![Bill Sutton - Do It Yourself [HQ] @SongsfromtheStars](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oi4W0UPa_xs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Past Due track 10. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: archive.org/details/filk_past_due
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Lyrics:
I went to buy computers, and they said a million bucks
For a brand new mainframe IBM, now that price really sucks!
So I looked at all the pictures, and I chose to build my own
For you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Chorus:
Oh, IBM, DEC, and Honeywell; HP, DG, and Wang
Amdahl, NEC, and NCR—they don't know anything
They make big bucks for systems, so they never want it known
That you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Now, take the CPU; you see, it's only just a box
With blinking lights and whirring fans and lots of cable slots
So I spent an evening working with some wire and bulbs and pins
Then I hauled it to the basement and I plugged the freezer in
(Chorus)
Well, next I needed tape drives, my tape drives were a steal
I climbed into the attic for my dad's old reel-to-reel
Some cable and some binder twine, and soon it was complete:
My CPU and tape drive at a price no one can beat
(Chorus)
So then I looked for disk drives, but it didn't take me long
Function follows form, they say, or have I got that wrong?
I found a drive with five new modes that blows the rest away:
Cottons, linens, wash and wear, rinse, and lingerie!
(Chorus)
Well, I had to have a console just to make my system run
Without a fancy console then my system wasn't done
So, I tied a ten-buck typer to a broken TV tube
And now I've got a console that can write the evening news
(Chorus)
I've had my system running—I'll admit it's not the best
The data isn't right, and the response time is a mess
It crashes every hour, and it isn't worth a damn
But I'm satisfied because it runs just like an IBM!
(Chorus)
Yes, you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home!
Past Due track 10. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: archive.org/details/filk_past_due
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lyrics:
I went to buy computers, and they said a million bucks
For a brand new mainframe IBM, now that price really sucks!
So I looked at all the pictures, and I chose to build my own
For you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Chorus:
Oh, IBM, DEC, and Honeywell; HP, DG, and Wang
Amdahl, NEC, and NCR—they don't know anything
They make big bucks for systems, so they never want it known
That you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Now, take the CPU; you see, it's only just a box
With blinking lights and whirring fans and lots of cable slots
So I spent an evening working with some wire and bulbs and pins
Then I hauled it to the basement and I plugged the freezer in
(Chorus)
Well, next I needed tape drives, my tape drives were a steal
I climbed into the attic for my dad's old reel-to-reel
Some cable and some binder twine, and soon it was complete:
My CPU and tape drive at a price no one can beat
(Chorus)
So then I looked for disk drives, but it didn't take me long
Function follows form, they say, or have I got that wrong?
I found a drive with five new modes that blows the rest away:
Cottons, linens, wash and wear, rinse, and lingerie!
(Chorus)
Well, I had to have a console just to make my system run
Without a fancy console then my system wasn't done
So, I tied a ten-buck typer to a broken TV tube
And now I've got a console that can write the evening news
(Chorus)
I've had my system running—I'll admit it's not the best
The data isn't right, and the response time is a mess
It crashes every hour, and it isn't worth a damn
But I'm satisfied because it runs just like an IBM!
(Chorus)
Yes, you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home!
![Bill Sutton - Do It Yourself [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oi4W0UPa_xs/mqdefault.jpg "Bill Sutton - Do It Yourself [HQ]
Past Due track 10. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_past_due
Lyrics:
I went to buy computers, and they said a million bucks
For a brand new mainframe IBM, now that price really sucks!
So I looked at all the pictures, and I chose to build my own
For you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Chorus:
Oh, IBM, DEC, and Honeywell; HP, DG, and Wang
Amdahl, NEC, and NCR—they dont know anything
They make big bucks for systems, so they never want it known
That you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home
Now, take the CPU; you see, its only just a box
With blinking lights and whirring fans and lots of cable slots
So I spent an evening working with some wire and bulbs and pins
Then I hauled it to the basement and I plugged the freezer in
(Chorus)
Well, next I needed tape drives, my tape drives were a steal
I climbed into the attic for my dads old reel-to-reel
Some cable and some binder twine, and soon it was complete:
My CPU and tape drive at a price no one can beat
(Chorus)
So then I looked for disk drives, but it didnt take me long
Function follows form, they say, or have I got that wrong?
I found a drive with five new modes that blows the rest away:
Cottons, linens, wash and wear, rinse, and lingerie!
(Chorus)
Well, I had to have a console just to make my system run
Without a fancy console then my system wasnt done
So, I tied a ten-buck typer to a broken TV tube
And now Ive got a console that can write the evening news
(Chorus)
Ive had my system running—Ill admit its not the best
The data isnt right, and the response time is a mess
It crashes every hour, and it isnt worth a damn
But Im satisfied because it runs just like an IBM!
(Chorus)
Yes, you can build a mainframe from the things you find at home!")
![Jordin Kare - Star Fire [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P3UKh9W_9E4/mqdefault.jpg "Jordin Kare - Star Fire [HQ]
Parody Violation track 6. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_parody_violation
Lyrics (Cynthia McQuillin):
Three men sit tensely waiting for the dawn,
The brilliant burst of fire that will carry them on
The anticipation grows,
For the crew that waits below
In the endless, breathless hours before the dawn
Star fire...star fire...
Bear my soul to touch the Universe beyond
Ten thousand hands to build the shining shell
It took a dozen years and love to build it well
And every soul who touched its birth,
Though they be bound on Earth,
Will be with the Astronauts who in her dwell
Star fire...star fire...
Its singing in my blood, I know it well
Star fire...star fire...
Its singing in my blood, I know it well")
![Aislinn (Anne Prather) - Death Song of a Fighter Pilot [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PSPsZecVOvQ/mqdefault.jpg "Aislinn (Anne Prather) - Death Song of a Fighter Pilot [HQ]
High Wings track 3. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_high_wings
Lyrics:
Out in the morning sun he flew, across a brightening sky
In his mighty warbird, ah, how he loved to fly!
Green country passed below him, and a friend flew on his right
No thought of death betrayed him as his target came in sight
Though he hated the death his flying brought, hed been through it all before
This rugged fighter pilot was a veteran of two wars
When the target centered in his sight he set his payload free
And then without a backward look the pilot turned to flee
But hed flown low, and flaming thunder shook him as he flew
He fought to regain his altitude; he knew nothing else to do
But the plane caught fire and spun like hell and he knew his death was near
And in desperate disillusionment he called out for all to hear:
Cursed be the gods who made me fly and brought me to my end!
Make me now what you want me to be, but I will never fly again.
Fill my heart with music, and give me a tale to tell.
But next time round dont make me die alone in a fiery hell!
At his death visions glowing end a soft voice made reply,
Well do with you as youve asked us to, but you will always long to fly.
They placed him in an infants mind, in a body without sight
In an infants bed, the pilot woke to face an endless night
You ask me how I know this tale; its written in my song
On nightmares wings its haunted me for near my whole life long
I believe the pilots soul is mine and his spirit is my right
And though I may sing my songs with joy, I will always long for flight")
![Leslie Fish - Bring it Down [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PkS7F0gS1nk/mqdefault.jpg "Leslie Fish - Bring it Down [HQ]
Firestorm track 07. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_firestorm
Find more of Leslie Fishs music at: https://lesliefish.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics:
We dont like this world weve made!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Wed take World War Three in trade!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Risk the fire in the midnight sky
The rain of hell when the ashes fly—
Just so long as the generals die!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
We dont like the work we do!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Nothing useful, safe, or true!
(Bring it down. bring it down!)
Faceless bureaucrats in the hills
Drive us down at the pace that kills—
They get dividends, we get bills!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
We dont like society!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
No one here is really free!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Freedoms dream has fallen far,
A million rules have dimmed its star—
We dont like the way we are!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Laws and orders hem us in!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Give us our frontier again!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Slowly growing, deep-set rage
Breaks the bars of the paper cage
Till the gear wheels disengage!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
No reform will save the day!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Sweep this garbage all away!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
Fearless rage and deathless hate
Grow the worse, the more we wait—
To save our planet, smash the State!
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)
(Bring it down, bring it down!)")
![Leslie Fish & the Dehorn Crew - God Bless the Grass [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pkb5NRyUgG8/mqdefault.jpg "Leslie Fish & the Dehorn Crew - God Bless the Grass [HQ]
Its Sister Jennys Turn to Throw the Bomb track 12. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_its_sister_jennys_turn_to_throw_the_bomb
Find more of Leslie Fishs music at: https://lesliefish.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics:
God bless the grass that grows through the crack!
They roll the concrete over it to try and keep it back.
The concrete gets tired of what it has to do,
It breaks and it buckles and the grass grows through,
God bless the grass.
God bless the truth that fights toward the sun!
They roll the lies over it and think that they have done.
But it moves through the ground and reaches for the air,
And after a while its growing everywhere,
God bless the grass.
God bless the grass that breaks through cement!
Its green and its tender and its easily bent.
But after a while it raises up its head,
For the grass is living but the stone is dead,
God bless the grass.
God bless the grass—its gentle and its low,
Its roots they are deep and its will is to grow.
And God bless the truth, the friend of the poor,
And the wild grass growing round the poor mans door,
God bless the grass.
God bless the grass.")
![UnReal Estate 11 - Honor the Dreamers [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PuKzauLugRA/mqdefault.jpg "UnReal Estate 11 - Honor the Dreamers [HQ]
Sung by Heather Alexander. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_unreal_estate
Lyrics:
Dreamer, your eyes are the mirrors of memory,
In them your hopes are reflections of light.
Though you must dwell in a world filled with strangers,
Your heart is exploring the cosmos each night.
Chorus:
Honor the dreamers and set them apart,
For dreamers have mastered the rarest of arts.
They spin the ideas of worlds yet to be
And weave those bright threads so that others may see.
Dreams are the beacons that guide your lifes journey
As you wing your way through the darkest of skies.
Where your visions lead you, we hasten to follow,
For we see the world through the stars in your eyes.
(Chorus)
Hold fast to dreams, they can help shape the future.
We dare to hope while our vision still gleams.
Time cannot stop us, nor sorrow defeat us—
Tomorrow belongs to all those who have dreams.
(Chorus x2)")
![Julia Ecklar - A Rose for Emily [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QLJhXVJ9G4k/mqdefault.jpg "Julia Ecklar - A Rose for Emily [HQ]
Horse-Tamers Daughter track 05. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_horse-tamers_daughter
Find more of Julia Ecklars excellent music at: https://www.prometheus-music.com/
Lyrics:
You are my love, come to me.
Let me hold you through the night.
You promised things so sweet to me;
Ill cling forever to your light.
I heard you swear youd never leave,
And that in love wed never die.
So drink of love, so bittersweet;
In our dark dreams well never cry.
You are my rose.
Bloom for me,
A rose for Emily
A rose for Emily
I touch your hand, your hair beneath my lips.
My love, I keep you always near.
I never dreamed that love could be like this,
So cold and still, but always here.
Youll never run away again, my love.
Ive kept you carefully to my side.
Your skin, once soft, though brittle now to touch,
Is still as sweet as when you died.
You are my rose.
Bloom for me,
A rose for Emily
A rose for Emily
A rose for Emily")
![Leslie Fish - Desolation Valley [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QMqKLUcETZc/mqdefault.jpg "Leslie Fish - Desolation Valley [HQ]
Firestorm track 09. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_firestorm
Find more of Leslie Fishs music at: https://lesliefish.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics:
Darling, let me in, its only me
Weve got to talk of how our lives will be
I found us two ways out of here, but I dont know which is right
Sweetheart, you got to help me choose tonight
Chorus:
I only know our loves worth fighting for
Though living isnt easy, and freedom takes much more
But while we got each other, theres somewhere we can find
To leave this Desolation Valley far behind
We cant just be good victims anymore
The law wont leave us anything but poor
So do we both go underground, that Paper Game to play,
Or head for empty country, far away?
(Chorus)
Country livings hard, and land aint cheap
Lose one crop and were in trouble deep
Wed have to barter, make, or grow everything wed own
But there, at least, we might be left alone
(Chorus)")
![Leslie Fish - The Paper Sea [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QX0Ng4lSxfA/mqdefault.jpg "Leslie Fish - The Paper Sea [HQ]
Firestorm track 06. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_firestorm
Find more of Leslie Fishs music at: https://lesliefish.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics:
I went to work for welfare in hopes to help the poor
The staff showed me a desk and introduced me to the war
They warned me that the battle started right outside the door
And they fought it on the paper sea
There were thirty social workers, forty-seven clerks,
Twenty-seven managers all gumming up the works,
Three inspectors from the legislature exercising perks
Barracudas in the paper sea
There were countless regulations, rulebooks by the score,
Explaining every policy and system tried before
The money spent on paperwork left nothing for the poor
Abandoned on the paper sea
There were seven hundred forms could be applied to every case
To account for every penny, number, name or date or place
The clerks were working overtime but never keeping pace
With the waves upon the paper sea
Why these endless papers and ministers and more?
All to guarantee there was no cheating by the poor
While for every dollar saved we spent a hundred on the chore
Of adding to the paper sea
Outside in the hallway, the poor folk had to wait
The line stretched down the block, coming early, leaving late
Maybe one poor soul per hour ever made it through the gate
Past the boundaries of the paper sea
First came in a man who didnt have a cent
I filled out twenty forms to guarantee his check was sent
By the time it reached his address he was gone for lack of rent
Well serviced by the paper sea
Next came in a mother, abandoned by her man
She said, Get me some daycare, and Ill find what work I can.
But daycare was too controversial for our family plan
We marooned her in the paper sea
As I walked in one morning, I stumbled on an arm
Attached to some poor body who had clearly come to harm
While waiting for his Medicare, his heart had bought the farm
We had drowned him in the paper sea
I told my supervisor. He said, Lets be discreet
Just sneak the body out the door and leave it on the street
And then its not our problem, but the cops out on the beat
Lets dump him in their paper sea.
I tried to make the system work, I tried to help the poor
I struggled through the paperwork and might have taken more
But thats the final straw that sent me screaming out the door
Sent me running from the paper sea
Id had it with the paper sea!")
![Jordin Kare - Callahans Bar [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QaUmd5HMVkc/mqdefault.jpg "Jordin Kare - Callahans Bar [HQ]
Fire in the Sky track 04. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_fire_in_the_sky
[book: Callahans Bar stories, Spider Robinson]
Lyrics:
There is a bar called Callahans, its really quite a place
Theres aliens there every night from every world and race
And when the puns start flying, as they do at quite a rate
Not even steel-jawed robots can quite keep their faces straight
Chorus:
Spider, oh Spider, why wont you tell us where
Callahans is hidden, and well do our drinking there
A time traveler comes in each week and buys a couple beers
Hе drinks them down, then taps his belt and promptly disappеars
Next week, same time, hes back again, still potted to the ears
Hes been on one long bender for some twenty-thousand years
(Chorus)
There is a guy with funny eyes, his name is Michael Finn
He carries quite an arsenal tucked underneath his skin
His masters had him programmed once to do the whole Earth in
And the only thing that stopped him was a glass of homemade gin
(Chorus)
A frigid-blooded methane breather wandered in one night
And announced to one and all that he was lookin for a fight
Mike said “Ill have no fighting here in any shape or form!”
And with a single mighty blow, he knocked the fellow...warm?
(Chorus)
A large grey wolf paced to the bar and ordered in a growl
Mike dusted off an old brown jug; he gave a joyful howl
One swallow and there stood a man—twas quite a trick to pull
But the liquor, it was moonshine, and the bottle, it was full
(Chorus)
Doc Webster, feeling genial, once told us of the day
He mixed chromosomes from vegetables with canine DNA
He crossed Lassie with a canteloupe. Said Mike, “So whatd you get?”
“Why, a melon-collie baby and one hell of a startled vet!”
(Chorus)")
![UnReal Estate 05 - The High Frontier [HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qy_g3KO07qc/mqdefault.jpg "UnReal Estate 05 - The High Frontier [HQ]
Sung by Mitchell Burnside Clapp. Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: https://archive.org/details/filk_unreal_estate
Lyrics:
Jake was a spacer, he was handsome, lean, and proud,
He was a triple pilot on the Earth-Moon run, aloof in the dirtside crowd.
Claire loved him for his laughter, like a boy hed shrug and grin.
His dreams were visions of the yet-to-be, away from the crowds and din.
He wrote her nearly every other watch and hoped for a regular run;
She lived in the Springs and every other day thought of going home to Mum.
But hed await the phone when they were home alone; by duty, love is clear
On the High Frontier.
Cut next to Jake in orbit, writing words then crossing out,
Shedding crumpled sheets like autumn leaves, a winter breeze of doubt.
“I need you, Claire, my darling, but I need to be here too.
I cant quit now and let my dreams fade out, so close to coming true.
“For if I leave now, with the job half through, its not been worth a damn—
This isnt only just a thing I do, its more like who I am,
And theres a queue around the block who wait for me to drop.
Can we take it for another year,
On the High Frontier?”
The last time he left her crying, angry words, then he went away.
Claire wonders where she fits into Jakes life, and she packs her things that day.
But then the phone starts ringing; she almost lets it go—
“A call for you from Luna Terminal.” With hope she says “Hello?”
“Its me, my darling, and Ive got good news; they gave me a steady run.
Well be in Luna City, and theres room for you on the next ship out but one.
Till I can be with you and watch my dreams come true, well make our future here
On the High Frontier.”
So they worked out the passions, the anger, and the tears
Save them in your memory
On the High Frontier.")
