From: Daibhid Cheinnedelh
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: [I] Filk and Farewell (again)
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 19:24:10 GMT


A year since I last used that header, it looks like it could be 
permanent now. Here for your delecation is my latest filk. I'm *really* 
proud of this one, I hope you don't object too much to the rhyme in the 
chorus (you'll know which one)

The Day The Helits Died

Sixteen years ago
But I can still remember
As though it were tomorrow
That having some humanity
In my domain made me happy
Although I knew that it could lead to sorrow

But then I had to swing the scythe
They didn't want eternal life
Their time had to end
Lost on Dead Man's Bend
I can't remember if I lied
When I said Mort's glass was not a guide
But something touched me deep inside
The day the Helits died

So bye-bye, Death of Rats and Bink-ie [1]
Wasn't gettin' no forgettin' so I went somewhere dry
The Great Nef where I though I could try
Sayin' what's it all about then and why?
What's it all about then and why?

Do you know how it would feel
A memory like a clickie reel
The whole of history just so?
Do you beleive in cosmic fate
I'm it and it's not so great
And if you knew it all would you say no?

Well, I knew I was getting upset
When I asked Albert how to forget
I needed some relief
For dealing with my grief
I was an anthropomorphic skeleton
With a mortal psyche I thought had gone
But back came Bill Door's emotion
The day the Helits died

I was singin'
Bye-bye, Death of Rats and Bink-ie
Wasn't gettin' no forgettin' so I went somewhere dry
The Great Nef where I though I could try
Sayin' what's it all about then and why?
What's it all about then and why?

Now for ten years Susan was at school
Learning about the mortal rules
But that's not how things need to be
When Buddy sang at the Mended Drum
She knew it meant his time had come
And severing the thread was destiny

Oh but when the axe was halfway thrown
The giutar showed a mind of its own
The music swelled around
And posessed the entire crowd
And while Susan took my ordained task
I fought D'regs in a desert pass
And music filled up Buddy's glass
The day he should have died

I was singin'
Bye-bye, Death of Rats and Bink-ie
Wasn't gettin' no forgettin' so I went somewhere dry
The Great Nef where I though I could try
Sayin' what's it all about then and why?
What's it all about then and why?

Distressed, distraught
Susan want for a short
Trip back in time to the end of Mort
To ask me for my advice
She thought of me as quite human
But that was after Reaper Man
Then I was always right but rarely nice

Now the domain's air was deathly still
As I looked at her with eyes that chill
She said she could do more
But there has to be a law!
She thought the law could be repealed
The Duty would not let me yield
But my unique memory revealed
The day the Helits dies

I'd start singin'
Bye-bye, Death of Rats and Bink-ie
Wasn't gettin' no forgettin' so I went somewhere dry
The Great Nef where I though I could try
Sayin' what's it all about then and why?
What's it all about then and why?

And there she was trapped in my place
Facing a force from outside space
A music that could steal your soul
So come on, Buddy, listen to your muse
The Festival could be bad news
'Cos your death would be real rock and roll

And as I heard his song of loss
I became my own sorrows boss
Only the force of Death
Could stop that music's breath
And as the Band With Rocks In fled
To be the best by being dead
I grabbed the orang's bike and sped
To see the music die

I'd stopped singin'
Bye-bye, Death of Rats and Bink-ie
Wasn't gettin' no forgettin' so I went somewhere dry
The Great Nef where I though I could try
Sayin' what's it all about then and why?
What's it all about then and why?

I saw a girl all dressed in black
And told her that I was now back
She smiled and gave me the scythe
I held the guitar like a sword
And played on it the final chord
Although themusic stuggled and writhed
And in pure space Buddy released
A tune that could never know peace
But not a word was spoken
The instrument was broken
And the man Susan admires most
Was not music with rocks in's ghost
But headed up to the Quirm coast
The day he should have died


Dave