Outward Bound
Lyrics ©1996 by Catherine Faber
Melody: I've Got a Home in Beulah Land (traditional)
"They're looking for a scientist," my
buddy said one day,
"'Course, the only thing that's smaller than the quarters is
the pay,
But it does mean work in orbit--" I said "Get out of my
way!"
And it won't be much longer now.
I've had a berth on Outward
Bound since she was begun
I've got a berth on Outward Bound and she's almost done
I've got a berth on Outward Bound and--hey!--I've got to
run!
Cause it won't be much longer now.
There is a ship a-building fifty miles
above the shore
Reliable and pressure tight and light enough to soar,
Her cost is astronomical, her worth is even more,
And it won't be much longer now.
They've checked out all the gaskets and
they've glued the rascals in.
They're checking every circuit and they're checking every
pin.
The engineer is watching with this great big nervous
grin,
And it won't be much longer now.
I've bought a tube of vacuum-seal; I
figure it can't hurt.
I'm counting every calorie and weighing every shirt.
But I'm going to be a spacer lass, no more to walk the
dirt.
And it won't be much longer now.
I've visited the doctor to be sure I
wasn't ill
I've visited the dentist till she sent me home to chill
And just in case things don't work out, I've written out my
will--
And it won't be much longer now.
We mean to see a corner of this universe
of ours,
To watch the shifting heavens and write home about the
stars
In letters postmarked "Outward Bound" and counter-cancelled
"Mars"
And it won't be much longer now.
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