A quarter-century later, it still hurts...and it still inspires

[thatcrazycajun]

Today is one of several yearly anniversaries which those in the space-exploration business like to call "Dead Astronauts Week."  But this one has hit a special milestone this year: twenty-five years ago this morning, at 11:38 AM Eastern Standard, we lost the first of what would be two of NASA's five active Space Shuttle Orbiters (Enterprise, you may recall, was a non-flying prototype) destroyed entire, with all hands aboard killed.

Challenger's loss hurt all the more because, for the first time in the history of the US space program, someone not a military servicemember or scientist had been aboard: a beautiful young schoolteacher who was supposed to give her students at Concord High School in Concord, NH a very special science lesson from orbit. Instead, she and her fellow crew members ended up giving them—and everyone else on Earth, Your Humble Correspondent most certainly included—a far more powerful lesson.

That very evening, I wrote the following song. It was one of my earliest original songs that could be considered "filk," and may even be the first; memory is fuzzier with each passing year. Somehow it seems that for this year's observance, something special is called for. So....

 
FLYING FREE (CHALLENGER'S AND COLUMBIA'S SONG)
Music and lyrics by Matt G. Leger

(Capo 2 on guitar or transpose to actual key of E)

  D                                      A               D
Since the dawn of time, man-kind's been look-ing to the sky;
     D                                 A                D
The fi-nal fron-tier calls to us like si-ren song on high.
            Bm                                   F#m
From those first few steps that God-dard took to Arm-strong's gi-ant leap,
            Em                                  A7
We've been push-ing back the boun-dar-ies that gird the star-ry deep.

  D                                    A                D
Seven souls who shared the dream gave Chal-len-ger her crew;
 D                                   A                   D   / D7
Phys-i-cists and en-gi-neers and a young school-teacher too.
      G                                       D
They knew their lives were on the line, that they risked death and pain,
     A                                    A7               D   / D7
But they be-lieved it worth the risk for all there was to gain.

Chorus I:
         G             D
Fly-ing free, fly-ing free,
          D                                 A
Soar-ing high-er than the ea-gles, fly-ing free!
         G
[She set out to cross the bor-der
           D
When they gave the launch-ing or-der
         A                A7
Tak-ing all our hopes a-board her,]
         D
Fly-ing free!

(Bracketed lines change each chorus)

As she thundered through the heavens, we all watched and cheered her on,
But the cheering turned to crying when we learned that she was gone.
No one wanted to believe it; all humanity stood shocked,
And it seemed as though the future's door had just been slammed and locked.

But like the phoenix from the flames, the dream had its rebirth,
For you can't keep the human spirit tied down to the Earth.
Her mem'ry will be honored in each blastoff's blaze and roar;
Their sacrifice deserves no less -- or else what was it for?

Chorus II: ...Reaching for the stars together,
More determined now than ever;
In our hearts you'll live forever,
Flying free!

Chorus III: ...From the ashes of our sorrow
Rises hope for a new tomorrow;
In your footsteps we will follow,
         G         A7
Fly-ing free-ee-ee-ee,
D
Fly-ing free!

-------

JARVIS - McAULIFFE - McNAIR - ONIZUKA - RESNIK - SCOBEE - SMITH
STS-51 CHALLENGER, 01-26-1986
ANDERSON - BROWN - CHAWLA - CLARK - HUSBAND - McCOOL - RAMON
STS-107 COLUMBIA, 02-01-2003
YOUR COURAGE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

Original music and lyrics ©1986 and beyond by Matt G. Leger. Permission to perform, reproduce and distribute for nonprofit use freely granted as long as this credit is maintained and dedication remains unchanged. Use for profit requires prior permission in writing and payment of royalties per ASCAP/BMI standards, payable as a donation to the National Space Society (www.nss.org).

Comments

[gorgeousgary]

I can't recall whether I've heard that one or not. Beautiful, as always.

Not surprisingly, a bar or two of "Send Me Up!" has wafted across my brain today. 8-)

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sir. It was written long before you and I met, and I don't often drag it out even when singing solo in a housefilk or con filkroom circle, so it's entirely possible that you haven't heard it. If you like, I'll sing it for you to hear when next we meet...or sooner, if I can get sffilk to do another MP3 session with me.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

second the "would love to hear this sung sometime"!