I love this song.

[Seth]

I love the song "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling. It's about an astronaut that loses contact with ground control. He's alive, but the ship is drifting away from Earth into outer space. Even though he knows he's going to succumb to a slow death, he doesn't mind. He thinks to himself, "This is my home. I'm coming home".

As an amateur astronomer, the night sky and the universe in general hold a special place in my heart. Enough so that I would jump at the chance to be a passenger on the space shuttle...even if I knew that I would experience the same fate as that astronaut did.

Anyway, here's the lyrics:


Standing there alone
the ship is waiting
all systems are go
are you sure?

control is not convinced
but the computer
has the evidence
"no need to abort"

the countdown starts
watching in a trance
the crew is certain

nothing left to chance
all is working
trying to relax
up in the capsule
"send me up a drink"
jokes Major Tom
the count goes on

4 3 2 1
Earth below us
drifting falling
floating weightless
calling calling home...

second stage is cut
we're now in orbit
stabilizers up
running perfect
starting to collect
requested data
what will it effect
when all is done
thinks Major Tom

back at ground control
there is a problem
go to rockets full
not responding
"hello Major Tom
are you receiving
turn the thrusters on
we're standing by"
there's no reply

across the stratosphere
a final message
"give my wife my love"
then nothing more

far beneath the ship
the world is mourning
they don't realize
he's alive
no one understands
but Major Tom sees
now the life commands
this is my home
I'm coming home

[fleamailman]

Nice, I am going to start a new thread for poets here, but the only condition is that it must be ones own works. As a rule I stay out of offtopics, but I love poetry too.

[Seth]

I love that one too Nick. Both songs give me goose bumps and seem to nurture some long lost memory in me.

In this verse though:

far beneath the ship
the world is mourning
they don't realize
he's alive
no one understands
but Major Tom sees
now the life commands
this is my home
I'm coming home

I don't understand the "but Major Tom sees
now the life commands" line.

[kerremelk]

Hi all,
nice topic.

off topic, perhaps, as it is about S.F. vs Sci Fi
Kubrik's is S.F. pur sang.
A.C. Clarcke would later outdo that by RAMA.
Hard science and people.
Asimov's journey is S. F. too.
the 80ies comedy movie is not even scifi, it's comedy.
Fredric Brown's arena became a good start trek episode, but I still consider the trek episode sci fi, and the novelette S.F.
I cannot recall seeing filmed versions of A.E.Van Vogt stories, and wonder wether people still grok Heinlein. But I love them all.
Really like Bowie. Still have that vinyl.