This category includes all songs that were created using external material. In most cases, only the lyrics are my own, while I have relied on tried-and-tested melodies.
However, there are three exceptions in the area of parodies: I have also included songs that poke fun at an entire musical genre. Examples include: German schlager, accompanied by generic »shalalalala« vocals; the protest song, with its pithy guitar accompaniment; and finally, the philosophical-political Brecht song, performed in march rhythm with a melody that could have come from Kurt Weill, except that it is mine. These songs are more fakes than parodies, but as such, they are certainly well placed here.
It can be assumed that the parodies are funny, or at least intend to be funny. They are funnier if you are familiar with the originals on which they are based. I have drawn on classic filk songs that filkers know but outsiders tend not to; on folk songs, some of which are so rarely sung that probably only hardcore folk fans have ever heard of them; and even on myself. Some of them illustrate the experiences of a previous role-playing game session and, as such, can also be enjoyed by other role-players, because the stupidity of rpg characters is universal.
What all these songs have in common is that they were great fun to write, and that I never actually sing them – with one exception – unless I’ve run out of songs to sing, which is rarely the case. Otherwise, I prefer to stick to songs that I wrote entirely myself.
The other aspect of this section consists of translations. Some of these are very old – I translated folk songs from English to German long before I had my own songs: they mainly served to give my fantasy stories a certain folkloric touch. Most of these songs were written for »Die Öbba«, a collaborative work from 1995 that was never completed. Nevertheless, I had written enough lyrics to provide two sequels with a rich repertoire of songs… The rival countries of Raköb and Asböb, with cities such as Incipit and Urica, have left their mark on these songs.
Another batch of songs was written in 1996 and 1997 for a series of novels, which logically bears the working title »Die Geschichten nach der Öbba« (»The Stories after the Öbba«). These songs can be recognised by their pseudo-Celtic names, which no one can pronounce. I also wrote my own songs for these stories, which can be found in the ballad section where they belong. All these translations should be treated with some caution, given their age, but they are nevertheless available to any LARP bard who wants to expand their authentic repertoire. And if you have no idea how to pronounce names like Clòn Lonnìl Dhub and Cawlun of Cuinonen, you are welcome to replace them with something more palatable, as long as it fits the metre.
Also gathered here are songs by other filkers that I have translated – partly on my own initiative, partly at the request of the original authors: I am pleased that I have a knack for translation, and even more pleased that word has gotten around. If you are also interested in having a song translated into German or English, just send me an email. I welcome every opportunity to put my skills to use in the service of international understanding …
Only the translations of my own songs – some from German into English, some from English into German – are not included here. They have nothing to do with other people’s work and belong with my own songs.