I first got the idea to write a song for Princess Zelda from Meagan Marie, who gave me a list of strong female #gaming characters worthy of devotion (I wrote a song for Lara Croft first). When I was reading the reception section of Zelda’s wiki, I saw that one publication critically called her an “iconically passive female trophy”. I don’t buy this idea one bit. Sure, we rarely get to control her as players, which makes our relationship with her inherently passive; but I don’t think needing Link’s help makes her passive. A good leader knows when she needs help and isn’t afraid to ask for it. In my estimation, Zelda is constantly sacrificing for the people of Hyrule. She deals with threats to her kingdom, generation after generation, with intelligence and humility. I see a strong, independent woman. Why else would the romance between she and Link still be ambiguous after all these years? She doesn’t need a man. It’s just that sometimes, when she’s in a scrap, she needs a hero.

As with my other #gaming songs, I aimed to write lyrics full of subtle references to games and characters, while remaining generic enough to be engaging for non-gamers. This song is about a princess (Zelda) who is against the arranged marriage set up for her with a bad man (Ganondorf); so she sings about the man of her prophetic dreams (Link), a man who will help her defend her kingdom without trying to control it or her. Fans of the Legend of Zelda series will appreciate the opening guitar riff and the many lyrical references to the games. Strong women will appreciate the sentiment of trying to find a good man who isn’t controlling.

I devote this song to Meagan Marie for the initial request, and to these blogs with awesome Legend of Zelda content: simply-zelda, zeldagrove, f***yeahlink, f***yeahhyrule, sexandzelda, linksinflatedego, triforceofawesome, legendofzeldaseries, and f***yeahprincesszelda. Thank you, bloggers; your content was instrumental (pun intended) in my songwriting! This song is available for free download here (just put 0 as purchase price), and you can stream it/comment on YouTube here. Enjoy, friends! And if you do, please share my work with others. — Kavalier Calm

     Missing Link

I don’t want to wed the King of Evil,
no matter how big his dowry is.
I don’t need the Triforce of Wisdom
to know he grants a Death wish.
Dark clouds billow over me as I dream;
and I’m waiting for the sun, for my man in green.
He won’t want to rule over me or my people;
no, he’ll be our chain mail’s missing link.

I don’t know why I have to marry that boar;
father knows I love to wield the Master Sword.
Maybe I’ll hide as a shiek in some far off land,
so I don’t have to take that man’s hand.
And I can hear my hero’s music, his ocarina of time,
and I can see his blonde hair when I close my eyes.
He won’t want to rule over me or my people;
no, he’ll be our chain mail’s missing link.

Now I might be a Twilight Princess, but that don’t mean I’m weak.
I just need a hero like every queen before me.
Oh, we can’t let our world turn dark.
We need a hero to bring us a spark.

And I can feel him, our hope, I know he’s near.
And he’ll help us fight off all of our fears.
He won’t want to rule over me or my people;
no, he’ll be our chain mail’s missing link.