Nimue's Lament

by @danielkelly

Liner Notes

Content Warning: Sexual Harassment

Thanks to Merav and Emily (on #Filkhaven) for separately suggesting a Merlin and a Nimue song.

Looking back at Malroy some 30 years after reading it has really brought into sharp focus how problematic the people were.

I haven't tagged this NSFW, but please let me know if you think it is.

#Arthurian #Arthuriana #Nimue

Lyrics

Am There’s this old guy at the castle, C Am, And he follows me around, G Am He shows me little magic tricks, F Am And keeps touching my gown, I’ve told him to leave me alone, But he doesn’t seem to care, I’m not sure what I’m gonna do, E7 F Am I’m angry in despair,

Am G Am No means No, Mr Merlin, C G Am I told you I don’t think of you that way, C G Am, I’m not a piece of property to handle, F G Am I’m a lady of the lake, I’m Nimue,

They say he is a Devil’s son, And that does make some sense, Keeps asking for my maidenhood, For wizard he sure is dense, He says he is his assotted, And he never leaves my side, But every time he touches me, I lose a bit of pride,

I’ve heard there is a magic cave, Hidden under stone, And I’ve worked hard at learning, Some magic of my own, I’ll lure the old deviant, Down in to the deep, And close the stone behind him, For a thousand years of sleep,

Comments

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Interesting angle on the story. Like the Devil's son reference, too. It makes total sense why she cast a spell on him in this context. Great flow and strumming pattern on this one, and I agree it's very singable.

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Thanks for listening Gabrielle! I suspect the dynamic between men and women would be quite different if spell-casting was standard, we should look into that as a society.

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Wow, this is amazing now I’ve got goosebumps. I like everything the guitar The Voice the lyrics everything fits together very well.

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Thanks for listening @taruamethyst! This revisit of the early Arthurian material is causing me to question a lot.

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Great to hear ballad in the strict sense- a real tragic story but hopefully with a redemptive ending. Voice and guitar sound so good together. I sometimes get bogged down in mixes with synths and arrangements so great to hear just voice and guitar. Thanks.

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Thanks for listening Nigel, I spend most of my musical life in ‘folk spaces’, so there is a lot more variety on this site!

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Well done on engaging with tough subject matter. Bravo!

IMHO you're good, trigger warning is good.

You sound nothing like Pete Seeger, but you remind me of him so much. That chorus is super hummable, I'm going to going around singing No Means No Merlin.

ONWARDS!

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Thanks @mdavisto, that is a wonderful complement, I love Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs and Woody Guthrie, people that wrote songs with meaning.

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@sbs

Vocals are mesmerizingly rich. Perfect for this kind of storytelling. And, yeah, as a woman, I've had a lifetime of sexual harassment. Well done!

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I'm learning a lot about Arthuriana this FAWM from you . . . I like the bringing of that tale into a modern context (in the catchy chorus) -- and was cheering at the end (love that last verse!).

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