Questions of the song Veteran of Psychic Wars

[RitaMaria]

Hi!
My name is Rita Maria Felix da Silva. I am 33 years old and I am from Brazil (from state of Pernambuco).
I love Moorcosckآ´s works. I have known them by Elric who was in a Conan story (drawned by Barry Smith) a long time ago.
Recently I have bought Fire of Unknown Origin, by Blue Oyster Cult. I have bought because I was searched the song Veteran of Psychic Wars. The music is wonderful, dark and deep. The lyrics is... Fantastic. A fabulous dark sci-fi story in form of music.
I have some questions. Please,can anyone help me?
1 - In Moorcockآ´s biography published in this site is commented that "Veteran of Psychic Wars" is part of Eternal Championآ´s myth. How?
2 - I already have found the name of this music written as "Veteran of Psychic Wars" and "Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars". Which is the correc name?
3 - I intend to buy Cultosarurus Erectus and Mirrors, where are the musics "Black Blade" and "The Great Sun Jester". I am very anxious to collect albums (cds) where there are Moorcockآ´s lyrics. Please, can anyone give me a list of them?

Sincerily,
Rita Maria Felix da Silva.

[PsychicWarVeteran]

Welcome RitaMaria!

I (obviously) share your love of that particular song. 8) It's fantastic, isn't it?

The proper title is Veteran of the Psychic Wars.

I want to leave your other questions for MM to answer himself, but for the time being, check out these other threads in which we discussed this song:

[broken link][broken link][broken link]

[RitaMaria]

[quote=PsychicWarVeteran]Welcome RitaMaria!

I (obviously) share your love of that particular song. 8) It's fantastic, isn't it?

The proper title is Veteran of the Psychic Wars.

I want to leave your other questions for MM to answer himself, but for the time being, check out these other threads in which we discussed this song:

[broken link][broken link][broken link]

:) Thanks for your "welcome", Veteran!
And thanks for this links. Very interesting.
A reponse of MIke? Oh, I would be very honored!
Veteran of Psychic Wars is my favorite BOC song. Some years ago I was reading about Heavy Metal, the cartoon, and it was there where I have heard about this music. I already knew Mikeآ´s work, thanks Elric. So I have bought the VHS of Heavy Metal.
A thing about which I am wondering:why did Mike never turn Veteran... into a shortstory? The plot is very interesting and would be a very cool story.
Rita.

[Michael Moorcock]

Veteran was a sort of general song about a modern Eternal Champion -- more Jerry Cornelius than Erekose. I didn't write it specifically for BOC but gave it to Eric Bloom when he asked for another song. I thought he did great things with it. Certain other Hawkwind pieces tied in with it -- the 'We are the lost' sequences, for instance. Much of this was only performed by me on stage and not recorded. I remember seeing the Heavy Metal movie at a special preview in Paris and was rather astonished to hear my song on the soundtrack, just as many of the artists I was with were astonished to see their styles lifted for the movie.
That movie, in fact, was pretty famous for its many 'borrowings' without reference to the originals. As I recall, they even spelled my name wrong!
Veteran, I ought to add, was a more 'personal' song than many -- though BOC's The Great Sun Jester was written about my friend Bill Butler, who died of a drug overdose and had always tried to get me to write a song for him!
You might be interested to know that Elric will begin appearing in Portugese very soon. It's a great edition! I'm very pleased with it.

[L'Etranger]

...
You might be interested to know that Elric will begin appearing in Portugese very soon. It's a great edition! I'm very pleased with it.

It is already available!
http://www.webboom.pt/ficha.asp?ID=102166

[RitaMaria]

Veteran was a sort of general song about a modern Eternal Champion -- more Jerry Cornelius than Erekose. I didn't write it specifically for BOC but gave it to Eric Bloom when he asked for another song. I thought he did great things with it. Certain other Hawkwind pieces tied in with it -- the 'We are the lost' sequences, for instance. Much of this was only performed by me on stage and not recorded. I remember seeing the Heavy Metal movie at a special preview in Paris and was rather astonished to hear my song on the soundtrack, just as many of the artists I was with were astonished to see their styles lifted for the movie.
That movie, in fact, was pretty famous for its many 'borrowings' without reference to the originals. As I recall, they even spelled my name wrong!
Veteran, I ought to add, was a more 'personal' song than many -- though BOC's The Great Sun Jester was written about my friend Bill Butler, who died of a drug overdose and had always tried to get me to write a song for him!
You might be interested to know that Elric will begin appearing in Portugese very soon. It's a great edition! I'm very pleased with it.

Mike,

Thank you very much because you have answered my question. As I already said I am very honored because you are one of my favorites writers.
Now it is explained for me which is the relation between Veteran of Psychic Wars and the Eternal Chapiomآ´s myth.
In spite of the quality of the other musics envolved in project Heavy Metal, I think of Veteran... is the best moment at that soundtrack. The sequence in desert (with Veteran... being played at background) is one of the best of the movie.
I am going to buy Cultosaurus Erectus and Mirrors and so I will can listen Black Blade and The Great Sun Jester. Mike, I am sorry about your friend Bill Burtle, but I have read the lyrics of The Great Sun Jester and I think of - wherever Bill Burtler is - he is very prideful and thankful for this song.
This news about Elric in portuguese is a very good news! I am going to looking forward it. (It is a dream! Elric in portuguese! Perhaps it be possible that Corum, Erekose, Hawkmoon, Jack Karaquazian be published in portuguese too!)
Mike, I have Multiverse, that very cool comic book with your text and art by Simoson, Reeve and Ridgway. I liked this story very much. Of the threes plots the best are Moonbeams and Roses and Duke Elric though Metatemporal Detectives is very good too.
Well, I do not wish to spend more of your time. Mike, it was a pleasure to talk to you and I feel honored for this.
Bye.
Rita.

[Michael Moorcock]

Thanks, pard. I have an early copy of the Portugese edition, which is translated by Luis Rodrigues, who is the main editor for Fantastic Metropolis. He tells me the first edition has sold very well and that it might well be going into a second, so if that continues, we might see more EC stories in Portugese. I certainly hope so, since Elric's roots are, after all, in the Peninsula Romances, especially Amadis of Gaul! Will be a bit like coming home!

[RitaMaria]

Thanks, pard. I have an early copy of the Portugese edition, which is translated by Luis Rodrigues, who is the main editor for Fantastic Metropolis. He tells me the first edition has sold very well and that it might well be going into a second, so if that continues, we might see more EC stories in Portugese. I certainly hope so, since Elric's roots are, after all, in the Peninsula Romances, especially Amadis of Gaul! Will be a bit like coming home!

Mike,

The first edition has sold very well? Oh, this is really a very good news!
There is a lot of your fans in American Latin whose hope read your works in ours languages (Brazil speaks portuguese and rest of American latin speaks spanish).
Very interesting the fact of Elricآ´s roots are in the Peninsula Romances. I already perceived you like mourish/berber culture (that beginning of Multiverse #1 in Marrakesh is very cool. It was one of the best introductions of a story that I ever read).
(You seem like Marrakesh very like. If a day it is possible, you should to know the Brazil. I guess you would love it).
I am going to buy this edition and I wish very good luck for you, Ruler of Multiverse. Certainly you am going to conquer a new legion of readers and fan... Portuguese speakers.
Ah, I am twice honored because I am talking again.
Well, I should go now.
Bye, pard.
Rita.

[RitaMaria]

...
You might be interested to know that Elric will begin appearing in Portugese very soon. It's a great edition! I'm very pleased with it.

It is already available!
http://www.webboom.pt/ficha.asp?ID=102166

Thanks.

[Michael Moorcock]

I'm fascinated by the way Arabic has made its way all over America, with the possible exception of Canada and the Northern USA. Some years ago I was staying in Mexico near Guadalajara, obviously named after the Spanish original, which itself is Arabic -- Wadi al Jara -- the river of stones. And cowboys, of course, took to calling a dry river a 'waddy'. I wonder if anyone has ever written about the amount of Arabic which has crept into American or, indeed, the amount of Greek which crept into Arabic. Language continues to connect us with our deepest roots.

[DeeCrowSeer]

I wonder if anyone has ever written about the amount of Arabic which has crept into American or, indeed, the amount of Greek which crept into Arabic. Language continues to connect us with our deepest roots.

I was just reading a review of a book on this very subject, Empires of the World: A Language History of the World (Nicholas Ostler, HarperCollins), which apparently concludes that: "demographics hint that Arabic will be, without rival, the language of the world's young". I didn't really understand that comment before, but if other people are seeing it happen, then maybe that's the way things will go. Sadly I've fallen out of touch with the one Arabic speaker I knew, so I'll be in trouble... I was still struggling with French!

[RitaMaria]

I'm fascinated by the way Arabic has made its way all over America, with the possible exception of Canada and the Northern USA. Some years ago I was staying in Mexico near Guadalajara, obviously named after the Spanish original, which itself is Arabic -- Wadi al Jara -- the river of stones. And cowboys, of course, took to calling a dry river a 'waddy'. I wonder if anyone has ever written about the amount of Arabic which has crept into American or, indeed, the amount of Greek which crept into Arabic. Language continues to connect us with our deepest roots.

Very interesting your comment, Mike!
I am very curious about arabic. It is said arabic language is very beautiful, some persons use to call it "Orientآ´s italian".
I already had perceived your affection to arabic/berber culture. For instance, in Multiverse # 1 (that fabulous comic book) is a lot of references to arabic/berber culture: Antarآ´and Ablaآ´, Haroun and Saladin... Tarak-Al-Tan-Al-Oorn, the berber knight that you quote is (certainly) a variation or Tanalorn. The name Jack Karaquazian and his title (Al Misrani) are others of your arabic reference.
You are very wise to perceive that arabic culture could work very well when mixed to Jackآ´s multiversal reality. Besides, one of most interesting point in this series is the "culture/language mix" that you made in Moobeams and Roses (english, arabic, french, spanish and french).
There are several others references to arabic/berber culture along Multiverse, specially in "Duke Elric". For example, I loved that part "Who does, except Allah, know the Menآ´s Fate?"
As I said I live in Pernambuco, a state of Northeast of Brazil. In Northeast we have "cantadores". The term is a more popular form to the word "cantores" (singers) exactly because "cantadores" are popular singers, like the bards in medieval europe were. They plays "violas", a musical instrument invented in Northeast which is a variation more popular of the guitar and they improvise verses and this very fast! It is an ancient tradition of Northeast and, the most curious, its origin is arabic.
Well, I need go now.
So long, pard.

Rita Maria Felix da Silva (my full name).
From Pernambuco - Brazil.