(Tune is The Mary Ellen Carter by Stan Rogers)
Apparently what I do in times of political and social turmoil is stress-write stubborn Star Wars hope songs, so here’s another one that I threw together with unusual speed and am now releasing into the world for catharsis. Because why not make all the songs about ships about spaceships instead?
Also, even though I don’t have another in-universe write-up prepared, this song is still a spiritual successor to my other Rebellion filk that I wrote a few years ago, so definitely imagine a similar narrative for this one – a song that emerged in the hangars and halls of Rebel Alliance amongst the pilots and other freedom fighters that called them home, becoming cultural tradition and a rallying cry all wrapped into one.
Lyrics under the cut:
stan rogers
Starfleet Hymn – dangerouscommiesubversive
to the tune of “Northwest Passage,” by Stan Rogers
Sung at the funerals of Starfleet crew members who died in the line of duty. “In the line of duty” is to be understood as “while in good standing at all,” whether the particular crew member died on a rescue mission or peacefully in bed.
(refrain)
We will gird our minds with the armor of compassion
And set our course for starfields where we have not gone before
To see far more worlds than one person can imagine
Each nebula and wormhole is a newly opened doorWe started on the ocean and we sailed from coast to coast
And we mapped the planet over, every tree and rock and ghost
And when the world was drawn out and the sea and land were ours
We raised our eyes and turned them to the stars(refrain)
We will gird our minds with the armor of compassion
And set our course for starfields where we have not gone before
To see far more worlds than one person can imagine
Each nebula and wormhole is a newly opened doorEach planet is a treasure, every nebula a jewel
And the workings of the galaxy are strange and sometimes cruel
But our duty is to guard it from the ones who would destroy
And to learn and to adventure is our joy(refrain)
We will gird our minds with the armor of compassion
And set our course for starfields where we have not gone before
To see far more worlds than one person can imagine
Each nebula and wormhole is a newly opened door‘Tis a gift to sail the cosmos with the glory that is flight
Serve the universe together, and the future will be bright
We’ll go hand in hand together and both near and far we rove
And the message we are sending out is love(refrain)
We will gird our minds with the armor of compassion
And set our course for starfields where we have not gone before
To see far more worlds than one person can imagine
Each nebula and wormhole is a newly opened doorNow your wandering is over and your mission at an end
You will leave us with all honor as a true and loyal friend
While we cannot go together you can travel with no fear
To the last and most unknowable frontier(refrain)
We will gird our minds with the armor of compassion
And set our course for starfields where we have not gone before
To see far more worlds than one person can imagine
Each nebula and wormhole is a newly opened door
Beyond the Shire – Rowan and the Tudor Rose
As you leave these gates behind, carry forth the love and laughter
Be the vessels of the light we share, the keepers of the fire
Let our stories entertwine, be our happy ever after
Let your queen and country live beyond the shire.
I got this song via a submission, but then I had to be an ass and go find a version with a bit less ambient noise and a closer mic. Also there’s some children singing along at the end, it’s adorable. The submitted recording is this one (worth checking out, if only for the costumes, and there’s nothing wrong with the performance, just a lot of wind).
A sweet and moving song about Renaissance faires, “Beyond The Shire,” by Rowan and the Tudor Rose, to the tune of Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage.”
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)