21 December 2022
Songs are difficult to write. I’m also not really a fan of how on-the-nose this one is. That’s one thing I appreciated of Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days; the magic wasn’t from the words, but more how they made someone feel, if I understand it right. Still, this works well enough for a first draft.
It was some time later when, from the alley where she’d tucked herself away, Naomi heard a song. It was distant, at first, but seemed to be getting closer; a jaunty tune that invited the listener to jump up and join the dance. Not that Naomi felt like dancing just then.
Soon, it had gotten close enough she could recognize Pietr’s voice, and then the words he was singing:
“Ah, rout-tout, diddly di,
Rout-tout, do.
In for a penny, in for a pound,
Come, ye rats, and gather ‘round.
There’s many a place to rest your head,
But none here in this town.
A plate full of bread, a bowl full of cheese
Come eat with us, whate’er ye please…”
Naomi struggled to pin down why, but something about the song unnerved her.
Compiled version (potentially including unposted content)