Is Somebody Singing

We publish these lyrics to honour Canadian astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield (soon to be Mission Commander of the International Space Station). We've been following his Twitter and Facebook posts with delight, finding poetry in his many-times-daily captions to his photographs of the planet. Check out his interview by William Shatner, his video on how to wash your hands in space, his conversations with students. He says the experience of space flight is too good to keep to himself ... we say thank you for sharing.

This song was a collaboration with Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies: Chris and Ed recorded the song while Chris was flying high at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour.

Links:
Listen to the premiere on CBC Music
Col. Chris Hadfield's Facebook Page
Barenaked Ladies website
Ed Robertson's blog post on the writing of "Is Somebody Singing?"

I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing)

Music by Ed Robertson
Lyrics by Chris Hadfield and Ed Robertson
Used with Permission

On solid fuel and wires
Turn the key and light the fires
We’re leaving Earth today
This rocket’s burning bright
We’ll soon be out of sight
And orbiting in space

Prechorus 1
Pushed back in my seat
Look out my window
There goes home
That ball of shiny blue
Houses everybody anybody ever knew

Chorus
So sing your song I’m listening
out where stars are glistening
I can hear your voices bouncing off the moon
If you could see our Nation
From the International Space Station
You’d know why I want to get back soon

Bridge
All black and white just fades to grey
Where the sun rises sixteen times a day
You can’t make out borders from up here
Just a spinning ball within a tiny atmosphere

Eighteen thousand miles an hour
Fuelled by science and solar power
The oceans racing past
At half a thousand tons
Ninety minutes Moon to Sun
A bullet can’t go half this fast

Prechorus 2
Floating from my seat
Look out my window
There goes Home
That brilliant ball of blue
Is where I’m from, and also where I’m going to

Prechorus 3
Pushed back in my seat
Look out my window
Here comes home
What once was fuelled by fear
Now has fifteen Nations orbiting together here