The tune is from a Leslie Fish song called “Excommunion.” I thought it deserved nicer lyrics, since the original ones are a bit questionable. I chose the subject matter largely because it's tangentially related to the original, but also probably because I had Beth Kinderman's Hero's Journey album in the back of my mind.
Even a humble milkmaid or a farm boy chopping wood
Can slay a mighty dragon if the story says they should.
The hand of Joseph Campbell will dub heroes high and low
And if you don't refuse the call, then who knows where you'll go!
Chorus: Never forget you might leave home tomorrow
Never forget the call could come today
Take the road and meet the goddess—temptress, father, apotheosis—
Get your boon and wave goodbye and go back home to stay.
His name was Bilbo Baggins, from his head to hairy toes
Respectable throughout the Shire, as every hobbit knows.
It never crossed his mind to rob a dragon's treasury,
Until the day he found a dozen dwarves had come to tea.
(Chorus)
If dwarves are not your thing, perhaps you would prefer a droid
And on your moisture farm it will be gainfully employed
Until Imperial troopers kill your folks and trash your place.
So pack your saber, sell your car, you're heading into space.
(Chorus)
Or maybe you have braces and a turbulent eighth grade,
Three perplexing neighbors, and a father you've mislaid.
It's no use beating 'round the bush, jump in that tesseract,
'Cause only you can beat the brain and get your brother back.
(Chorus)
@ericdistad Feb 2022
This is brilliant! Lyric flow well and the Campbellian instances are just right!
Well done!
@janeg Feb 2022
This is wonderful, Luke! I agree these lyrics are better. I think many of our friends know and cover the original and are going to be delighted to have this alternative.
Keep meaning to read Wrinkle in Time someday; so many friends recommend it. It’s on the list.
@ceilidh Feb 2022
Be prepared? Nice examples of the (relatively) young heroes of juvenile readers! My husband once dropped some player characters into a tesseract to see how long it would take for them to map each room (right/left, forward/back, up/down) and figure out how the rooms connected and just what they'd been dropped into.
@summerrussell Feb 2022
I like it! The sprawling scale of the hero's journey is nicely balanced here by some lighthearted humor (I don't know why the description of droids as "gainfully employed" amuses me so much, but it does!)
@rocketman0739 Feb 2022
Oof, I just realized I used “beat” twice in the last two lines. I may edit that.
@rocketman0739 Feb 2022
@gmcgath as Deirdre said, the third one is “A Wrinkle in Time”
@wylddandelyon Feb 2022
A much better set of lyrics than the original, and a a very nice homage to three stories that pretty much everybody has read (or watched) and enjoyed (Tolkien, Star Wars, and A Wrinkle in Time). Bravo.
@mhorning Feb 2022
That's an obscure tune. I found the original lyrics in my copy of Les's book. I like your take much better.
@gmcgath Feb 2022
All I can remember of the Fish original is "Never forget that you could die tomorrow" or something like that. The first two allusions are obvious, but I'm afraid the last one has me stumped.