hey everyone. I am playing a bard for Hell’s rebels. I am focusing on Oratory and a bit of Singing, so I am looking for Literature to recite and songs to try and play during gaming sessions.
Thanks
When in doubt, never neglect the classics of the genre.
“We rode on the winds of the rising storm,
We ran to the sounds of the thunder.
We danced among the lightning bolts,
and tore the world asunder.” -Robert Jordan, The Dragon Reborn
"We'll drink the wine till the cup is dry,
And kiss the girls so they'll not cry,
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
We'll dance all night until the moon runs free,
And dandle the lasses upon our knee,
And then you'll ride along with me,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
We'll sing all night, and drink all day,
And on the girls we'll spend our pay,
And when it's gone, then we'll away,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
There's some delight in ale and wine,
And some in girls with ankles fine,
But my delight, yes, always mine,
Is to dance with Jak o' the Shadows.
We'll give a yell with a bloody curse,
And hug the maids, it could be worse,
As we ride away with the Dark One's purse,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows!" -Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time
The wind’s in the tree-top, the wind's in the heather;
The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
And bright are the windows of Night in her tower.
Dance all ye joyful, now dance all together!
Soft is the grass, and let foot be like feather!
The river is silver, the shadows are fleeting;
Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.
Sing we now softly, and dreams let us weave him!
Wind him in slumber and there let us leave him!
The wanderer sleepeth. Now soft be his pillow!
Lullaby! Lullaby! Alder and Willow!
Sigh no more Pine, till the wind of the morn!
Fall Moon! Dark be the land!
Hush! Hush! Oak, Ash, and Thorn!
Hushed be all water, till dawn is at hand!"
"Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
And many miles be still to go,
But under a tall tree I will lie,
And let the clouds go sailing by."
"I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door."
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came, and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
And here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the river flows away.
O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?"
"Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?"
Not exactly a battle song, but this one's a popular ask in rural taverns in my campaigns.
Roaming sheep in search of the place
You've never known
Listen to the wind
Until you can hear the signRoaming sheep the front of the gate
That's closed so tight
Take a rest on the earth
Until you can find the keyRoaming sheep in search of the people
Full of love
Bathe yourself in the water
Until your mind's soothed againRoaming sheep in front of the deep
And dreamless sleep
Here you're by the fire
Able to warm your heartEach and every moment
Oh, as time goes by
All in this world has to changeRoaming sheep in search of the place
You've never known
Better take your breath
Until you can hear the signRoaming sheep in search of the place
You've never seen
Better watch your step
Until you can find the keyRoaming sheep in search of the place
You may never reach
Better love yourself
Tomorrow's another day
Push it to the limit
Walk along the razor's edge
But don't look down, just keep your head
Or you'll be finished
Open up the limit
Past the point of no return
You've reached the top but still you gotta learn
How to keep it
Hit the wheel and double the stakes
Throttle wide open like a bat out of hell
You crash the gates
(Crash the gates)
Going for the back of beyond
Nothing gonna stop you, there's nothing that strong
So close now you're nearly at the brink
So, push it, ooh yeah
Welcome to the limit
(Limit)
Take it baby one step more
The power game's still playing so
You better win it
Push it to the limit
(Limit)
No one left to stand in your way
You might get careless, but you'll never be safe
While you're still in it
Welcome to the limit
(Limit)
Standing on the razor's edge
Don't look down just keep your head
Or you'll be finished
Welcome to the limit
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
Push it to the limit
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
(The limit)
When I played a bard I just told my party the (made up) title of the song I was singing and let them imagine the lyrics. Like "We're gonna kill you deader, and then take all your stuff," "You brought this on yourselves," "We gave you an out," and "&#%$ that %^&$ing ship and %^&# its ^%*&ing bell"
That way you can give them a seed, but let their brains do all the heavy lifting.
Highway to Hell (with lyrics)
Our group found Van Canto's Last Night of the Kings a sort of theme song for the rebellion (particularly in the third book, for [redacted] reasons). Their cover of Rebellion is also pretty cool.
I'm a fan of Men of Harlech myself.
Once you're familiar with the tune, you can move on to The Woad Ode.
Wow! Thanks everyone. I was just expecting links to songs and poetry, but this is way better. Thanks again.