill: Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
Nov. 19th, 2017 04:54 pmOn November 19th 1915, Joe Hill was murdered by the State of Utah for the crime of filking.
While listening through a few more of Joe Hill's songs and trying to decide on this year's Joe Hill filk, I decided to read a bit on the history of Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay, and promptly fell down a rabbit hole of high-class St. Louis bordellos, early ragtime music, and minstrel shows. Given the continuing discussion about appropriation and racism within science fiction my choice became simple: just write the history of the song, but there was no way to include it all.
( A smart and stylish song is due… )
My previously posted Joe Hill filks: 2014, 2015, 2016.
While listening through a few more of Joe Hill's songs and trying to decide on this year's Joe Hill filk, I decided to read a bit on the history of Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay, and promptly fell down a rabbit hole of high-class St. Louis bordellos, early ragtime music, and minstrel shows. Given the continuing discussion about appropriation and racism within science fiction my choice became simple: just write the history of the song, but there was no way to include it all.
( A smart and stylish song is due… )
My previously posted Joe Hill filks: 2014, 2015, 2016.
