Parody of “Ferryman”, words by
Mercedes Lackey
, music by
Leslie Fish
For
more information
and other parodies, see
www.songworm.com
Reprinted from
Songworm 1
This parody was sung by
Leslie Fish
on
Tapeworm 1
and sung on
Prelude
Parody lyrics ©1987-05-19 by Bob Kanefsky. All rights reserved. The copyright of the original lyrics and music remain with the holder(s) of the original copyright.
A | Am harsh | noise echoed through | G out | the | Em hotel |
’Til the | Am chan | deliers | Em shook | in dis | Am tress | . |
A | D noise | shrill and piercing as | Am harp | ies in heat, |
With | D much | less re | C straint | and fi | E nesse | . | E7 |
So | Am loud | was the filksing, so | G rau | cous and wild, |
The | Am mic | rophones started to | D burn | . |
A | C fool | could have | Am told | it was | D no | night to | F be |
Too | G tim | id in | Em claim | ing one’s | Am turn | . |
Chorus: |
|
He sat there alone at the back of the room.
He was pale, and he shook with fatigue.
His hands were clenched whitely upon his guitar.
It was plain he was out of his league.
It won’t be your turn for an hour, they said,
An hour until it comes ’round.
Be sure that you get our attention next time;
We missed you there, slumped on the ground.
(Chorus)
The filksing wore on; it lasted all night,
With the songs getting more and more gross.
Grimly one filksinger clung to the spotlight
And sang twenty minutes of ose.
The boy in the corner sat slumped in defeat:
The filkers had missed him once more.
They’d seemed not to notice his feeble attempts
To rise from his spot on the floor.
(Chorus)
I hear that the ghost reappeared here last night,
The janitor said with a yawn.
It certainly did, said the bellboy who brought
The pitchers of water at dawn.
They say the convention that killed the poor kid
Was held here the same time last year,
And now any night that they sing in this room,
That spirit is like to appear.
(Chorus)
A ghost? At the filksing? the filksingers asked,
And some of them paled with fright.
Oh yes, folks, and that’s why we can’t hire a bellboy
Who’ll dare bring you water at night.
The poor fellow died with no food and no sleep,
And no way to keep himself warm.
His soul must be bound by some unfulfilled wish,
Some last act he has to perform.
(Chorus)