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NASA's Engineers
lyrics © 1999 by Dr. H. Paul Shuch
Sung to the tune of Barrett's Privateers by Stan Rogers
(with a grace-line repeating the same melody after the last line of the verse)

When we put Armstrong on the moon
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
I thought we'd reach the planets soon
But Congress cut us to the bone
To buy themselves some votes back home,

God damn them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

The Shuttle is a flying truck
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
But no one gives a flying f***
For we who built them got the boot,
And now the best are destitute,

God help them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

There's robot spacecraft far and wide
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
And no one left on the inside
To analyze the data tapes
For faces or familiar shapes,

God save them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

The NASA ten-year SETI plan
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
Not even for a year it ran
When Congress shut their radio eyes
And now the search is privatized.

God fund them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

The Russians had their troubles too
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
And MIR, alas, her days are through.
Despite the problems, hopes and fears
They kept her up for thirteen years!

God rest them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

The ISS at last did fly
(I wish I were at NASA now.)
And if she's still there when I die
I'll breathe a great sigh of relief
And be amazed beyond belief,

God bless them all. We were told
We'd all have jobs 'til we were old
And turning gray. So they say!
Now I am on the dole with a lot of peers,
The last of NASA's engineers.

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this page last updated 14 June 2007
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