A Havenite Ballad for your Consideration

Well, about 5 months ago I wrote some lyrics about Honor based on the old Marty Robbins' song "Big Iron". You can find the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6964&hilit=Song+BIg+Iron

So I went and did it again. this time from "Sink the Bismarck" by Johnny Horton. Took me five months to get around to it, but here it is, and with a bit of history about it.

First you probably should listen to the original, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU

And now...

History of song: It was composed by four members of the crew of Lester Tourville’s battlecruiser Count Tilly just after Harrington’s capture at Alder. Given that the crewmember’s knowledge of several battles would have exceeded what the People’s Navy would normally have told there personnel, there is speculation that members of the command crew assisted them, but this has not be proven.

The song was only performed a few times on-board and never in the presence of any State Security personnel or known informers. When Harrington was handed over to Cordelia Ransom for execution, the word came from the Command Deck that it was to be permanently shelved but rumors and occasional renditions were reported as the Count Tilly’s crew were transferred to other Havenite ships over the years.

Apparently Admiral Harrington found out about it years later after Admiral Tourville and his staff were captured after the First Battle of Manticore. Intrigued, she asked during the peace conference on Haven the following year if any copies still remained. A quick investigation by Dennis LePic found that two of the original writers were deceased and one was on duty in the Athena sector, but that the fourth was in Capital Fleet; so Commander Tami Rose, along with several of her crewmates, suddenly found themselves providing an impromptu performance for Admiral Harrington and the members of the Haven Government. After the performance, the Admiral asked if she could take a signed copy back to Manticore.

The song ended up released in the Republic and was a modest seller, and perversely did even better in Manticore and Grayson, and was a major seller in the Talbott Cluster, which was surprising since neither Harrington or any authorized Havenite combat unit had been there during the war. Proceeds were divided between Lt. Commander Rose and her surviving colleague Commander Waheed Al-Zaaki and the families of Lt. Cecil Jefferson and Lt. LaTonya Alfred


STOPPING HARRINGTON

Her name was Honor Harrington, she was from the planet Sphinx;
And for the People’s Navy, she was something of a Jinx.
No matter what our leaders did, she went and beat them all;
It’s up to us to stop her, in this we will not fall.

CHORUS: We’ll catch that Manty Commodore who’s making all the fuss;
We’ve got to stop that Harrington cause the People depend on us.
So load your missiles smartly now and spin the ship around;
We going to find that Commodore and we’re going to take her down.

Our leaders had a crafty plan to take them in the flanks;
Subverting planet Grayson with Masada in our ranks.
But first she took out Blackbird base and captured Thomas T.;
Then blew a battlecruiser up as easy as you please.

CHORUS

At Hancock Admiral Chin had ships as mighty as could be;
With only Battlecruisers to face, she knew she was home free.
But Sarnow and that Harrington were able to adapt;
So when they had to run for home, t’was Chin that was entrapped.

CHORUS

Our Admiral Thurston felt that he had made a clever plan;
To take the planet Grayson with his battleships at hand.
But damn that Honor Harrington, with SD’s in array;
She beat our ships attacking and chased the rest away.

CHORUS



And then good Admiral Tourville, he laid a cunning trap;
And into it stepped Harrington, not wise until it snapped.
We chased and beat her cruiser till it could not run away;
And then we took her prisoner and hold her to this day!

FINAL CHORUS: We got that Manty Commodore who was making all the fuss;
We’ve captured Honor Harrington for the People depend on us.
So run your Grazers out to fire and spin this ship around;
We found that Manty Commodore and then we took her down!!

Hutch wrote:Well, about 5 months ago I wrote some lyrics about Honor based on the old Marty Robbins' song "Big Iron". You can find the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6964&hilit=Song+BIg+Iron

So I went and did it again. this time from "Sink the Bismarck" by Johnny Horton. Took me five months to get around to it, but here it is, and with a bit of history about it.

First you probably should listen to the original, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU

And now...

History of song: It was composed by four members of the crew of Lester Tourville’s battlecruiser Count Tilly just after Harrington’s capture at Alder. Given that the crewmember’s knowledge of several battles would have exceeded what the People’s Navy would normally have told there personnel, there is speculation that members of the command crew assisted them, but this has not be proven.

The song was only performed a few times on-board and never in the presence of any State Security personnel or known informers. When Harrington was handed over to Cordelia Ransom for execution, the word came from the Command Deck that it was to be permanently shelved but rumors and occasional renditions were reported as the Count Tilly’s crew were transferred to other Havenite ships over the years.

Apparently Admiral Harrington found out about it years later after Admiral Tourville and his staff were captured after the First Battle of Manticore. Intrigued, she asked during the peace conference on Haven the following year if any copies still remained. A quick investigation by Dennis LePic found that two of the original writers were deceased and one was on duty in the Athena sector, but that the fourth was in Capital Fleet; so Commander Tami Rose, along with several of her crewmates, suddenly found themselves providing an impromptu performance for Admiral Harrington and the members of the Haven Government. After the performance, the Admiral asked if she could take a signed copy back to Manticore.

The song ended up released in the Republic and was a modest seller, and perversely did even better in Manticore and Grayson, and was a major seller in the Talbott Cluster, which was surprising since neither Harrington or any authorized Havenite combat unit had been there during the war. Proceeds were divided between Lt. Commander Rose and her surviving colleague Commander Waheed Al-Zaaki and the families of Lt. Cecil Jefferson and Lt. LaTonya Alfred


STOPPING HARRINGTON

Her name was Honor Harrington, she was from the planet Sphinx;
And for the People’s Navy, she was something of a Jinx.
No matter what our leaders did, she went and beat them all;
It’s up to us to stop her, in this we will not fall.

CHORUS: We’ll catch that Manty Commodore who’s making all the fuss;
We’ve got to stop that Harrington cause the People depend on us.
So load your missiles smartly now and spin the ship around;
We going to find that Commodore and we’re going to take her down.

Our leaders had a crafty plan to take them in the flanks;
Subverting planet Grayson with Masada in our ranks.
But first she took out Blackbird base and captured Thomas T.;
Then blew a battlecruiser up as easy as you please.

CHORUS

At Hancock Admiral Chin had ships as mighty as could be;
With only Battlecruisers to face, she knew she was home free.
But Sarnow and that Harrington were able to adapt;
So when they had to run for home, t’was Chin that was entrapped.

CHORUS

Our Admiral Thurston felt that he had made a clever plan;
To take the planet Grayson with his battleships at hand.
But damn that Honor Harrington, with SD’s in array;
She beat our ships attacking and chased the rest away.

CHORUS



And then good Admiral Tourville, he laid a cunning trap;
And into it stepped Harrington, not wise until it snapped.
We chased and beat her cruiser till it could not run away;
And then we took her prisoner and hold her to this day!

FINAL CHORUS: We got that Manty Commodore who was making all the fuss;
We’ve captured Honor Harrington for the People depend on us.
So run your Grazers out to fire and spin this ship around;
We found that Manty Commodore and then we took her down!!

Hutch, again I looove this. BUT... I hope you don't mind that in his excitement a very green critter sittin' on my shoulder wants to quill a response from the Manty angle.

Fine?

cthia wrote: Hutch, again I looove this. BUT... I hope you don't mind that in his excitement a very green critter sittin' on my shoulder wants to quill a response from the Manty angle.

Fine?

OK by me. I don't own copyright or anything like that.

Priceless Hutch. And Rose wasn't the first to post here either

Somtaaw wrote::lol:

Priceless Hutch. And Rose wasn't the first to post here either

I presume that rose is busy with studies there in Scotland (IIRC) and will be checking in now and then. I hope she likes it.

Sink the Tepes: A Manticoran response

In 1911 PD, the war had just begun
The People had the biggest ship,they had the tubes and guns
The Tepes was the finest ship to fight war for the Peeps,
on her sides were tubes like 'puma's paws and missiles big as trees

Out of the stars one dreary night came the Prince Adrian
And at her helm was McKeon and Lady Harrington
They had to do their duty, they had to stop the Peeps
before the Havenite Navy could sink their mighty fleet

Chorus

We'll find that Havenite cruiser that's making such a fuss
we've got to sink the Tepes for Our Lady 'pends on us
So rally now for Manticore, we'll spin the wedge around;
we're gonna take the Tepes and then we'll cut her down.

Prince Adrian was ambushed, and on that fatal day
The Havenites were firing from many k's away
"For Manticore and Harrington!" was the battle sound
But Adrian surrendered and they took our Honor down.

They treated us with honor first, for that it can be sure
Foraker and Tourvile were honorable and pure
But Tepes found Tom Theisman, and Ransom gave the word,
The Manties were her prisoners, and Harrington was hers

We'll blast that Havenite cruiser that's making such a fuss
we've got to sink the Tepes for Our Lady 'pends on us
So rally now for Manticore, we'll spin the wedge around;
we're gonna take the Tepes and then we'll cut her down.

We don't know how they tortured her, and nor do we know why
but whispers spread among our men, "That Ransom, she must die"
"We have a solemn duty, boys, about it let us be,
We've gotta sink the Tepes and set our Honor free."

Ol' Harkness he defected away to that Ransom's side
And ne'er did she suspect that he was planning her demise,
He hacked and jammed their coms and with charges stowed away
Our Chief PO set off a bomb that rocked Tepes' bay

We'll blast that Havenite cruiser that's making such a fuss
we've got to sink the Tepes for Our Lady 'pends on us
So rally now for Manticore, we'll spin the wedge around;
we're gonna take the Tepes and then we'll cut her down.

We saved Honor and Nimitz too, and made our getaway
Though Peep redshirts pursued us we put them in dismay,
Ransom cried out in anger, but she had no way to know,
That her humble defector had struck a fatal blow.

The pinnace wedge was readied and our shuttles took off fast
An explosion struck through Tepes, we knew she couldn't last
That Ransom and her StateSec ship are just a memory,
"Sink the Tepes" was the battle cry that tore apart the Peeps

We blew apart that Hav'nite ship, twas making such a fuss
We had to go kill Ransom 'cause our Honor needed us
We set the charges carefully, and struck ol' StateSec 'round
We escaped the mighty Tepes, and then we cut her down.

Hutch wrote:Well, about 5 months ago I wrote some lyrics about Honor based on the old Marty Robbins' song "Big Iron". You can find the thread here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6964&hilit=Song+BIg+Iron

So I went and did it again. this time from "Sink the Bismarck" by Johnny Horton. Took me five months to get around to it, but here it is, and with a bit of history about it.

First you probably should listen to the original, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU

And now...

History of song: It was composed by four members of the crew of Lester Tourville’s battlecruiser Count Tilly just after Harrington’s capture at Alder. Given that the crewmember’s knowledge of several battles would have exceeded what the People’s Navy would normally have told there personnel, there is speculation that members of the command crew assisted them, but this has not be proven.

The song was only performed a few times on-board and never in the presence of any State Security personnel or known informers. When Harrington was handed over to Cordelia Ransom for execution, the word came from the Command Deck that it was to be permanently shelved but rumors and occasional renditions were reported as the Count Tilly’s crew were transferred to other Havenite ships over the years.

Apparently Admiral Harrington found out about it years later after Admiral Tourville and his staff were captured after the First Battle of Manticore. Intrigued, she asked during the peace conference on Haven the following year if any copies still remained. A quick investigation by Dennis LePic found that two of the original writers were deceased and one was on duty in the Athena sector, but that the fourth was in Capital Fleet; so Commander Tami Rose, along with several of her crewmates, suddenly found themselves providing an impromptu performance for Admiral Harrington and the members of the Haven Government. After the performance, the Admiral asked if she could take a signed copy back to Manticore.

The song ended up released in the Republic and was a modest seller, and perversely did even better in Manticore and Grayson, and was a major seller in the Talbott Cluster, which was surprising since neither Harrington or any authorized Havenite combat unit had been there during the war. Proceeds were divided between Lt. Commander Rose and her surviving colleague Commander Waheed Al-Zaaki and the families of Lt. Cecil Jefferson and Lt. LaTonya Alfred


STOPPING HARRINGTON

Her name was Honor Harrington, she was from the planet Sphinx;
And for the People’s Navy, she was something of a Jinx.
No matter what our leaders did, she went and beat them all;
It’s up to us to stop her, in this we will not fall.

CHORUS: We’ll catch that Manty Commodore who’s making all the fuss;
We’ve got to stop that Harrington cause the People depend on us.
So load your missiles smartly now and spin the ship around;
We going to find that Commodore and we’re going to take her down.

Our leaders had a crafty plan to take them in the flanks;
Subverting planet Grayson with Masada in our ranks.
But first she took out Blackbird base and captured Thomas T.;
Then blew a battlecruiser up as easy as you please.

CHORUS

At Hancock Admiral Chin had ships as mighty as could be;
With only Battlecruisers to face, she knew she was home free.
But Sarnow and that Harrington were able to adapt;
So when they had to run for home, t’was Chin that was entrapped.

CHORUS

Our Admiral Thurston felt that he had made a clever plan;
To take the planet Grayson with his battleships at hand.
But damn that Honor Harrington, with SD’s in array;
She beat our ships attacking and chased the rest away.

CHORUS



And then good Admiral Tourville, he laid a cunning trap;
And into it stepped Harrington, not wise until it snapped.
We chased and beat her cruiser till it could not run away;
And then we took her prisoner and hold her to this day!

FINAL CHORUS: We got that Manty Commodore who was making all the fuss;
We’ve captured Honor Harrington for the People depend on us.
So run your Grazers out to fire and spin this ship around;
We found that Manty Commodore and then we took her down!!

Would it work for the history part if there's been persistent legends that Shannon Foraker herself was involved in writing it?
Shannon could be the command crew member.
To this day, Admiral Foraker denys such stories, saying "I was too busy being Admiral Tourville's ops officer and staying out of the hands of StateSec's thugs to help. I know nothing." However, no one really believes her. Attempts to find out more resulted in threats of being hacked, so we strongly suspect she was involved.

Honor has tried to question her about it, but Shannon's being protected by Sonja Hemphill and staff, as she and Sonja are busy, and the staff makes sure Shannon and Sonja don't have to go to meetings they don't want to go to (Shannon doesn't want to talk about some things that happened pre-flag rank, like Silesia on Vaubon, as well as some other incidents).

If you pick someone else as the alleged command crew member, I might write them something like this.