Farewell to Tranquility

Apollo 17's Challenger lunar module. Image credit: NASA

About Farewell to Tranquility

Words and Music by Mark Toner

In addition to his interest in old Apollo movie footage, Mark also has a fondness for old whaling songs. Clearly, in the 21st century, the whaling songs have passed their sell-by date. However, the songs of travelling to desolate lands far away chime with the experience of the Apollo astronauts flying to the desolate lunar landscape, and Mark has breathed new life into the song “Fareweel Tae Tarwathie” by adapting it as a true space folk song called “Farewell To Tranquillity.” Where the old whalers were keen to get back home from Greenland, the Apollo astronauts were keen to get back out to the Moon, and the wistful farewell of Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, is given musical voice in our final track.

Lyrics

Farewell to Tranquillity adieu Hadley Rille,
And the highland Fra Mauro I bid you farewell.
As we leave Taurus Littrow we leave as we came,
With peace and hope for all mankind.

Our ship is prepared now and ready to fly,
But her crew are not anxious to wish you goodbye.
Where the craters stand stark and no stormy winds gust,
And highland and ocean are covered with dust.

Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell.
When we dare to dream, we can go so far.
Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell.
Do you face the ground or a distant star?
Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell.
They made real the dreams, flew into the sky.
Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell.
The children of Apollo hold their heads up high.

The dry plains of Luna are barren and bare.
No seed time nor harvest is ever known there,
And on Earth birds sing sweetly on mountain and glen,
But there isn’t a bird here to sing to the LEM.

We brought no habitation for a man to live here.
We’d have liked to and stayed here for many a year.
So there’ll be no temptation to tarry long here.
With our ship full of moonrock we homeward repair.

Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell…

Farewell to Tranquillity adieu Hadley Rille,
And the highland Fra Mauro I bid you farewell.
As we leave Taurus Littrow we leave as we came,
With peace and hope for all mankind.
With peace and hope for all mankind.

Posted 15th March, 2009 by Thing in a Book

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