Elven Traditionals
These are the older, traditional songs Ginzelrad's ancestors brought with them from Lorien and Quivir.
THE DWARF IN QUIVIR--(a rowdy drinking song, this obviously pre-dates the Highlanders' improved relations with the dwarves)
The Dwarf in Quivir
Once a dwarf found himself in Quivir
The elves said, "What are you doing here?"
He gave a coarse shout
But his legs were so stout
That they caught him in no time, no fear!
They bound the fat lout to a tree
And asked what his purpose might be
He tried to answer too smart,
But since dwarves have no art,
He spent the whole night bound to the same tree!
Next morning they questioned again,
How he came to their glorious fen,
And since the dwarf was not shrewd
He said things rather rude
And another night bound and gagged he did spend!
Once more all the elves came to hear
The motives of this creature so queer
But when he barked "I got lost!"
Some arrows were tossed,
So there's one less dwarf now in Quivir!
THE LONELY ELVEROON--(an old, old tearjerking ballad; when the elves are in their cups, they cry like babies to this one, even though now Highland Elves find intermarriage with humans to be perfectly acceptable)
The Lonely Elveroon
Her mother was fair and magicwise
Her father was proud and brave
And when he looked into those elven eyes
His heart became her slave.
She came from Quivir, that golden fen
Though none was more golden than she
Amd he was the noblest of the race of men
They cared not what the future might be.
He asked her to marry one winter night
And she consented most willing and sure
They were certain their true love could bring no blight
The love, not the bloodline, was pure.
Now this poor child must wander the chilling streets
With none to call friend but herself
An enigma to every soul that she meets
Not a human and not an elf.
Quivir was too haughty for this lonesome child
So they drove her far away,
And some men offer shelter when the night is too wild,
But only when they pay.
Through no fault of her own, condemned to walk
Beneath a cold and dim half-moon,
Both man and elf are ashamed to talk
Of the lonely elveroon.
Highland Songs
These songs form a tradition specific to Ginzelrad's Highland breed of elves.
THE LAND OF NEVERAGAIN--This song is indicative of the sense of loss the highlanders feel when they think of the elven homelands that they left, inexplicably, so long ago.
The Land of Neveragain
Once we dwelled in the valley den
In the lush dark forest of Lorien,
In the great secret world of the tree-dwelling men,
The oldest abode in the glorious glen,
But not now, not here, not ever again.
Once we hailed from the trees of Quivir,
Where lightfall through green leaves was shimmering sheer,
Where we danced and delighted and hunted the deer,
Where we lived unseen and we died without fear,
But never again, and not now, and not here.
We made the long journey to this high mountain fen,
Where we live with the dwarves and we talk with the men,
Where we live in the clouds and we seldom descend,
And we hail from the Land of Neveragain.
THE END OF RADYLINNE--This song is most interesting, because it tells the story of Radylinne, a Highland folk heroine and starcrossed lover. The Highlanders are generally a placid people, but they relish tales of their more tempestuous children. Radylinne is revered as a daring adventuress because she ran off to live with a (human) gangster during the 1930's. Although as the song tells it, she came to a bad end, many young elves emulate her hairstyle (a blond wave falling over one eye--human filmstar Veronica Lake admired it so much she stole the look) and lifestyle. Ginzelrad's own name is partly derived from Radylinne, even though her parents would be horrified if she took her namesake too literally.
The End of Radylinne
When she was born she had no sin,
Her name was clean, it was Radylinne.
Oh Radylinne! Ah Radylinne!
She was one of our own, born in Mountainglen,
Raised among elf-folk in the highland fen,
But when she grew older she left her kin--
Oh Radylinne! Ah Radylinne!
She craved an adventure, and walked through the door
To a human world she'd never known before,
But who could have said what the fates had in store
For Radylinne! Oh Radylinne!
She prayed for her true love and hoped for romance,
Soon she held her man captive in a lovestricken trance,
But she followed his lead in a dangerous dance--
Oh Radylinne! Ah Radylinne!
For his love and adventure she had a great thirst
And from the bottle of danger she greedily nursed,
But her love for the whiskey is what would prove worst
For Radylinne! Poor Radylinne!
A bootlegger's damsel, a life lived in sin,
She cared not a whit for the elf she had been,
But she drowned in a cistern of bathtub gin--
And that was the end of Radylinne!
Orcish Songs
Ginzelrad's mother, Ladiol, is a scholar of the ways of the Orcs. As she has said, "At first I found the Orcs repellent and loathsome. But that viewpoint comes from ignorance. As you learn more and more about their culture, you find that they are really disgusting."
She has translated a number of their songs and worked on previous elven translations. The songs, when sung in the Orcish native tongue, sound like incoherent grunting and wheezing.
Ring Around the Halfling
Ring around the halfling
We won him in a raffling
Hairyfoot, Hairyfoot
Knock him down!
(Belching)
Oh What Do You Do To A...
Oh what do you do to a man?
Slaughter him, slaughter him!
Oh what do you do to a dwarf?
Crush him, crush him!
Oh what do you do to a gnome?
Step on him, step on him!
Oh what do you do to an elf?
Butcher him, butcher him!
Oh what do you do to a halfling?
Eat him, eat him!
Oh what do you do to a damsel?
We don't know, we don't know!
Well, then what do you do to a goat?
There Was a Farmer
There was a farmer
Had a pumpkin--
We don't want the pumpkin,
Let's kill the farmer!
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