New Song

Originally posted by catsittingstill at New Song

So last week I won a copy of Cat Valente's second fairyland book.

To prepare, I bought a copy of the first one, which is called _The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making_. I had heard this one spoken of highly but hadn't gotten to it yet, and sometimes sequels are hard to understand when you haven't read the first book.

And, well, the characters in the first book are pretty cool. Actually I think "compelling" would not be excessive as a description. But one in particular stuck in my mind. So this is for my Very Favorite Character in that book.

The Wyverary
lyrics and melody by Cat Faber 2012
mp3 and pdf sheet music

    Dm                         Gm 
My mother was a wyvern and my father was a library 
    Dm                             Am
And in his halls and carrels I discovered home indeed
    Dm                                Gm 
My wings were not my own to use, but father said a scholar 
         Dm                             A7               Dm
Finds a truer freedom elsewhere and he taught me how to read.
    Dm                               Gm
My father said a dilettante knows a just bit of everything 
     Dm                                  Am
But some folks choose to specialize; do one thing very well;
     Dm                     Gm
The whole encyclopedia was more than I could manage 
      Dm                           A7               Dm
So I memorized a section and they call me A Through L.

   Dm                 Bb
   I am a wyverary, crimson-scaled and big and scary
    Dm              F                 C                  Am A
   Where I flex my talons, there the sod will split and curl
   Dm               Bb
   I am a wyverary, I'm completely ordinary
    Dm                F          C     F      Dm
   You are quite extraordinary, little human girl

My mother being widowed by a false marauding realtor,
My sibs and I decided we must go our separate ways.
M through S a governess and T through Z a soldier 
But in me the love of knowledge is an unrelenting blaze.
Books have been the treasure I was hatched to hold and cherish
I love to read their pages, see them ranked upon the shelf.
In the city Pandemonium, my grandfather is waiting
The Municipal Great Library of Fairyland Itself.

I hope he will accept me and will love me as a grandson
And will teach me to become a real librarian some day;
Since you and I must journey to a common destination,
I suggest we band together for protection on the way.
I've never seen a human; I supposed you would be bigger
But human starts with H so I have read about you.  We've
Been frightened by the stories of your wild ungoverned hearts,
But one must be a little frightening to be splendid, I believe.

This song can also be found at my website, www.hwaet.org.