The Felding Song

    (Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean)

    The Felding song commemorates most of the people who have ever been members of Felding. Each person is given a verse which relates some incident or personal characteristic for which they were known. A Felding does not get to write her own verse, meaning that some of them can be embarrassing! There is no known exact order to the verses; they are, as far as we know, in chronological order, and we know that the parts from the second half are in order.

    There are two parts because of a lack of membership that nearly destroyed Felding in the 1992-1993 school year, ensuring that there would be few verses, as there were few people to write about. So the first part of this song was passed to the current Feldings in the History of 1990. The second half contains the verses that have been written since approximately 1993. Notes have been provided, where possible, to explain the meaning and origin of certain verses.

    Oh, Felding lay far to the westward,
    A peaceful place fair for to see,
    And never a knight came a-riding
    To trouble our tranquillity.

    CHORUS: Go west, go west
    Fair Felding awaits in the wilderness!
    Go west, go west
    Before we are all bored to death!
    ALTERNATE CHORUS: Go west, go west
    Fair Feldings await in the wilderness!
    Go west, go west
    Before they are all bored to death!

    At Felding, we've tall Gothic towers,
    A small waterfall and a lake,
    But even the fairest of bowers
    Seems dull when you're with your pet snake.

    (NOTE: Ki-lin had a stuffed snake named Aloysius Fairchild which she used as a draft blocker.)

    At last several maidens intrepid
    Set forth seeking mythical beasts
    And carried this gladsome report back:
    "YES! There are really men in the East!"

    That Terina illuminates pages
    Kale heard after too much to drink.
    Came her quick reply to his question,
    "I'm afraid Charles would take too much ink."

    When we hold events at Felding
    The announcements are usually late,
    But for news, any herald could tell you,
    "Just ask Kathryn-Morgan-called-Kate."

    Oh, Aquilon's name is so lilting.
    Its announcement was greeted by cheers.
    We'd all like to have names as pretty,
    But choosing hers took her two years.

    Arianwen's our champion galliarder.
    Dance practice is never a bore,
    But the lords spend less time dancing with her
    Than picking her up off the floor.

    (NOTE: She was very ticklish, and the lords liked to tickle her and see if they could catch her before she hit the floor.)

    Arianwen is skilled at embroidery
    Worked her fingers right down to the bone
    To present to our noble pursuviant
    A tabard he could call his own.

    (NOTE: No, we don't know why she gets two verses.)

    Charles, Cayle, and Taran - our protectors,
    Are the best any maiden can get,
    But we still need our Aunt to protect us
    From them, 'cause they tend to forget.

    (NOTE: Aunt [capital A] refers to Malice, who was our chaperon. Charles of the Dark forest, Cayle [pron. Kyle] of Firwood, and Taran of Windy Hill chaperoned us to and from the Senate Bus. Taran made the original Felding banner and married a Felding, Lark.)

    I say not all Feldings are happy.
    Some still have a problem or two.
    How can one be a lady of myst'ry
    When they all say, "Briavel who?"

    As Siobhan told Hawissa one morning
    As she lay on her pallet in pain,
    "I really loved learning the Sword Dance,
    But I'll never do it again!"

    (NOTE: She twisted her ankle and couldn't dance for weeks. Siobhan and Hawissa came as a pair. They are not the same people as Siubhan and Melissa [Radegund]!)

    The following verse is never to be sung in public without Evonn's express permission.

    Oh, Evonn's first event was momentous;
    Her foot-racing fame's sure to last.
    But to spare her some maidenly blushes,
    Pray, good gentles, don't call her "fast".

    Valrada's our favorite recruiter,
    The best that fair Felding will see.
    She gathers the mundanes about her
    And adds to our glad company.

    Lest a maiden should ever feel slighted
    Eliana supplies a recourse
    As Guildmistress for Love(s) Unrequited
    To avoid any pangs of remorse.

    Now Rosalie's rather reclusive
    To find her's not easily done.
    Look for garb that is slightly obtrusive
    Or a bottle without its Blue Nun.

    Cynthia her first week at Felding
    Was eating her dinner one day.
    With her fingers she picked up a porkchop
    And thus she found the SCA.

    (NOTE: Cynthia loved to eat porkchops with her fingers, so in order not to offend anyone, she sat all alone in a corner to eat. Some senior (Ki-lin) took pity on this poor frosh and asked to sit with her. Cynthia explained why she was sitting alone, and the senior said that that was the fine medieval way to eat.)

    Ilaine at the Falling Leaves Tourney
    In black velvet she flirted with style.
    Though the prize was for flirting with boccie,
    Just watching she won by a mile.

    (NOTE: Ilaine wasn't actually wearing the black velvet dress, but she should have been.)

    Siobhan Margaret Helena MicCrimmon
    From off of the sofa did slip
    Drawing attention to her and her partner
    As they did embrace lip to lip.

    (NOTE: This verse was written before she became Siubhan NicCruimein; the new name just does not fit into the song's first line! The incident occurred at a post revel when she was sitting on the end of an armless sofa, attempting to kiss a young lord on the floor. She lost her balance and slid off, drawing a round of applause from the others in the room.)

    [1] Juliana's real name is Jennifer.
    [2] Siubhan's a Jennifer too.
    [3] Ianna's another Jennifer.
    [4] Bonaventura's another Jennifer.
    [5] Mirium's another Jennifer.
    [6] Cecilia's another Jennifer. (1994)
    [7] Without pseudonyms what would we do?

    (NOTE: In 1987-89, Felding somehow attracted a great many people named Jennifer. Ignore the line numbers; they are merely for reference. Lines 4 and 5 are sung with the same notes as line 3. The intended effect is to sound like a broken record. Future Feldings are encouraged to add the names of other Jennifers to this verse!)

    Guendalina's lord Charles came a-travelling
    From a kingdom 'twas far, far away.
    When longing it o'ercame their good sense
    It is said that they made the car sway.

    Our fearless leader is Radegund
    She controls dragons both fearsome and great
    Though one day another fierce dragon
    Sought hers for to be his fair mate.

    (NOTE: Radegund was often the driver of the school van that Felding would sign out to get to events. On the way to the February 1989 event, another car, or "dragon", changed lanes too quickly and rear-ended the Felding van. No injuries were sustained and a verse was born.)

    Tati Tana Tatyana Juliana
    Her name changes each time she doth speak
    But please answer just one burning question
    Pray, what shall we call you this week?

    (NOTE: The full progression is Tatiana with Tati for short, then Tatyana with Tana for short, then Jenna as short for Jennifer, then Juliana as a new SCA name. Ack!)

    We've got this unusual Felding
    With deep voice and red-bearded face
    We've welcomed Lord Kale among us
    But he still looks a bit out of place.

    (NOTE: Since Caleb Hanson works for Wellesley College's Clapp Library, he is eligible to be a member of Felding.)

    Our Emilia was a first-time autocrat
    A simple event we gave her to run
    No feast, and the site was on campus
    Then the Royals decided to come!

    (NOTE: The simple, feastless Falling Leaves Tourney turned into the Tourney for the Kingdom's Finest, with the King and Queen in attendance, a feast that had to be cooked elsewhere (part of which spoiled along the way and had to be recooked in Pomeroy), and a huge number of people! Emilia held together through it all and produced an excellent event.)

    Rebecca was at a chess tourney,
    When accosted by a tall "Christian" brute
    But unchristian he was unto her,
    And offered a ripe cloved fruit.

    (Note: Becky, on her second tourney, was given a cloved lemon by someone whose society name is Christian. She took it very well.)

    The twins, they attend every tourney,
    Smile and ignore all the boys.
    If Christian just tries to get near them...
    Be sure to beware of their "toys"!

    (Christian again. The toys refer to Erika and Leanne's [Lucia's] matching foot-long daggers)

    "Temporary Verse:"
    Now, Linda's not really a member,
    But gets a verse just 'cuz she's wierd.
    If only she'd come to more tourneys,
    She'd be to us much more endeared.

    (Note: Linda is a Rugger. She is also a science major. Nevertheless, she volunteered to have the thankless job of treasurer, and she's welcome to it!)

    There once was a Felding named Shawna,
    Who all meat did always disdain,
    She conquered those dry nasty pancakes,
    And now she is just Blinibane.

    Shawna (Muireinne) out ate a King, Master Anton of Winteroak, Earl Sir Sebastien, and a whole hoard of other people at her very first event, where there was a Blini-eating contest. Since then, only those feeling particularly swift (to run away!) dare call her Blinibane.

    Seven and thirty he asked for
    Seven and thirty she gave
    But ducats don't equal denarii
    And this fact left Lucia dismayed!

    This is the origin of Felding's involvement with I Sebastiani. Lucia was told that for Falling Leaves she would have to pay I Sebastiani 37 ducats. She said that there had been no such agreement, and the troupe proceded to make off with the gold leave and silverware from the feast. (Well, sort of.) At the next event, they were selling painted denarii, and Lucia contrived to collect 37 of them. She gave them in a pouch with suitable formality to Sebastian in front of the whole court. (She also weighted the pouch with rocks to make it look more impressive.)

    Later on that evening, during the feast, the entire troupe surrounded the table where Felding was eating and said in tones of great anger, "Lady, thirty seven ducats do not equal thirty seven denarii and ROCKS." They were about to carry off Lucia when the King demanded to know what the ruckus was about, and in tones of great pain, Sebastian said, "Five words."

    Lucia responded with, "I thought ducats equalled denarii?" in a hopeful tone. The King ruled that in payment, as she had attempted to pay the debt off, the remainder of the debt was to be payed off by Lucia becoming a member of the troupe.

    She left half the tires on the highway,
    She nearly tipped over the car,
    With Sarah all driving's exciting,
    To Fenmere it's not very far.

    Sarah had a new car which she offered to use to get six assorted Feldings (plus herself) to Fenmere for May Day. She wasn't used to the car, and they got lost for an hour and a half on our way to the event. However, true to the calling of being a Felding and therefore nearly always female, they did stop and ask directions.

    Oh Erika, she rescued Felding,
    When membership was up the creek,
    With the help of a few of our Aunties,
    Now Felding gets larger each week!

    Originally, Erika's verse was something of a place holder; she hadn't done anything that the songwriters could think of to deserve a verse, but she was about to graduate without one. Then, right before May Day at Fenmere, nearly a year after graduating, the writers realized what she had done to deserve a verse. Felding's membership was down to two, Erika and Lucia, when both of them entered their Sophomore years at Wellesley, and together with a few Felding Aunties, they managed to put Felding membership at 13 by the time Erika graduated. Not to mention that she was provost twice.

    Oh Eeeeka is called Katriana,
    And Eeeeka is Erika too,
    But Eeeeka is really just Eeeeka,
    If you squeeze her, then that's what she'll do.

    Eeeeka joined Felding when Felding already had an Erika (Erika-with-the-Provost-Verse), and the other Erika's SCAdian name was Erika! So Felding dubbed Eeeeka Eeeeka for the way she would squeek when hugged or otherwise pounced upon.

    Our Kate is steadfast in refusal
    She will not join up with this clan.
    And yet she1s been shanghaied by Felding
    So her verse now does finally scan!

    Kate spent her entire first year at Wellesley associating with Felding but loudly declaring that she was not a Felding. So we wrote her a verse about how she was the 3Friend of Felding2 which didn1t scan at all; sophomore year she gave in to the nearly-inevitable, joined Felding...and her verse scans now.

    Cecilia Peters, the Provost
    is autocrat for Falling Leaves.
    While running all over creation,
    She just has to sit down and wheeze.

    Cecilia (who is another Jennifer) is allergic to just about everything under the sun, including her own hair. So, although she autocrated two Falling Leaves to date, she1ll occasionally sit down and have an asthma attack from stress + whatever crisis has come up that1s had her running around.

    Judith Hosford is queen of recruiting,
    New Feldings get younger each year --
    She's quiet and so unassuming
    They think they have nothing to fear.

    Judith seems to be our ablest demon recruiter of freshmen Feldings; she has recruited several Feldings from High School -- one while in 11th grade and another while in 12th.

    Oh, Helen wears garb of one color
    No matter where she may be seen
    She matches the fields of fair Felding
    With a color that's called "Helen green"

    Helen was incredibly fond of a single shade of green, the shade that she used when making her garb. Since we always saw her in that color green, we named the color after her. (Later, we took to calling her Helen the Green.)

    Thorgedr is known for her wisdom
    In matters pertaining to ranks.
    When offered positions of power
    Her answer is always "No thanks!"

    Thorgedr joined Felding in her first year, and her calm demeanor always put her at the top of everyone's minds when the end of the year and the time for elections rolled around. However, being a sensible maiden, she made it perfectly clear to the rest of Felding that she would refuse any rank she was elected to, and continued in this fashion all the way to graduation.

    "Temporary Verse"
    Micaela went on as Clarice
    Defending "her" love in a fight
    In practice acquired much bruising
    When learning to throw "punches" right.

    Micaela was perfroming as Clarice with I Sebastiani and at one point, she had to throw herself on top of Pantalone to defend her love, who was about to get thrashed for doing something stupid. One evening, while practicing stage fighting, she landed wrong and got some very livid bruises on her knees and shins.

    The Bastard Verses (About the Friends of Felding)

    Fernando's well-known for his prowess
    He wins all the tourneys with ease.
    He's won jewels and weapons and helmets
    And three pounds of very good cheese!

    Since Johan's first visit to Felding
    He's pitied our grave poverty
    And devotes both his time and his efforts
    To spreading his own Charity.

    (NOTE: "Charity" was Johan's cloak, which he would willingly share with cold Feldings.)

    Oh Sigismund is now adopted
    A verse will be his awful fate
    So that it will be e'er remembered
    That he is the same age as Kate.

    Sigismund was once asked how old he was, for no reason whatsoever, really! After a few tries, he got it right and was handed a beer. Later, Kate (Fenice) was asked how old she was, and correctly responded, "The same age as Sigismund."
    Siggy's an erstwhile supporter
    Of Felding from long long ago.
    The sewing machine was a blessing;
    If only it really would sew!

    (Note: It is an OLD sewing machine. Old enough to be period)

    Those are the complete and total verses as of April 20, 1998. But of course, there's always room for one more, and there are plenty of Feldings out and about now, ready to earn their verses...
    Last updated: May 5, 2000
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