The Songs of the Kuglimz

KUGLIMZ LOVE SONG
TRANSLATED LOOSELY BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

(A song for weddings and births from the Kuglimz lands.
When sung to celebrate a birth, the word "love" may replaced by "child".)

The world is different now
Though still the seasons run,

The world is different now
But bright still shines the sun.

And yet the world will never be the same
For today my love, into my heart, you came

The world is different now
Though boys grow into men,

The world is different now
Yet we ride forth again.

And yet the world will never be the same
For today my love, into my heart, you came.

The world is different now
Though girls to women turn,

The world is different now
Yet lessons still we learn.

And yet the world will never be the same
For today my love, into my heart, you came.

"Kuglimz Love Song", composed and performed by Bard Judith, lyrics by Alysse
Format: MP3, Length: 1:46. Original Santharian Work
Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (1.02 MB).

WHERE DO THE CHILDREN GO?
BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

This is a song about life cycles as seen in the Kuglimz culture. As often is the case in Kuglimz tradition, this song conveys are rather simple idea, yet is striking and true in its simplicity and evoking deep feelings.

Where do the children go?
Where do the children go?

They women become*
Or grow to be men*

Where do the young girls go?
Where do the young girls go?

They follow the boys…
They follow the boys

Where do the young boys go?
Where do the young boys go?

They follow the wars…
They follow the wars

And their bodies lie in graves
And their bodies lie in graves

And the women bring their children to them.
____________________

* literally, have “shed the blood”, which signifies adult status for male or females

Where Do the Children Go?

"Where Do the Children Go?", composed and performed by Alysse the Likely
Format: MP3, Length: 1:21. Original Santharian Work
Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (1.24 MB).

BELOVED
BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

A Kuglimz lament, translated from the Kuglimz by Alysse the Likely and F'ash the Archivist.

Oh my beloved
Our promises are broken
You have left me; gone where
I cannot follow - I cannot follow…
Beloved.

Now I must go on
Bereft past any comfort
And wait on Lier’tyan
To send me after - to send me after…
Beloved.

And when Jav'eir’s wings
Have shadowed my vision
I’ll welcome the darkness
To show me your face - to show me your face…
Beloved.

	"Beloved", lyrics written and sung by Alysse the Likely, technical assistance by Macar. Format: MP3, Length: 1:16. Original Santharian Work. Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (1.17 MB).

THE CANCU SHEEP ARE GONE
BY ALTARIO SHIALT-ECK-GORRIN

There is a song that the shepherds of the Cancu sheep sing in Kuglimz culture, a shepherds' ditty. No one knows the origins of the song, only that it has been around as long as there have been shepherds of sheep.

The cancu sheep have all run off,
the cancu sheep are gone,
Look in the valley, comb the hills,
the cancu sheep are gone,
Go pray you find them, pray they're safe,
the cancu sheep are gone,
Look at the ground boy, search the tracks,
the cancu sheep are gone,
The great bear hunts, the great bear eats,
the cancu sheep are gone.

Why have you slept, what have you done?
the cancu sheep are gone,
Now we'll be hungry, we shall starve
the cancu sheep are gone,
Your mother cries, your father shouts,
the cancu sheep are gone,
Go grab your arrows, grab your bow,
the cancu sheep are gone,
Tonight we’ll feast, on rich bear meat,
the cancu sheep are gone.

Variations: The most common way to sing this song of the shepherds is alone while tending the flocks. However, it has grown in popularity and is often sang at gatherings where a lead singer sings the main lines, while the crowd joins in with "The Cancu sheep are gone!", often becoming very loud and jubilant with their voices.

The song was brought to us by Alysse the Likely, who is a member of the Fal’cone people of the Kuglimz’ura (“Plain Tribes”). A very private people, very little is known of their culture, and to get this simple song was quite a coup.

KUGLIM LAMENT FOR A FIRSTBORN CHILD
BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

The grief that splits a parent’s soul
Is of all loss the most forlorn,
An anguish far too deep for tears
to ease the death of my firstborn.

To lay a babe in earth’s embrace
No mother should be made to do,
Nor father yet; to Jav’eir’s wings
We should have passed long before you.

My womb, my arms, my heart; all grieve
For each in turn therein held you,
And emptiness they now contain.
With every morn, I mourn anew.

KUGLIM WAR SONG
TRANSLATED LOOSELY BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

(This is a song sung to remember those who have died in battle.
If honouring a specific person, sometimes his name or title may
replace "the Kuglimz" in the second line of each verse, i.e.
"And Mari'ak rides his kev'lor again", except for the last two verses.)

The war cry thunders out across the plain
And the Kuglimz ride the kev'lor again.

The war cry thunders out across the plain,
And the Kuglimz ride the kev'lor again.

Ride the kev'lor, ride the kev'lor
Ride the kev'lor again.

The enemy comes riding out across the plain
And the Kuglimz draw their weapons again.

Draw their weapons, draw their weapons
Draw their weapons again.

The armies meet in war out across the plain
And the Kuglimz fight their battles again.

Fight their battles, fight their battles
Fight their battles again.

The defeated foes flee out across the plain
And the Kuglimz return homewards again.

Return homewards, return homewards
Return homewards again.

And when the Jav’veir(*) comes out across the plain
The Kuglimz grieve their dead again.

Grieve their dead, grieve their dead
Grieve their dead again.
____________________________________________________
(*) The Jav'veir is the northern corbie, the Kuglimz "death bird",
and it plays a crucial role in their mourning rituals.

MY HEART FOR YOU
TRANSLATED LOOSELY BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

"My Heart for You" is a Kuglim love song Alysse brought to New-Santhala from the north, expressing once more how interwoven the Kuglimz people are with nature and their will to defend their lands and how love has an important place in their style of life.

My heart for you is written on the sky
You’ll see it in the clouds before a storm
Or when Ineira's rays are at their height
When black night comes, my love will keep you warm
Will keep you warm.

My heart for you with injóh bird will sing
You’ll hear it in the Kev’lor’s triumph cry
In clash of steel on steel, its strength will ring
Or in the breezes whispering by
Whispering by.

My heart for you is found in babe’s sweet clasp
You’ll feel it on your skin in nul’tum fur
Or on your hands when horse’s reins you grasp
And through your hair when zephyrs stir
When zephyrs stir.

"My Heart for You", composed and performed by Alysse the Likely
Format: MP3, Length: 1:35. Original Santharian Work
Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (1.46 MB).

SONG OF THE HOMELAND
BY ALYSSE THE LIKELY

When I was small
I used to see
Great jagged mountains, snowy manes becurled,
And I would dream
they were the crests
Of ancient dragon bodies turned to stone,
And though they slept,
someday they’d rise
And burn their presence through my mind.

Now I am grown
I only see
Great even buildings, smoke wreaths 'round them furled,
The dragons sleep
They never woke
I thought my soul could learn to be its own,
But in my dreams
they haunt me yet,
They’ve burned their presence through my mind.

SONG OF MAN
BY DROGO

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the babes cry
let the babes wail
they only know time.

Let the babes feed
let the babes gurgle
they only know time.

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the boys grow
let the boys flirt
they only know the present.

Let the boys test
Let the boys brag
they only know the present.

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the men drink
let the men fight
they only know despair.

Let the men war
let the men die
they only know despair.

SONG OF WOMAN
BY DROGO

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the babes cry
let the babes wail
they only know time.

Let the babes feed
let the babes gurgle
they only know time.

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the girls play
let the girls smile
they only know the present

Let the girls learn
let the girls listen
they only know the present

All mother
all lover
of us all.

Let the women work
let the women care
they only know to nurture.

Let the women heal
let the women birth
they only know to nurture.

THE CALL OF SURIAN
BY DROGO

The call of Surian
bids the Kuglimz awaken
from the night Gouran has wrought.

Blissful ignorance
destroyed with insistence
by the knowledge the elves have sought.

Unnamed things awoken
for the price of a token
by the greed the dwarves have brought.

The call of Surian
bids the Kuglimz awaken
from the night Gouran has wrought.

The seeds of time have been sown
and the end of all known
by the change men fear not.

Tears of blood splattered
on ground that’s been shattered
by the war orcs have fought.

The call of Surian
bids the Kuglimz awaken
from the night Gouran has wrought.

	"The Call of Surian", composed and performed by Wren, lyrics by Drogo Format: MP3, Length: 0:52. Click here to download the song, use right-click and "Save as..." (827 KB).