The Virtual Filksing


Prometheus Music

Leslie Fish's Filksongs

The Virtual Filksing


Special thanks to Stephen Griffin, who generously provided the web space to host much of these audio files for years.

Virtual Filksing FAQ





The Virtual Filksing is the oldest anthology of recorded "filk" (science-fiction folk) music on the Internet, with hours of informal and professional performances highlighting both serious and silly songs of science-fiction, fantasy, and technology.

Thanks to Adam Puche for creating many of the MP3 files on this page, including all of the Julia Ecklar restorations. The Virtual Filksing is a service of Prometheus Music, which sells professional recordings from many of the musicians on this webpage.

Your purchases make more music possible from these artists, and offset the costs incurred to support the hundreds of gigabytes of downloads from this page. If you're enjoying the music on this page, please consider supporting it with your patronage. Thank you.



Computers
Eternal Flame aka "God Wrote in LISP"
Lyrics by Bob Kanefsky, parodying "God Lives on Terra". Sung by Julia Ecklar. (5.3 MB MP3)
(From the Roundworm CD.)

PGP
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (1.5 MB MP3)

Tech Support
Written and performed by Jeffrey Hitchin at Consonance '98. (3.2 MB, MP3 only.)
(Yes, the phone call patter really is an actual call that Jeff took!)
Fantasy

Crimson and Crystal
Written by Cynthia McQuillin, sung by Julia Ecklar. (3.4 MB MP3)
(Track from Julia's Divine Intervention CD.)

Farewell Wishes (3.3 MB MP3)
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar, from an informal tape recorded in 1982 for her friend Lisa Wahl.

Fellowship Going South New!
Written by Leslie Fish, performed by Julia Ecklar. (2.7 MB MP3)
("Leslie's first true filksong" says Mary Creasey. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Performed 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California.)

The Horse-Tamer's Daughter New!
Written by Leslie Fish. Lead vocals by Julia Ecklar, 12-string guitar played by Kristoph Klover. (11.6 MB MP3)
(Performed 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California. Based on the Darkover novels of Marion Zimmer Bradley; derivative work by permission.)

Ladyhawke New!
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar. (3.7 MB MP3)
(Performed 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California. An alternate symphonic arrangement is also available on from Julia's Divine Intervention CD.)

Merlin
Written by Doug McArthur, sung by Kathy Mar, with arrangement and instrumentation by Kristoph Klover. (3.3 MB MP3)
(Final track from Kathy's CD, My Favorite Sings.)

Troll Hall New!
Written by Leslie Fish, performed by Julia Ecklar. (1.5 MB MP3)
(Performed live 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California.)

Which Way New!
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar. (2.8 MB MP3)
(Performed live 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California.)
General Humor
 Doppel-Entendre
Parody lyrics by Bob Kanefsky, parodying Doppelganger by Kathy Mar. Performed by Julia Ecklar. (944K MP3)
(An earlier version of a track on the Roundworm CD.)

Gorilla (gorilla) [lyrics]
Written and performed by Ookla the Mok. (3.7 MB MP3)

Grandma Went out with a Bang
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (3.6 MB MP3)

How Not to Get Laid
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (3.1 MB MP3)

Rats Live On nO eviL staR [lyrics]
Written and performed by Ookla the Mok. (2.7 MB MP3)
Science Fiction

The Comforts of Home
Parody lyrics by Bob Kanefsky, performed by Ookla the Mok. (2.9 MB MP3)
(From the Roundworm CD.)

Exodus
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar, from an informal tape recorded in 1982-1983 for her friend Lisa Wahl. Julia adds that it was inspired by Battlestar Galactica, and she wrote it she was "13 years old or so." (3.2 MB 128 KB/s MP3)

Life After
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar, from an informal tape recorded in 1982-1983 for her friend Lisa Wahl. (2.9 MB 128 KB/s MP3)

Mineral Rights
Lyrics by Bob Kanefsky, parodying Demon in the Dark by Kathy Mar (lyrics) and Brenda Sutton (music). Performed by Leslie Fish, with Kristoph Klover and Kathy Mar. (2.6 MB MP3)
(From the Roundworm CD.)

Shai Hulud New!
Written by Kathy Mar, and performed by Julia Ecklar. (4 MB MP3)
(Performed live 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California.)

2001/PG-13 (1.4 MB MP3)
Created by "Ken F. Vermithrall".
(Digital parody, PG-13.)
Space

Fire in the Sky
Written by Jordin Kare (bridge by Kristoph Klover), arranged and sung by Kristoph Klover. (4.4 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD.)

Hope Eyrie
Written by Leslie Fish, sung by Julia Ecklar. (4.1 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD.)

Legends
Written by Bill Roper, sung by Julia Ecklar. (3.6 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD.)

Others Standing By
Written and sung by Kristoph Klover. (6 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD.)

Queen Isabella
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (1.3 MB MP3)
(Leslie wrote this song for Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD. The National Space Society honored it with second place in its first Apollo Award for pro-space songwriting in May 1998.)

Surprise!
Written by Leslie Fish, sung by Gunnar Madsen. (3 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD.)

Witnesses' Waltz New!
Written by Leslie Fish. (3.5 MB MP3)
(Track from Prometheus's To Touch the Stars CD. An alternate live performance by Julia Ecklar is also available for MP3 download.)
Spirituality

The Word of God
Written by Catherine Faber, sung by Kathy Mar. (3.5 MB)
(Final track from Kathy's CD My Favorite Sings. An early mix is also available, with much more ornate instrumentation.)

Holy, Holy New!
Written and sung by Julia Ecklar, from an informal tape recorded in 1982-1983 for her friend Lisa Wahl. (4.0 MB)
(Julia commented, "At one point, I toyed with writing a mass [the way Bach and Beethoven did], but with a science fiction/filk theme. And that was the "Holy, Holy" from the mass.")
Unclassified

Doppleganger New!
Written by Kathy Mar, and performed by Julia Ecklar. (1.7 MB MP3)
(Performed live 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California.)

Gamers (aka This Game is Real)
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (3.6 MB MP3)

Home for Christmas
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar, from an informal tape recorded in 1982-1983 for her friend Lisa Wahl. (8.1 MB MP3)

Lullaby for a Weary World
Written by TJ Burnside Clapp and sung by Julia Ecklar. (6 MB MP3)
(Track from Julia's Divine Intervention CD.)

Roxanne New!
Written and performed by Julia Ecklar. (2.1 MB MP3)
(Scratch track from Julia's Divine Intervention CD, and inspired by Edmond Rostand's Cyranno De Bergerac. Performed 2/6/98 in Palo Alto, California. You may also download a 4 MB "karaoke" mix of the performance from the Divine Intervention CD.)

Shameless Plug (for FanHaven)
Written and performed by Leslie Fish. (2.9 MB MP3)

Spiral Dance New!
Written by Anne Harlan Prather, sung by Kathy Mar. Harmony vocals by Kathleen Sloan; synth, engineering and production by Kristoph Klover. Outtake from Kathy Mar's CD, My Favorite Sings. (4 MB MP3)



  • All songs performed here by Leslie Fish were written by Leslie Fish, and are copyrighted by Leslie Fish and Random Factors. All rights reserved.
  • The parody lyrics to "Eternal Flame" are copyrighted by Bob Kanefsky. The melody (God Lives on Terra) is copyrighted by Julia Ecklar. This performance of "Eternal Flame" is (P) 1998 Prometheus Music. All rights reserved.
  • The parody lyrics to "Dopple-entendre" are copyrighted by Bob Kanefsky. The melody (Doppleganger) is copyrighted by Kathy Mar. This performance of "Dopple-entendre" is (P) 1998 Prometheus Music. All rights reserved.
  • "Roxanne" is copyright 1987 by Julia Ecklar. All rights reserved.
  • "Legends" is copyright 1980 by Bill Roper. All rights reserved.
  • "Hope Eyrie" is copyright 1976 by Leslie Fish and Random Factors. All rights reserved.
  • "Florida Vampires" is copyrighted by Sherman Dorn. All rights reserved.
  • "Witnesses Waltz" is copyrighted by Leslie Fish and Random Factors. All rights reserved.
  • "Fire in the Sky" is copyrighted by Jordin Kare. Bridge by Kristoph Klover. All rights reserved.
  • "The Word of God" is copyrighted by Dr. Catherine Faber. All rights reserved.
  • "Fellowship Going South" is copyright 1963 by Leslie Fish and Random Factors. All rights reserved.
  • "The Horse-Tamer's Daughter" is copyright 1983 by Leslie Fish and Random Factors. Based on the Darkover novels of Marion Zimmer Bradley; derivative work by permission. (And with much appreciation to Marion Zimmer Bradley and her estate for allowing us to share this song. ;) All rights reserved.
  • The parody lyrics to "The Comforts of Home" are copyrighted 1998 by Bob Kanefsky. The melody (Home) is copyrighted by Randam Music, 1994. The vocal performance is (P) 1998 Prometheus Music; the instrumental performances are (P) 1997 Ookla the Mok.
  • "Gorilla (gorilla)", "Rats Live On nO eviL staR" and "Stranger in the Mirror" are copyright 1993 by Randam Music. All rights reserved.
  • "Tech Support" is copyright 1996 by Jeffrey Hitchin. All rights reserved.
  • "Life After", "Exodus", "Home for Christmas" and "Farewell Wishes" are copyright by Julia Ecklar. All rights reserved.
  • Any other songs are copyrighted by their authors. Unauthorized distribution prohibited by law, all rights reserved. All songs used on the Virtual Filksing are used with the permission of their respective authors and performers.
  • These audio files may not be made available for public download on other web sites or FTP servers.


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