Bound Across the Bay

Kit and Making Things Music, Art, Photos and Stories
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I’m not going to lie, I had a blast writing this today and wanted to sing it from the rooftops. The tune is the well-known South Australia sea shanty, with new lyrics.

It’s about the raid on Dubhtraig last downtime, and if you want to sing it in character do go ahead.
One note: British sea shanties are not on brief for the Brass Coast. If anything it’s a Marcher tune, and a Highborn wrote the lyrics. Just because it’s an easy mistake to make. :slight_smile:

Bound Across the Bay (link to recording)

Bound Across the Bay (filked from “South Australia” South Australia - YouTube)

From Highborn docks I hear the sound:
[Heave away, haul away]
It’s off to Dubhtraig I am bound
[We’re bound across the Bay, oh]

[Heave away, the bells do ring
Heave away, haul away
Heave away, you’ll hear me sing
We’re bound across the Bay, oh]

Ten nations stand together
Prepared for any weather

There’s facets in the moonlight
Their spears and armour shining bright

The Night brings forth the Shadows
The Hollow Men from forests old

Each prow does call a beast its own
Bears and bulls of firey stone

The message sweeps the coastline
The beacons lit, their orders shine

We find a Grendel schooner
We board and set fire to- 'er

A trading dhow comes into sight
They take one look and take their flight

The fleet has got to Tathar
And all their weirwood we do char

We burn the forts and free the slaves
And send the Grendel to their graves

To Dubhtraig now we’re marching
To fight them on the quayside

The city is a-brawling
We send the Grendel sprawling

The Highborn summon fire
Three bulls, two rams, a savage bear

They break the Salt Lord’s towers
Lady Suriad’s gatehouse falls

The shipyard is a-burning
And mines we’re overturning

Our job is done; we set to sea
We tell our tales with joyous glee

Trad ‘South Australia’ / Rebekkah of the Shattered Tower

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Sounds very good. I can hear why you wanted to sing it. Quick question, what would your advice be to an aspiring bard? Also if something is not on the brief for a nation does that mean you can’t singing it if you are part of that nation or just that you aren’t expected to?

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Ahhhhhh! I love this! I’m a shanty lover myself and have been considering adapting one or two shanties to sing around the campfire. Mayhap I’ll practice this one too!

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You can sing generic folk music anywhere, just don’t claim it’s a classic Freeborn song, that’s all. The sea shanties are an easy thing to assume is Freeborn, given their sea-faring nature hence the warning. :slight_smile: The more closely you stick to the music brief the more distict each nation will be. It’s the same as the costume briefs; the odd thing here and there is okay but the more you stick to brief the clearer your nationality will be.

Advice I’d give:
Use the wiki! I often write songs about the many stories told on the wiki.
Use a rhyming dictionary. It’s so helpful.
Filking is a great way to get into lyric writing, because the structure and rhythm is already done for you.
Think about your audience; if this is a fireside song have a lot of chorus and join-in bits. If it’s performance, write to suit your performance style.
Listen to your nation’s songs (there’s a playlist at the bottom of each national music page). Try to absorb the sound and flavour of it, and try to write tunes when you are stuffed full of that inspiration.

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I adore shanties too. As a Freeborn singer I didn’t sing them very often, so it was lovely to be able to properly go for it now that I’m in Highguard (they aren’t Highborn either but one song doesn’t matter so much).

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I’ll be attending E2 with my wife for our first larping experience and we’ll also be playing Highguard. I haven’t finalised my backstory yet but I’m thinking of making my highborn’s birthplace a fishing village in Longbeach to justify singing a handful of sea shanties.

My reasoning would be that any settlement facing the sea would be exposed to shanties one way or another. Where those songs originate from could vary, and so too could the lyrics (as is typical for shanties)

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Absolutely, that sounds like a great reasoning. And gradually as you go along you can add some of the more ‘classic’ songs to your repertoire. The music brief, just like the kit brief, is aspirational; nobody expects you to have learnt every song on the wiki by your first event.

Highguard SoundCloud link

If it helps, I’ve recorded a few and popped them up there. Some are original ones I’ve written but a bunch are from the wiki. Might help you see if you like any of them.

Also, that gives us an excuse to interact, because Leah - well, I - am all about singing so you will always be welcome to wander over and join us if you hear us singing. Which you probably will at some point.

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Thank you, I’ll try and do that. I’m not so good at forcing a certain style when writing music however. I can get it sounding sort of suitable but not exact. I’ve just finished one actually, a bit of a melancholy piece.

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