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Dear Jukebox Writer
Dear Jukebox writer:
Hi there! May I compliment you on either your excellent taste in music or your willingness to try something new and write fic about it, or both? In any case, I’m really looking forward to reading what you come up with.
A few things that apply to all of the songs, before I get to individual prompts:
While I certainly don’t mind if you stick close to the source, I don’t expect you to treat every line of the song as canon the way you might for a book or TV show. Original fiction inspired by the characters, situations, and themes of the song is fine by me.
On the other hand, I’m a big fan of the power of science fiction and fantasy to concretize metaphors, so if you’re listening to the song and wondering, “Is this line meant literally or figuratively? Figuratively, right?” you will make me very happy by going for the literal interpretation.
These songs are all kind of dark to one degree or another. I expect and welcome dark fic, although if your muse takes you to a warm and fluffy place instead, I wouldn’t complain.
Most of these songs are sung by men. That doesn’t mean I interpret or expect you to interpret the narrators as men! Go with what you think would make a more interesting story, not with what the singer’s voice sounds like. (Although I happen to like all the singers’ voices a lot. Yes, even Leonard Cohen.)
Bar the Door Casey - The Rumjacks
song with lyrics
The contradictions inherent in this song are right there in the title. On one hand, the ghostly narrator is trying to gain access to wherever it is that Casey is--possibly to enact bloody revenge? For what? On the other hand, they are trying to protect Casey by advising them to bar the door. Why?
Why does the narrator think that Casey might be able to find the narrator’s Mrs., and what is in that note? Does the narrator advise Casey not to wait for the tears because there will be no tears, or because Casey needs to act fast?
Anything that answers any of these questions would be great, as would the story of how Casey and the narrator’s Mrs. resist ghostly incursions and send the narrator’s poor ghost on to heaven (or hell) with emotional catharsis all around.
The Future - Leonard Cohen
song | lyrics
So this seems to be a dystopian science fiction story about someone whose precognitive abilities have unmoored them in time? Is there a specific murder they’ve foreseen--is it their own murder, or one they’re going to commit? Who said repent, and what did they mean? In general, please explain to me what this song is about, ideally while preserving as much of the weirdness as possible.
Ketzele Baroyges - Barry Sisters
song with lyrics
I would like to think that this song is addressed to an actual kitten. I would love to read about the adventures and hard times of the Jewish street cats of the criminal street cat underworld in New York in the early twentieth century. Something like The Aristocats or Oliver and Company but grittier and more Yiddish?
Lawyers Guns and Money - Warren Zevon
song with lyrics
I want the story of the waitress who is also a Russian agent! What’s her mission? Is the narrator really as innocent a dupe as they claim? (Yes is a perfectly acceptable answer.) Does she manage to make her escape and leave the narrator in the soup; does she also wind up in trouble that she needs her ingenuity to get out of; or does she come back to rescue the narrator when their dad’s lawyers, guns, and money can’t? Or some other possibility I haven’t thought of?
Road Movie to Berlin - They Might Be Giants
song | lyrics
Another “please explain to me what is going on in this song.” Are the narrator and their companion(s) damned souls trying to escape hell? But why Berlin? And what about the glass of bourbon?
You Stay Here - Richard Shindell
song with lyrics
This song focuses on the person who goes and looks for things, but I’d really like the story of the person who stays here. How do they contribute to the family’s (if it is a family) survival? What do they think of the narrator’s comings and goings, and what do they do when the tiger comes and the narrator isn’t there?
Alternatively or additionally, what about the narrator’s backstory? How do they know where there are guns hidden, and where the mines have been laid? How far can and does the person staying here trust them?
In general, I’d like know more about this family, or whatever they are, trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The obvious interpretation is that they’re a nuclear family, with a mom (who stays here) and a dad (who goes and looks for things) and their biological kids, and I wouldn’t mind reading about that, but I’d also be interested in other possible interpretations. Maybe the adults are siblings, or strangers who have become uneasy allies due to the circumstances. Maybe the kids are genetic engineering experiments escaped from the labs! Or whatever else you can think of.
I hope you find something that inspires you in this letter, but if these songs take you in a completely different direction, I’d be thrilled to read that too. Thank you, happy writing, and I hope you get a lovely story as well!
Hi there! May I compliment you on either your excellent taste in music or your willingness to try something new and write fic about it, or both? In any case, I’m really looking forward to reading what you come up with.
A few things that apply to all of the songs, before I get to individual prompts:
While I certainly don’t mind if you stick close to the source, I don’t expect you to treat every line of the song as canon the way you might for a book or TV show. Original fiction inspired by the characters, situations, and themes of the song is fine by me.
On the other hand, I’m a big fan of the power of science fiction and fantasy to concretize metaphors, so if you’re listening to the song and wondering, “Is this line meant literally or figuratively? Figuratively, right?” you will make me very happy by going for the literal interpretation.
These songs are all kind of dark to one degree or another. I expect and welcome dark fic, although if your muse takes you to a warm and fluffy place instead, I wouldn’t complain.
Most of these songs are sung by men. That doesn’t mean I interpret or expect you to interpret the narrators as men! Go with what you think would make a more interesting story, not with what the singer’s voice sounds like. (Although I happen to like all the singers’ voices a lot. Yes, even Leonard Cohen.)
Bar the Door Casey - The Rumjacks
song with lyrics
The contradictions inherent in this song are right there in the title. On one hand, the ghostly narrator is trying to gain access to wherever it is that Casey is--possibly to enact bloody revenge? For what? On the other hand, they are trying to protect Casey by advising them to bar the door. Why?
Why does the narrator think that Casey might be able to find the narrator’s Mrs., and what is in that note? Does the narrator advise Casey not to wait for the tears because there will be no tears, or because Casey needs to act fast?
Anything that answers any of these questions would be great, as would the story of how Casey and the narrator’s Mrs. resist ghostly incursions and send the narrator’s poor ghost on to heaven (or hell) with emotional catharsis all around.
The Future - Leonard Cohen
song | lyrics
So this seems to be a dystopian science fiction story about someone whose precognitive abilities have unmoored them in time? Is there a specific murder they’ve foreseen--is it their own murder, or one they’re going to commit? Who said repent, and what did they mean? In general, please explain to me what this song is about, ideally while preserving as much of the weirdness as possible.
Ketzele Baroyges - Barry Sisters
song with lyrics
I would like to think that this song is addressed to an actual kitten. I would love to read about the adventures and hard times of the Jewish street cats of the criminal street cat underworld in New York in the early twentieth century. Something like The Aristocats or Oliver and Company but grittier and more Yiddish?
Lawyers Guns and Money - Warren Zevon
song with lyrics
I want the story of the waitress who is also a Russian agent! What’s her mission? Is the narrator really as innocent a dupe as they claim? (Yes is a perfectly acceptable answer.) Does she manage to make her escape and leave the narrator in the soup; does she also wind up in trouble that she needs her ingenuity to get out of; or does she come back to rescue the narrator when their dad’s lawyers, guns, and money can’t? Or some other possibility I haven’t thought of?
Road Movie to Berlin - They Might Be Giants
song | lyrics
Another “please explain to me what is going on in this song.” Are the narrator and their companion(s) damned souls trying to escape hell? But why Berlin? And what about the glass of bourbon?
You Stay Here - Richard Shindell
song with lyrics
This song focuses on the person who goes and looks for things, but I’d really like the story of the person who stays here. How do they contribute to the family’s (if it is a family) survival? What do they think of the narrator’s comings and goings, and what do they do when the tiger comes and the narrator isn’t there?
Alternatively or additionally, what about the narrator’s backstory? How do they know where there are guns hidden, and where the mines have been laid? How far can and does the person staying here trust them?
In general, I’d like know more about this family, or whatever they are, trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The obvious interpretation is that they’re a nuclear family, with a mom (who stays here) and a dad (who goes and looks for things) and their biological kids, and I wouldn’t mind reading about that, but I’d also be interested in other possible interpretations. Maybe the adults are siblings, or strangers who have become uneasy allies due to the circumstances. Maybe the kids are genetic engineering experiments escaped from the labs! Or whatever else you can think of.
I hope you find something that inspires you in this letter, but if these songs take you in a completely different direction, I’d be thrilled to read that too. Thank you, happy writing, and I hope you get a lovely story as well!