Repertoire, Lore, and Tavern Evidence
Recorded songs from Faban’s working repertoire, with local lyrics and audio where available.
Preface
Preface
Songs are lighter than steel and yet they travel farther than any blade ever could. A sword may win a battle, but a song remembers why it was fought.
I have walked many roads in my years, from warm taverns bright with laughter to cold passes where only the wind keeps company. Along those roads I learned that people remember their world through stories set to music. The brave are remembered in ballads, the foolish in tavern jests, and the broken in quiet laments sung after the fire burns low.
Some songs in this book were born in celebration. Some were written so the fallen would not be forgotten. Others are warnings disguised as humor, or truths that can only be spoken safely when carried on a melody.
A bard’s duty is not merely to entertain, but to remember.
If you sing these songs, sing them loudly when the room is bright and boldly when the truth must be heard. But when you sing them softly, remember those who walked the road before you.
For every road is long, every story unfinished, and every lantern burns so that someone may find their way home.
— Faban Colon, Bard of the Open Road
Comic tavern song
A ridiculous tale of a dragon whose singing voice is so terrible that it terrifies villages more than its fire ever could.
fiddle lute / acoustic guitar tin whistle bodhrán or frame drum accordion tavern crowd stomping/clapping
3/4 tavern jig
The story of Sally, whose cheerful spirit and refusal to surrender to gloom turns every misfortune into a reason to celebrate life.
fiddle (lead) tin whistle lute bodhrán (light) tavern chorus
Traditional sea shanty
A rollicking drinking song celebrating the reckless joy of sailors who find courage and camaraderie at the bottom of a rum barrel.
Lute or bouzouki Fiddle Bodhrán / tavern drum Hand claps Crowd vocals on chorus
Bawdy drinking song
A legendary tavern woman with a wooden leg who outdrinks, outdances, and outwits every challenger foolish enough to test her.
fiddle (fast and playful) accordion or whistle bodhrán / tavern drum stomping table percussion large crowd chorus
Political cautionary ballad
A warning tale about a noble whose pact and ambition unleashed forces beyond control.
Lute Low fiddle Frame drum Cello or hurdy-gurdy drone Male bard vocal
Satirical tavern folk song
A mocking tale of a boastful noble who hires heroes to fight his monsters and then proudly claims their victories as his own.
Clever Tavern folk song
A quick-thinking bard challenges a disguised devil to a singing contest and wins by singing of love, hope, and human joy - things the devil cannot match.
Whimsical folk dance
A lighthearted celebration of the mysterious fair folk, whose laughter and mischief fill moonlit glades and forest clearings.
harp tin whistle fiddle bells / glockenspiel light bodhrán
Folk warning song
A cheerful but cautionary tale warning travelers that stepping into a fairy ring may carry them to strange lands from which they may never return.
fiddle (lead) wooden flute lute bodhrán tambourine light chorus
Lively cosmic jig
A mythic tale describing how the wisdom of the stars and the spirit of the wild plains gave birth to the centaur race.
harp cello flute soft choir quiet lute
Orc war chant
A battle anthem recounting the fearless deeds of the warrior Urgan, whose courage carried him through countless battles.
war drum / marching drum low horns male choir
Quiet reflective bardic ballad
A somber reflection on the illusion of victory, honoring the forgotten valor of the enemy and exposing the quiet sins of the victors that time chooses to forget.
Shore ballad
The story of Paramon's defenders who stood firm against a corrupted sea guardian and the unnatural tide that threatened their home.
lute fiddle bodhrán / frame drum low horns (light) background male chorus
Epic heroic ballad
The legendary stand of a small band of warriors who held a mountain pass against overwhelming evil so that the realm might survive.
Dwarven lament
A somber remembrance of the miners of Karadum who vanished beneath the mountain they loved and labored within.
lute or acoustic guitar low fiddle cello or viola drone distant choir pad soft frame drum (very subtle)
Tragic historical ballad
A sorrowful tale of two armies from the same people who slaughtered one another at Flintrock for the pride of their kings.
Dark sea shanty
A haunting maritime tale of the ship Emerald Eel and her doomed encounter with the cursed phantom vessel known as the Donny Bell.
accordion or concertina fiddle bodhrán / frame drum acoustic guitar or lute
Rowdy tavern call-and-response
A wildly exaggerated tavern tale about the legendary ranger and the remarkable effectiveness of his mighty stick.
A stomp-and-clap tavern chant
Theological epic ballad
The tale of the goddess Mihira, whose blind justice was forever changed when war and love forced her to see the world she judged.
deep cello lute low choir frame drum subtle horns
Epic chronicle
A sweeping history of the ages describing the fall of dragonkind and the rise of mortal civilization and its dangerous ambitions.
lute fiddle low choir bodhrán cello drone
Reflective philosophical ballad
A solemn meditation on the burden of guarding dangerous truths and the lonely responsibility of those who choose silence for the sake of others.
lute or acoustic guitar cello or viola drone soft harp
Lament
The story of Queen Mary of Whisper Vale, whose quiet strength guides her kingdom after the assassination of her beloved king.
harp (slow arpeggios) cello (low sustained tones) flute (high lament line) very light frame drum
Reflective bardic ballad
A deeply personal song in which the bard recounts a moment of absolute choice, choosing not to wield a hidden power and bearing the quiet cost of that decision alone.
Fellowship tavern ballad
A tribute to the bonds of friendship and loyalty between companions who face hardship and adventure together.
Traveling ballad
A comforting song reminding wanderers that no matter how far they travel, they carry the companionship of others with them.
-lute acoustic guitar soft fiddle tin whistle
Romantic wedding ballad
A beloved love song promising that no matter how long the road or how dark the night, love will always light the way home.
lute or acoustic guitar soft fiddle light harp
