On 12/14/22 8:47 PM, Paul Rubin wrote:
Gary McGath <garym@mcgath.com> writes:
I've recorded a new song, based on the true story of the first cat in
space, and uploaded it to SoundCloud.
Cool, can you post the lyrics?
Félicette
Words and Music: Gary McGath, Copyright 2022
Let me tell you the tale of a space pioneer,
In whose memory I take off my hat.
She rode into space and returned without fear,
Not a woman or man, but a cat.
Of the candidate cats, Félicette was the best,
She stayed calm even under abuse.
Held in place in a box, just like all of the rest,
For an hour or more couldn't run loose.
Bon voyage, Félicette.
Sois sans peur, Félicette.
Tu vis toujours dans nos coeurs.
With electrodes implanted to measure her brain,
In a centrifuge spun to five G,
There was no way to tell her, no way to explain
How she served France, her native country.
In nineteen sixty-three she was launched into space,
Hundred sixty K-M in the sky,
And a parachute brought her to her landing place,
Unlike Laika, not sent up to die.
Bon voyage, Félicette.
Sois sans peur, Félicette.
Tu vis toujours dans nos coeurs.
But not one gram of gratitude did her quest earn,
And not very long after her trip,
They killed and dissected her so they could learn
The effects of her time in the ship.
A small statue in Strasbourg now honors her worth
To remember that time long gone by.
Down at ISU there's a bronze globe of the Earth
With a cat looking up at the sky.
Ah, adieu, Félicette.
Dors en paix, Félicette.
Tu vis toujours dans nos coeurs.
Coda (slowly, to the tune of "Alouette"):
Félicette, gentille Félicette,
Félicette, je t'honorerai.
--
Gary McGath
http://www.mcgath.com
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