The Wind and the Wanderer · 2:44am Oct 27th, 2012
So, sadly I don't have the next chapter of Mendacity quite ready yet (it should be finished before another week has passed, though), but be of good cheer; I do have one goody prepared for y'all. My mother, may her vocal chords be ever melodious, has composed a melody for the complete version of the song sung by Lyra and Bon Bon in the latest chapter of Mendacity, and just tonight she finished recording a copy of it. The audio quality isn't what it ought to be (proper recording equipment was a bit hard to come by), but hopefully y'all will enjoy it. Here's the download link, and while I'm at it, here's a link to some other music that my mother and some of her friends have played--haven't the foggiest whether any of y'all would be interested, but...well, I'm very grateful to her for recording this for me, and I figure the least I can do is provide a link to some of the other work she's done.
Oh, and one other note; some of the lyrics of the song have been altered a bit, as apparently my mother found them a tad difficult to sing as they originally were, so here's the revised lyrics, complete with a new title:
The Wind and the Wanderer
O, have you heard the wild winds howl
When the air is wet and warm?
And have you feared for life and love
In the face of a mighty storm?
If ever, O, ever a pony cursed
The wrath of flood and blaze
It was I when I lost my green-eyed love
With her mark of shining rays
I walked alone for many a day
On paths no ponies know
I wandered East to far away,
Where teak and ginkgo grow
I met a noble qilin there
Whose mane swirled in the breeze
I told her of my long-lost love
And begged her tell me, please,
If ever, O, ever in bamboo grove
Or mirrored in lacquered glaze
Had she seen my love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
She said, I’ve heard the wild winds howl
Outside the garden walls
I’ve watched koi swim in moonlit lakes
Beneath the moonlit falls
But never, O, never she said to me
Never in all my days
Have I seen your love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
I walked alone for many a day
On paths no ponies know
I wandered West to far away,
Where sage and mesquite grow
I met a lonesome phoenix there
Who I thought ill at ease
I told him of my long-lost love
And begged him tell me, please,
If ever, O, ever near boiling spring
Or glimpsed through sulfur haze
Had he seen my love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
He said, I’ve heard the wild winds howl
While I searched for a friend
Gliding beneath the fire-red leaves,
Or tossed upon the wind
But never, O, never he said to me
Never in all my days
Have I seen your love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
I walked alone for many a day
On paths no ponies know
I wandered North to far away,
Where fir and hemlock grow
I met a fierce-eyed griffon there
Free of laws and decrees
I told her of my long-lost love
And begged her tell me, please,
If ever, O, ever on mountain crag
Or on snow-skimming sleighs
Had she seen my love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
She said, I’ve heard the wild winds howl
I’ve danced with wendigos
I’ve flown above the drifting clouds
And dived beneath ice floes
But never, O, never she said to me
Never in all my days
Have I seen your love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
I walked alone for many a day
On paths no ponies know
I wandered South to far away,
Where fig and upas grow
I met an ahuitzotl there
Who swam by sunken trees
I told him of my long-lost love
And begged him tell me, please,
If ever, O, ever in jungle thick
Or on branch that bends and sways
Had he seen my love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
He said, I’ve heard the wild winds howl
I’ve fished in stream and mere
Mapinguari has hunted me
And I have hunted fear
But never, O, never he said to me
Never in all my days
Have I seen your love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
I walked alone for many a day
On paths no ponies know
I wandered Home from far away
Where oak and maple grow
I met a hooded pony there
Who’d wandered overseas
I told her of my long-lost love
And begged her tell me, please,
If ever, O, ever on distant shore
Or in the sunlit bays
Had she seen my love with her eyes of green
And her mark of shining rays
She said, I’ve ventured West to fire
And East I’ve sallied forth
I’ve braved the heat of the sultry South
And the snows of the freezing North
But never, O, never she said to me
As her hood she withdrew
And looked at me with eyes of green
Did I stop looking for you.
Pretty cool.
Sweet!
Absolutely lovely job. My compliments to your mother.
But this reminds me! From what I can tell, you seem quite knowledgeable about folklore and mythology, if the strong fey inspirations of Mendacity (and the mention of Mapinguari in this song) are anything to go by. Now, I've always been fascinated by that sort of thing, but as of yet, I've been unable to find good "nonfiction" reference material involving myth and legend. Is most of your knowledge regarding this stuff gathered through informational osmosis, or are there any particular books or websites on the subject that you've learned heavily from? If so, which ones would you recommend? Any help you can lend would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
403549
Hm...I'm sure such references exist, but I don't know what they might be. Most of what knowledge I possess I've just picked up over time (The Mapinguari reference, for example. I have no Earthly clue where I first heard about it, which is particularly odd considering what an obscure beastie it is. Probably came across it while reading up on Megatherium), but for much of the more obscure mythology in Mendacity I relied rather heavily on Wikipedia to find the names of various beasties, and once I found one that appealed to me or that fit the role I was looking for I'd research it in greater depth, trying to find other sources (often transcribed versions of old stories) that describe the critter in question in greater detail. For example, I first came across the Bugul Noz by looking through a list of creatures from Gaelic mythology on Wikipedia, but the detail that it was associated with similar creatures referred to as Urisks or as the Teus (which, in-story, the Bugul Noz gives as other names that he's been known by) I got from further research.
That said, there are some books I can very highly recommend. Although they probably aren't exactly what you're looking for, they might still be helpful. d'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, d'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths, and d'Aulaires Trolls are all marvelous, although they don't go into very much depth (they're basically children's books), and I value them mostly for their beautiful illustrations. Andrew Lang's Fairy Books are also truly invaluable sources for old folk-tales, although they're collections of stories, and thus not strictly speaking reference works. Finally, there's a wonderful book chronicling a (fictional) journey of Pliny the Elder in which he circumnavigates Eurasia and Africa, entitled Inventorum Natura, which is framed as a collection of fragmentary notes by Pliny describing various mythological creatures and is, like the d'Aulaires' books, exquisitely beautiful. I've owned a copy since I was quite small, and it was the book that first introduced me to manticores, blemmyae, amphisbaena, pyralides, the kraken, and a whole host of other creatures.
Y'know... The ending of that song made me cry a little bit. Just a little. Great song.
403598
Thank you so much!
I'll be sure to take a look at these...
Beautiful. Also, your mother's band is awesome. Any idea when their album will be up on iTunes?
Very good music. Very good story too.
410608
It should be up right now, actually; search for "Mountain Laurel," and it should be the album listed as having been released on June 15th.
427117
Yoink! Thanks for the heads up!
I keep meaning to get here and say that this sounds great. i've got to find time to listen to more of her stuff. In the meantime I've also got to memorize this song. Is there somewhere the music can be attained? I don't care about the instrument I've got enough music talent in the group of people I intend to sing to that I'm sure one of them will play whatever it is. Worst case scenario I'll just figure out the major chords and figure out how to plink it out on my uke.
So to summarize, Great song. Great Singer. Now I need to go learn it properly.
Great fic too, by the way.
616945
I'm very glad you enjoyed the piece, and Mendacity, as well! I'm afraid, though, there's no sheet music for the music; my mother worked it out by ear, and I lack the musical knowledge to transcribe it properly. I don't know if this would help or not, but she did jot down some notes to herself on the lyrics themselves, while she was performing them; if I can track down that bit of paper, I'll toss up what she wrote, and hopefully it'll communicate something useful to you. Any chance that you'd make a recording of this performance of yours? I'd love to hear it!
617814
Ah, I could but I can't guarantee the quality of it. I have a guy who might be able to pick out the tune she picked out if you can't find that bit of paper but if you can I'd greatly appreciate any help you can give me. At this point I'm considering doing this acapella.
I just want to make sure taht you and your mom know how Awesome this song was and how much it made the story which was already amazing, "that much better"