Sept/Oct Challenge-Music (entry): I've Got Captain Jean Luc Picard's Head In A Box

[Robert Bruce Scott]

I had to sort through a rather large pile of Star Trek related songs I've published over the past several years - most of them with my classical/world/pop ensemble, il Troubadore - Indy's 16th Century Rock Band in our guise as bom wi' pu' - the 24th Century Klingon Music Project.

I formed il Troubadore in 2004 with cellist Jon Silpayamanant to play classical programs and we evolved into a rock band. In 2009, we released our first studio album, Black Cauldron, at Con Nooga in Chattanooga, TN. Which included two tracks in Klingon - one of which, our cover of "Yiah Ja Kay Oh" (the Klingon Victory Song from the STNG episode Birthright) went viral and earned us an entry in Klingon Wiki.

Our 3rd studio release (dedicated to Klingon music and related songs), Songs From The Empire - Ridged For Your Pleasure, earned us another Klingon Wiki mention for our cover of "Qoy qeliiS" (The Warrior's Anthem from the DS9 episode Soldiers of the Empire.)

I'm not submitting any of those songs as I don't own them, and the performances are jointly owned with my partners in il Troubadore. If you're interested, let me know and I'll provide links to them.

For this challenge, I'm submitting a song from my 2018 solo album, The Big Day. The performance below is from my solo tour to promote that album. The song includes several musical references from STNG, DS9 and ST the Motion Picture (a list follows the lyrics.) The lyrics follow.

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I've Got Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Head In A Box (copyright 2017 - Robert Bruce Scott)

I've got Captain Jean-Luc Picard's head in a box
And he sings strange lullabies
And he utters vague platitudes, and he cries like a zombie
And his haunted eyes, his haunted eyes remain shut until he says:
ENGAGE!

I've got Captain Jean-Luc Picard's head in a box
He plays hymns on some alien penny-whistle flute
And he mutters vague orders, and he cries like a zombie
And his haunted eyes, his haunted eyes remain shut until he says:
MAKE IT SO!

I've got Bill Nye the Science Guy's head in a box
And he belts out old progressive rock lyrics
And he mumbles strange equations, and he cries like a zombie
And his haunted eyes, his haunted eyes remain shut until he says:
DARE I SAY IT?? SAVE THE WORLD!!!

I've got Captain Jean-Luc Picard's head in a box
And he mangles Klingon drinking songs
And he curses softly in French, and he cries like a zombie
And his haunted eyes, his haunted eyes remain shut until he says:
SHUT UP WESLEY!!!

Musical references:
TOS – Incidental
TOS - Transporter Noise
STNG - Opening
STNG The Inner Light – Ressikan Flute melody
TOS – Closing
TOS – Incidental
ST TMP – Klingon Hunting Theme
STNG Birthright – Victory Song
DS9 Soldiers of the Empire – Warrior’s Anthem (first introduced in the video game ST: Klingons 1996)
STNG - Opening

Thanks!! rbs

 

[ColdFusion180]

A true writer of song and story! A unique, creative touch. Good work.

 

[Hawku]

Haha, this is brilliant. Awesome!

 

[CeJay]

Don't think I've ever seen an actual song being included in these challenges. Impressive. You, sir, are a talented SOB.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Thanks all for the kind words!

Don't think I've ever seen an actual song being included in these challenges

Not sure if it counts as I wrote it a few years ago. Thanks!! rbs

 

[Count Zero]

Very creative.
I was just researching Klingon songs for a vague story idea I had and stumbled upon il Troubadoure on YouTube. Small world.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Very creative.
I was just researching Klingon songs for a vague story idea I had and stumbled upon il Troubadoure on YouTube....

Surprisingly few bands perform in phonetically correct thlingn Hol (Klingon). I don't know of any others active in the U.S. and only one in Europe. There is a heavy metal band, Stovokor, who perform in klinglish... but it's not actually the language - just similar sounds.

Oddly, Klingon isn't the first sci-fi/fantasy language I learned to sing in - the first was Fremen. I created a version of Inama Nushif (sci-fi Channel's Children of Dune) for my 32-string Celtic harp. It's been a while, but I've also performed in Quenya and Sindaran. We also have a few songs in Huttese and Ewok. Jon actually sings in Chirriwook (the Wookiee language - yes - there actually is one...) Here's a link if you're interested:

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Thanks!! rbs