Sam's Song: The Return

When did singing "Sam's Song" at the closing ceremonies become a tradition?

From Val Housden:

I remember "Sam's Song" being sung at Decadence, the 10th UK filkcon, in 1998 during the closing ceremony.

I don't remember  it being sung before that year  during the closing ceremony, though Zanda did sing it at VIbraphone, the 6th filkcon in 1994, when the filk awards (as the Sams were then known) and "Sam's Song" won the equivalent of what is now known as Filk Gold.

But I think that was before the closing ceremony. I'm pretty certain the singing of "Sam's Song" became tradition after Decadence. I think Van Der Filk in 2010 was the filkcon where we didn't sing "Sam's Song", and I was told at the time that that was at the request of the UK GoH.

Since then I think "Sam's Song" has been sung more times than not at our closing ceremonies, but honestly after all this time, they all merge together in my failing memory.

"Sam's Song" had been sung at the UK filkcons before 1994, I remember Pat Silver singing it at Con2bile in 1990, and Zanda must have sung it sometime when they were GoH at Treble in 1991.

Cliff's Notes #3 

From Sam Armitage:

Part 3 while I remember

The last "verse" was partly mine, and is closer to my own experiences.

The Library was where Zan and I would have liked to have been; with the time to write, and the the reference materials we needed.  h'Ellen and Jet were my main two characters I wrote about at the time, the one a Space princess (based closely on someone I knew (and still know)), and Jet being a spaceship racing pilot drawn, as I said, from the Wings song.

Kirk is James T, the Seven were Blakes' Seven (BBC SF series) -- Zan had pastiched them in stories, and was working the Nyrond-verse into it since ways.  The Nyronds -- they are conmen, so they ought never to be lacking readies.  I had friends, I had foes -- I wanted to be able to meet with them in neutral, as it were.

The Hill is in the Lake District and the image was of going there to die (or to translate) and stepping from the top into thin air that would then be firm air and a foothold into my personal world.  And Zander, i think  had a similar dream, to go and be with his creations.  Which God Willing he now is.

The oldest book was a dream of being published, but it also reflects that fact that early influences last a LONG time and dig in deeply; my bed was where I slept and dreamed.  The last bit is Zander telling me that however alienated I felt I was in fact within a supportive community of fen, who would "see me through".

And Hunter was and is still Hunter and he has come home from the hill, but he still remembers what it is like walking the high moors, and tracing the stream in the valley.

Still More on Sam's Song

Cliff's Notes #2

 From Sam Armitage:

The photon torpedo I first heard of (again) from Chris Chivers.  It is lethally strong, and I have distinct recall of a young (well, she was then) lady crawling up to me at a dead-dog party announcing she'd had seven and where was her 8th?

But having a litre would probably kill your ,liver in about 5 minutes.,

And Hunter (it's capitalised) was my fictional identity at the time beyond Soren

Verse two:  if you don't knoiw what a Nyrond is, read Zander's oeuvre (it's available on Lulu for reasonable prices); the Nyrond stuff is credited as co-authored with me;

The warpdrive, Nyrond smallships don't use, but it made the song explicable to Star Trek fen (which a lot of the London Mob were)

The Vigilante were the Intergalactic Police of the Sagittarian Era, and used to run in Nyronds on principle.

And, at the time, I was a barrister, and my life was going away from me.

From Philip Alcott:

I think the tradition (of playing the song at the closing ceremonies) started at VIbraphone (1994) when - I need to check - I think it won a UK filk award. Before they were christened "Sams" even.  Which years I couldn't say after that. Has it stopped?  It's up to each year's committee.

According to filk.co.uk, Sam's Song did indeed win the "All time great" award at VIbraphone 1994.

The UK Filk Awards were called "The Sams", after Sam Armitage, the eponymous "Sam" of Sam's Song, from Didgeri-Douze 2000.

Also according to filk.co.uk, Sam's Song was included in "On Filkley Moor" Beccon Publications 1988.