A Chorus of Pernese Songs
These songs are mostly drinking songs, with a few love ballads thrown in. Most are written by the Harper Belcary, but some have been known around Pern for turns and turns. Harper Hall just wishes they would die.
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- A Bitran Drinking Song
- (Overheard at a Benden Gather before P'tran threw the fellow out.)
I went to Bitra with ten Marksh
And a shong on my tongue and a deck of Cardsh,
And now I'm broke,
And can't Earn my Bread,
Though my Wife has left
And my canine's dead.
"I've got the shirt on my back
And the Shong's still there
I'd rather live in Bitra then any Where!"
"Shing hey for the Hold in the Mountains High,
Shing Hey for Bitra in the Morning!"
- The Mining Song
-
(Not mine, but definately not to be forgotten...)
Yo he ho, pick pick pick,
I hit at the walls with my sharp pointed stick,
I dig out gems and gold, just like a dream,
Oh, I'm a miner bold (or that's how I'd like to seem!)
- A Song of Leavetaking
- (By Belcary.)
I left my marks at Bitra.
I left my wife at Fort.
I left High Reaches for the sun
And left a ship from Telgar port.
I left my heart at Benden,
And my wits at Igen Weyr,
I left my luck at Keroon Hold,
And so I was left right here.
They'll steal your marks at Bitra,
And those girls at Benden Weyr.....
You'll lose every riddle in Igen, they say,
And you'll lose your mind staying here.
- The Dragonrider's Drinking Song
- (Istan Traditional.)
We'll fly through fog, and stormy air,
And kiss the girls with auburn hair,
We'll drink our wine, and toss a game,
And then we'll dance in the silver rain.
We'll haul stone until our arms might break,
And take a swim in a moonlit lake,
We'll roll the dice, then we'll make our name
As we dance, all, in the silver rain.
So join with me, and lift your glass,
Wrap your arm `round the waist of a pretty lass,
Tonight the wine, then, joy or pain,
We will go dance in the silver rain.
Optional (only at the Butte):
Smile and kiss the girls goodbye;
Grip my hand and then we fly.
Wingmates, friends, there is no stain
On honor won in the silver rain.
- In Honor of Benden Wine
- (By Belcary.)
The ships sail away from Telgar bay,
And float along with the ocean spray
And the seacrafters cry o're the ocean's roar,
"Give me Benden Wine when we get ashore,
To wet my throat, and a lady."
The herders return from their flocks at night,
And gladly they greet the end of the light,
And they say, once free of the field and the stall,
"Give me Benden Wine when we get to the Hall,
To wet my throat, and a lady."
The Holders clean, and sow their fields,
As their Lords discuss their crops and yields,
But what do they say when their work is done?
"Give me Benden Wine with the setting sun,
To wet my throat, and a lady."
The riders have returned from Fall,
Stone-stenched and tired, they voice their call,
As they strip off their goggles and dirty hides,
"Give me Benden Wine, and more Besides,
To wet my throat, and a lady."
- The Benden Bunch
- (Okay, Okay....it was written on a dare.)
Here's the story,
Of a weyr named Benden,
Which was known for all its very lovely girls,
And they all rode greens and golds,
(Or blues and browns),
And they tended towards green eyes and auburn curls.
Not to mention,
This weyr at Benden,
Had some very fine fellows of its own.
Riding Bronzes, Browns and Blues,
And greens together,
Oh, they were not alone.
So we're all here led by P'tran and Jehrina,
And it isn't that hard to see, in a crunch,
When you need the best in Thread Exterminators,
That's the day you all should call the Benden Bunch.
- Igen Love
- (By Belcary.)
The breeze blows dry across Igen's sands,
As soft as was the touch of hands,
As tender as a memory,
The breeze is blowing out to sea.
And there my sail will pitch and sway,
As the breeze of the West blows my love away.
The sun will scorch the desert day
The heat will dry my tears away,
Hot as the kisses she once gave,
The sun will shine on an ocean wave.
And there the sun will shine to light my way,
As the sun of the West burns my love away.
The sands of the desert will cover all
As the desert claims the holder's hall,
As she once claimed me, buried me,
In her hair, in her eyes, deep as the sea.
The sands will cover the end of day
And the sea will wash my love away....
And the sand will bury my heart one day.
- The Legend of Flirk
- (By Belcary based on the life of a much revered visitor to Benden Weyr.)
Klah was the fuel for the rapid feet of the messanger runner Flirk
Over hill and dale, with his mug in hand, ran the messenger runner Flirk.
There's a tale told in Benden,
From the days before the Pass,
When thread showned no sign of falling,
And the roads wound east and west.
A messanger, the name of Flirk,
He travelled near and far,
As much reknown-ded for his speed,
As for his mighty klah.
Klah was the fuel for the rapid feet of the messanger runner Flirk
Over hill and dale, with his mug in hand, ran the messenger runner Flirk.
From Benden Weyr to Bitra hold,
Flirk raced along the ways,
You'd remember his klah when he returned,
For the taste would last for days.
On foot against a runner beast,
He'd win, the legends said,
And just one sip of his dark, dark klah,
Would knock a runner dead.
Klah was the fuel for the rapid feet of the messanger runner Flirk
Over hill and dale, with his mug in hand, ran the messenger runner Flirk.
Though he couldn't race a dragon
Since a dragon went Between
His klah would wake a dragon up,
A feat that's rarely seen.
The Pass began, Flirk's job was done,
When thread became a threat,
But check the table in the back
I'm sure some klah is left.
Klah was the fuel for the rapid feet of the messanger runner Flirk
Over hill and dale, with his mug in hand, ran the messenger runner Flirk.
- Istan Girls.
- (Another Dare -- you can blame T'bin for this one. I really should avoid these things.)
High Reaches girls are hip,
I really dig the furs they wear,
And the Igen girls throw a real good flight,
They knock me out when I'm up there.
The Telgar Holder's daughters
Really make me feel all right,
And the Benden girls, with the way they kiss,
Keep the bronzeriders warm at night...
But I wish they all could be our own Istan...
I wish they all could be our own Istan...
I wish they all could be our own Istan girls...
Cause Ista has its sunshine,
And in the heat their tempers flare
I dig some riding leathers on a dragon-riding babe
In the muggy Istan air.
I ride a bronze o'er all of Pern,
So I see all kinds of girls,
But I can't wait to get back to the weyr,
Back to the greatest girls in the world....
I wish they all could be our own Istan...
I wish they all could be our own Istan...
I wish they all could be our own Istan girls..
- Lily's Song
- (By Belcary, for his sweetheart Lily.)
I've been down all these roads before,
I've been to hold and hall,
I've watched the dragons fly the winds,
I've watched the cool rains fall.
I've been wandering for turns now,
But I never thought I'd see,
The light I find within your eyes...
I see a place for me.
You called me off the highways,
From underneath the sky,
You've given me a sound ledge,
From which I can learn to fly.
You've given me the roots I need,
To grow strong, like the tree.
Before the light within your eyes...
I see a place for me.
I don't know what will happen now,
Or how the world will change,
I've never been so grounded,
Yet all this seems so strange.
Whenever you should need someone
Just call out and you'll see,
Within the light that's in your eyes,
I see a place for me.
- The Minecraft Apprentice Song
- (Written by Belcary for all the poor apprentices (and near to the player's heart as a geologist.))
Strikes and dips and anticlines
And all the faults I have to find
As I climb this hill or hogback side
Like I have to do each day.
The Masters always say I'm wrong,
"The axis should be twice that long,"
I've studied rocks for two months now,
But never the right way.
I've looked at rocks for two months now,
Both up and down, but still somehow
Although I've risked a grevious fall,
I really don't know rocks at all.
The sandstone looks like shale to me,
And grainsize is a mystery.
I shift my schist and hope to find
A gem or two or three.
I forget which stone will cut ruby,
Lapidary is misery,
I only want to get back home,
For my minecraft cookies.
I've looked at rocks for two months now,
Both up and down, but still somehow,
Although I've risked a grevious fall,
I really don't know rocks at all.
- Ah, Benden
- (Benden Weyr: Traditional)
To sail on a breeze o'er the vineyards of Winecraft
To ride on the crest of a Half Circle storm;
To work in the service of Pern and her people
To fight against Thread and to face the unknown,
To be part of the Past, and part of the Future,
Part of Beginning to Understand....
Ah, Benden Weyr,
Your Holds and your Crafthalls,
Your glow-lighted Caverns and the stories they tell;
Ah, Benden Weyr,
We sing to your spirit,
The riders and weyrfolk who serve you so well.
Like the dragons who fly you
Then bring us inside you,
Be our Image of Home,
And our rest from Between.
For though we were strangers
You brought us together,
To learn from each other and your history;
To be true as a flame,
And free as a windswell,
Courageous and hopeful, keeping Pern free....
Ah, Benden Weyr,
Your Holds and your Crafthalls,
Your glow-lighted Caverns and the stories they tell;
Ah, Benden Weyr,
We sing sing to your spirit,
The riders and weyrfolk who serve you so well.
- Men In Hides
- (You never read this here, and I'll deny everything.)
We are Men! (Manly Men!)
Men in Hides!
And we fly to fight thread in the skies!
We can sing!
And have flights!
And these cool wherhide pants Fit just right!
(and Oh so comfortable!).
- A Baudy Little Song
- (By Belcary.)
Oh, my cup is empty now, ah the wine is sweet,
Come, my little blue-eyed maid
Fill up, fill up, fill up my cup,
But leave your apron neat.
See my cup is drained again, twas too good to be true,
Come, my little blond-haired maid,
Fill up, fill up, fill up my cup,
But leave each dainty shoe.
Alas, my cup is dry, and yet, I would drink more tonight
Come, my little rosy-cheeked maid,
Fill up, fill up, fill up my cup,
But leave your stockings white.
Again, no wine within my cup, And I'll not stop at less
Come, my little sweet-lipped maid,
Fill up, fill up, fill up my cup,
But leave that binding dress.
My cup was filled with Benden wine, The best that can be seen
Come, my little peach-skinned maid,
Fill up, fill up, fill up my cup,
But leave your shift so clean.
I think I've drunk enough tonight; Dear, you can take a rest,
Come, my little blue-eyed maid,
Put down, put down, put down the cup,
And put me to the test.
- Timor Fight Song
- (Ista Weyr: Traditional.)
You can search the sky and search the ground,
From High Reaches Weyr to the Southern Sound,
You can scan the mountains and the ocean's floor,
But you'll not find riders like those of Timor.
We soar like a dart in the Red Star's Eye,
For us, holder girls swoon and holder boys cry,
Though a thousand turns pass, or a thousand and four,
You'll never find riders like those of Timor.
- Belior Fight Song
- (Ista Weyr: Traditional.)
When the Belior greens rise, they outfly the wind;
When our males chase the greens - give the greens two days start!
And as for our men - Holders lock up your daughters,
There's a Belior rider in each holder girl's heart.
We rip a sheet of fire through a full-threaded sky,
With a rumble of thunder to make the weyr ring,
We'll live life like a torch, and we'll never say die!
There's a Belior rider in the songs harpers sing.
- High Reaches Hearts
- (By Belcary, for the High Reaches Graduating Class)
The wind is a cutting blade tonight,
And the clouds in the sky are torn,
There will be snow by midnight, I say,
But High Reaches hearts are warm.
The trees tremble with the cold tonight,
And creak with a sound so sad,
It would make a harper weep, I say,
But High Reaches hearts are glad.
The ground is covered with veils of snow,
And even the sky is white,
But though the chill is grim, I know,
That High Reaches hearts are light.
Give up your sorrow and your woe,
I'll hear no complaining here,
Why be grieved when a day brings rain?
There's joy at High Reaches Weyr.
- Merellia's Alphabet Song
- (By T'bin, A challenge for a goldrider's attention)
A woman found in Istan stone
Beauty that is hers alone
Caught like fragrance in a flower,
Duty, wisdom, grace, and power.
Elegant as a dragon's wing
Fury like a VTOL's sting,
Gathering followers as she may,
Have some not seen it? More fool they.
I have heard her praises sung
Just as Lessa's once were done.
Knowledge of wind and dragonfire
Linked with a heart full of desire.
More like spirit than flesh she be,
Nearer to the stars than me.
On light feet she's gliding there,
Passions stir at one so fair.
Queenrider, weyrwoman, worth of trust,
Righteous are her deeds, and just.
Seeking courage? It's hers within;
Trials she's o'ercome to win.
Unlike earthly shades, her hair's pure hue.
Verily, her words ring true.
When all the turns have spun around,
`Xcept our Merellia, none shall be found,
Young or old, none can compare,
Zaerith's heir's chosen, Merellia fair.
- Little Mistakes
- (By Belcary.)
I don't remember when I met her; we were starting on the white.
She was the fairest lady that I met the other night,
She wore a dress of emerald, and her eyes sparkled in the glows,
I know they say that love is blind, as Faranth only knows...
When the flagons are all flowing and romance is in the air
Every lady is a beauty, every man is debonair,
But remember there's a morning, when the sun brightens the skies,
So don't believe her whispers, or all his pretty lies.
I remember that we danced some; we were starting on the rose.
I thought that she danced quite lightly, As well as I did, I suppose.
And if I or she should stumble, the harpers sang in key,
And with another glass of Benden, so did I and so did she.....
When the flagons are all flowing and romance is in the air
Every lady is a beauty, every man is debonair,
But remember there's a morning, when the sun brightens the skies,
So don't believe her whispers, or all his pretty lies.
I remember I was handsome, as we started on the red.
Dashing, bold as a bronzerider, so I carried her to bed.
In the morning when I woke up, peeled back sleep-encrusted eyes,
I was a mediocre harper, and she was eighty-five....
When the flagons are all flowing and romance is in the air
Every lady is a beauty, every man is debonair,
But remember there's a morning, when the sun brightens the skies,
So don't believe her whispers, or all his pretty lies.