In a discussion about singing in the SCA, someone mentioned that the standards some people impose on others have a basis in something like hypocrisy.  We don’t impose anything like the same standards elsewhere.  Could it be that some people just don’t like imperfection?  And the comment was made that some people, like our dear friend Bob Dylan, have earned half a century of ₹€$₱€¢T without any evidence of the high standards of musicality that our erstwhile fans demand.

So I figured: what the hell.  I finally did something I’ve never done before, and filked a Bob Dylan song, specifically The Times, They Are A-Changin’.  And to make the point, I put on my best Bob Dylan singing-through-the-nose voice and recorded it, so you could “enjoy” it in all its instructive awfulness.

November 2020

Come gather, good gentles, wherever you feast
You’ve enjoyed all your soup and your stew and roast beast,
Now it’s time for a song, one or two at the least
Don’t be put off by nerves and misgivings
If you join us, the fun can be only increased
For the tunes, they are forgiving.

Do you worry your voice isn’t quite up to snuff?
Or maybe your style’s not authentic enough?
And you want to join in, but that first note is tough
Just consider who else makes a living
Singing songs with a voice like three billy goats gruff
And the tunes, they are forgiving

There’s vikings and landsknechts, Italians and Greeks,
Some throw on a tunic, some hand-sew for weeks
And we make them all welcome, we don’t need critiques
Our history is live-and-let-living
We few, we happy few, we band of mad geeks
And the tunes, they are forgiving!