Every year when Free Comic Book Day rolls around, I try and come up with fun new things for our patrons to enjoy. This year, our library team’s awesome Ashlynn asked if she could help with the activities and I was all like HECK YEAH BECAUSE I HAVE AN IDEA THAT’LL TAKE TIME TO DO!!! And because of her awesome assistance, I was able to do it. Yay!
So I present to you:
That’s right – I took famous songs and wrote parody lyrics to help celebrate the comics nerd in all of us.
The most time-consuming aspect was that I decided to print out the lyrics on ledger paper, cut them out, and then hand-glue the lyrics and ukulele chords to a giant pad of paper. A projector would probably have worked just as well, but it wouldn’t have worked for us during this particular event.
Here’s what it looked like in progress. I should note that I did not write this particular parody – it was written by the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl‘s Ryan North and Erica Henderson:
This took me many many hours – more than I had estimated. So when FCBD arrived, I had not practiced my ukulele enough to sound passable. Thankfully, I had the incomparably talented Badland Girls to back me up and make me sound so much better. Yay!
Aren’t we adorkable?!
We’re also showing off our favorite song: a parody of CCR’s Down on the Corner that’s all about Guardians of the Galaxy. For fun, I tried my hand at vidding for the first time. I hope that you enjoy the results!
Did that make you wanna singalong? Did it make you want to add a singalong element to your next geeky library program?
Then do I have a treat for you!
Go up to this post’s top image and click on it. You’ll be able to download a pdf of ALL of the songs that I parodied, including their ukulele chords!!!!! Yaaaaaay!!!!!
Here’s the song list:
- Batman Smells (Jingle Bells)
- Sub-Mariner’s Kingdom (Octopus’s Garden)
- Odinsleeping (Are You Sleeping)
- Black Panther Rules and Fights (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
- Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Theme (Spider-Man Theme)
- King of the Sea (Yellow Submarine)
- On the Milano (Down on the Corner)
I’ll likely add more songs every time FCBD rolls around again, and I’ll be sure to share those with you. If there’s a song or a comic book that you’d like me to tackle, then please let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Comment about it here or send me an email at hafuboti@gmail.com. I can’t guarantee that I’ll turn your idea into reality, but know that I’ll try.