John McDaid

John G. McDaid is an sf writer and folk/filk singer-songwriter from Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Over his 40 years of performing, he's played his geek-inflected songs at political events, science fiction conventions- including the 2019 Dublin Worldcon- and folk venues from Boston to NYC's Speakeasy and Folk City. His songwriting has earned recognition, including prizes at FilKONtario, NEWhere, and the Ohio Valley Filk Fest. In 2020, he took first place at the Common Fence Music Community Hoot.

You can find his music at johnmcdaid.bandcamp.com.

Representative Work for the 2023 Pegasus Awards

Saints and Poets (The World We Left Behind) (mp3)

Words and Music: Copyright ©2023 by John McDaid ASCAP
All Rights Reserved
Recording Vocalist: Leighanne Saltsman
Lyrics posted with permission of the author

From the nowhere to the here
From the distant to the near
Through that moment when things shift
And you're suddenly adrift
In a place you've never seen before
Where nothing matters anymore

CHORUS
The saints and poets tried in vain
They were helpless to explain
All the lost you'll never find
From the world we left behind

Haunted memories no one shares
From a different then and there
You are suddenly alone
Past and future blank unknowns
Left to wonder at it all
From here that world just seems so small

CHORUS

CHORUS