Need an off-copyright tune for "The FAFO Blues"

[usonian]

Last edited Thu Jul 3, 2025, 11:59 PM - Edit history (1)

Mockingbird might work, but it looks to be still copyright.
Got something good? I’m releasing the lyrics Creative Commons, no attribution required nor requested.
Use any way you wish, modify. I do prefer that the resultant work be Creative Commons, for unencumbered use by protestors.

In the key of F-U

The FAFO blues

I ran into some poison oak
I really thought that I would croak
But I don’t need to scratch that itch
The money’s needed by the rich.

Without my heart pills, I’m so slow
I’ve lost my get up and my go
But I can manage comatose
If it richens Jeff Bezos.

The doc prescribed me boner pills
That gave my partner awesome thrills
But no one needs a splendid truck
I’d rather lower tax on Zuck,

My business just went up in smoke.
But FEMA tells me that they’re broke
Now I work from dawn to dusk
So we can give a break to Musk

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Tricky Situation

Copyrights for songs written after '78 last 70 years.
Before that, they lasted for 28 years, but could be renewed for another 67. A total of 95 years.
If you find a song written in the early 70s, and nobody applied for renewal, there is no copyright upon which to infringe.
Seems it might be easier for someone here to come up with blues changes and an "original" melody.
Chord progressions can't be copyrighted, so any blues changes are unencumbered for use.
And, evoking an existing melody with totally different words probably couldn't be pursued because you're not monetizing.
Besides, copyrights can be satisfied by paying a usage fee, which is pennies & nickels since there's no % of sales to discuss.
Finally, YouTube & SoundCloud (and likely others) run a check when posting to assure to infringement.
The stuff I have online is 100% covers, and everything I ever tried to post passed the screening
You might be overthinking this.

[usonian]

2. Thanks.

I went through my "folio" of classical and non-classical favorites.

Almost all classical pieces are off copyright, but other than some very solemn and powerful pieces, not terribly catchy.

That said, there are places for both "choral" and more catchy classical pieces.

Examples would be "Va Pensiero" by Verdi (Hebrew slaves seeking freedom) and some tunes from Carmen.

Oscar Hammerstein III adapted all the main songs from Carmen to a musical "Carmen Jones" set in the 20th century about a solider, a woman and a prizefighter (not a bullfighter).

The non-classical ones are all copyrighted, I am sure.

But there's always the possibility of being inspired, and I am not interested in AI.

I grew up with the rock and protest songs of the 60's. Not having composed a shred, it would be pretty monumental of me to write anything in any genre.

I'll share lyrics as they come to me, and if anyone likes them. I did hear some recent protest songs and perhaps they are a little complex. Perhaps they aren't, but you know how powerful the 60's protest songs were. Something that good is needed now.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

Composers?

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Not Big Into Classical

And, what are do like is definitely not catchy.
Schoenfeld, Stravinsky, Mahler, Berlin, et al. The big, bombastic, often atonal stuff.
I actually switched piano style when I was just 10 because the stuff in Shirmer didn't speak to me. Jazz piano did.
I'm much more a rock guitar player than anything else, but there are still some jazz influences.
I've never been a prolific songwriter because I so often get half-way done with lyrics and behind thinking they're stupid, so I quit.
I'm proud of 6 or 7 songs where the lyrics are good & the music is solid. But, 6 or 7 in 50 years is nothing yo get hopped up about.

[usonian]

4. Toreador Song

Et que l'amour t'attend
Toréador, l'amour, l'amour t'attend!


Carmen Jones:
Until you hear that bell, that final bell,
You’ve got to fight like hell

It takes good singer diction to say l’amour t’attend and not la mort t’attend.
BIG difference!!

There’s a great series on the music of Gustav Mahler: “Embrace Everything”
https://mahlerfoundation.org/mahler/embrace-everything/

And it points out the folk tunes Gustav heard growing up

Essentially, Gustav grew up in Iglau (Jihlava), a thriving military and trade centre within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Young Gustav was exposed to an infinite variety of music from all periods of history and every corner of the Empire.

Iglau was home to an amateur orchestra, a professional theatre, an opera and the church of St. Jakob, each richly contributing to the musical life of the community. In addition, Gustav experienced a wide range of music from local and extended folk traditions, which included characteristic dances and songs of Jewish, Moravian, Czech, Austrian, German and Bohemian origins.

Since Iglau was also a major staging point for the Austrian army, colourful military bands regularly participated in local festivals and engaged in concert activities. The memories of these musical impressions, alongside the stunning natural beauty of the Moravian countryside, would haunt Mahler for the rest of his life and dynamically reverberate in his compositions.

https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-born-7-july-1860-the-visionary-of-musics-modern-soul/

Marching music, klezmer, all sorts.