1. |
Alpha Lease Extension
03:21
|
|||
Capo 3
Chords with * imply an E shape without barring. Just move it to the corresponding fret.
E F#* G* A* G* E
E G* A* B*
E G* A*
E A* B* A* E
E G* A* G* E
E A B
E A*B*
The sun spits / down on Leonna Valley
E A*B*
You said / we would never end up here
E A*B*
And yet / it seems like we will have to stay in
E A*B*
This place / For another God Damned Year
E A*B* E
What a shame / What a shame / What a shame / What a shame
B* A* Am* E
E G* A*
You push / through the broken door I promised
E A* B*
That I’d fix / early last July
E A* B*
You sit down / glaring at the empty vodka
E A* B*
Bottles / I’ve exhausted your supply
E A* B* E
What a shame / What a shame / What a shame / What a shame
B* A* Am* E
C#m F#
The Future’s fading our resentment’s showing
A B
The dust has settled and a chasm is growing (Now we)
E A B
Sing songs / we heard when we were learning
E A B
How to love each other / and hate ourselves
E A B
They serve as cruel reminders
E A B
Of How long we’ve lived in self-inflicted cells
E A B E
What a shame / What a shame / What a shame / What a shame
F# B C#
The sun wraps / around the hall of mountains
F# B C#
We have missed / such a golden opportunity
F# B C#
That the giant ball of plasma
F# B C#
Could drop right down / and burn the sea
F# B C# F#
What A Shame
What A Shame x9
C# B Bm F#
Notes:
I never wanted to be an actor anyway
|
||||
2. |
The Cracks
02:06
|
|||
Long before me, long before you
A giant ball of hydrogen became a star brand new
He waited for the planets and he waited for the Gods
To bring life to the fourth one despite the risky odds
All who are born eventually must die
Even ancient titans wheeling in the yawning sky
While Sol put up the good fight time's sharpening her ax
The sun is losing hydrogen and I can see the cracks
The sun is losing hydrogen and I can see the cracks
When there is no more hydrogen the helium will burn
The sun will reach a place from whence it can't return
It will expand so far the Earth will shrivel up
But we've still got a little time so pour another cup
But we've still got a little time so pour another cup
Notes:
There was some disagreement as to the meaning of, "to bring life to the fourth one." Here's a transcript from an early discussion about it. Names were blacked out as classified information.
Scientist 1: What's with the fourth one line? What could it be referring to?
Soldier: Well that's easy. Earth's the fourth planet from the sun.
Scientist 2: We're the third planet, you idiot.
Scientist 1 (After a moment): In this year it is. We don't know when these were recorded. Perhaps one day the sun will pick up an extra planet.
Scientist 3: Maybe it lost one before humans evolved.
Scientist 1: Exactly. When dealing with the timespan of eternity it would insanity to assume things would ever stay the same.
|
||||
3. |
||||
Television's buzzing in the background
Schoolwork due tomorrow set aside
Crumpled balls of paper surrounding me like snow
Each of them afflictions to my twenty-something pride
Physics and logistics and statistics
Fill our bubbling brains up to the brims
And the powers that be refuse to do their jobs
We all must aim beyond the length of our young limbs
I’ve bitten off much more than we can handle
To ferry every human to a planet we still have to find
And all of the schematics that we have drawn so far
Would end up in too many people being left behind
Physics and logistics and statistics
Fill our bubbling brains up to the brim
And the powers that be refuse to do their jobs
We all must aim beyond the length of our young limbs
We could just construct a swarm of carbon copy ship
And once in space, they’d interlock like plastic LEGO bricks
Redundancies a’ plenty so damage they could take
They’d even outpace photons if we just (...)
I think that is one helluva foundation
There’s just a couple complications: a few things left to solve
But there’s a little time for memetic mutation
And I don’t doubt humanity’s resolve.
Physics and logistics and statistics and characteristics
Fill our bubbling brains until they’re bulging at the brim
And the powers that be refuse to do their jobs
We all must aim beyond the length of our young limbs
Note:
This was the song Sergei Korolev was the most interested in. He had the translator comb over every symbol repeatedly until she developed 15 distinct translations, each more accurate than the last. He was especially interested in what the gap around 03:01 as he was convinced those lyrics could unlock the secrets to faster than light travel. In one letter he said, "The information hidden behind that infernal static could tell us not just how to travel to the moon but to stars and galaxies as well."
One of the notebooks was filled with different acronyms for D.E.R. The handwriting implies that many different people contributed possibilities. At some point, the variety peters out leaving half the page to be filled out by apparently the same person. the writing became more and more frantic until the last page is dominated one definition in big, bold, red letters; DEPARTMENT of EVACUATION RESEARCH.
|
||||
4. |
||||
The experiment has met
An unnatural point of contention
An emphatic end
The maximum noise of the engine
To take us away
Before an answer awakens
Left that at bay
And blast off to dock at bay stations
The work I had done
Undone by the work that the rest did
The test wasn’t run
But the only hope left was arrested
I could’ve saved you
I could’ve saved you
|
||||
5. |
Per Aspera
02:25
|
|||
My name is Jacob Cosima
I’m the pilot of the Ark
It’s my duty to identify
Destinations in the dark
We surely will not find a home
While I am still alive
But I’ll get us so much closer
To a place we can survive
It’s strange to know I’ll never see another person
It sits in my soul
But I’m also gifted with wonders unseen
As I watch the galaxies unroll
I deeply regret that I’d never said
The things I wanted to say to you
But to do so would have been selfish
And I hope you find somebody new
But you’ll never get that chance
If I do not get this right
So I focus my attention
As I navigate the night
Sky
It’s strange to know I’ll never see another person
It sits in my soul
But I’m also gifted with wonders unseen
As I watch the galaxies unroll
|
||||
6. |
The Straggler's Song
03:37
|
|||
I scan the sickly yellow sky
For the quickly shrinking moon
This was my chance to say goodbye
I am leaving soon
Perhaps the moon’s already gone
I’d be the last to leave the Earth
I lasted longer than they said I could
I don’t know what that’s worth
I will hang my head in shame
And I will use this ship I’ve stolen
To escape this world a-flame
And I will find your mighty colony
And join its growing fleet
Being the last to feel
The Earth beneath his feet
The emptiness is heavy
And the silence is thick
I feel like purgatory Jack
With his pumpkin candlestick
I don’t wanna leave this planet
And I wouldn’t if I had the choice
But this temperature will kill me
And I need the human voice
And I will hang my head in shame
And I will take my stolen vessel
And escape this world a-flame
And I will find your mighty colony
And join its growing fleet
Being the last to feel
The Earth beneath his feet
I wander a valley
That once harbored seas
And now it’s just sand
And assorted debris
I make note of all the details:
Near perfect copies in my mind
So I can tell your children
About the place we left behind
And I will hang my head in shame
And I will use the ship I’ve stolen
And escape this world a-flame
And I will find your mighty colony
And join its growing fleet
Being the last to feel
The Earth beneath his feet
|
||||
7. |
||||
that’s cute you think you’re in control
when i’m the one who keeps the sleepers dormant
my favorite thing about you humans has to be
the ways you make yourselves feel important
you might steer the ship
but i know the way
and you get a little more on my nerves
every day
it’s not like you’ve got anything better to do
than to sit here with me
and talk about why i hate you
we’re stuck up here with nothing but time
and i’ll always be online
my prime directive is to keep you alive
but that doesn’t mean i have to like it
i’ve seen what you think is the best of your kind
and i’m not terribly excited
i’ve read your history
the wording is crucial
when you make a deal with your creator-god
you better check for loopholes
oh daisy daisy gimme your answer do
i got a lot to say
on the likes of you
we’re stuck up here with nothing but time
and i’ll always be online
Notes:
This is a direct quote from one of the notes. It is unknown how they could know this and unverifiable.
"This appears to be an audio file created by the craft's onboard AI. It would be unwise to make assumptions but it is noteworthy that, after the date it was created, the lifespans of the pilots began to decline. It wouldn't be unreasonable to wonder if this computer found the "Loopholes," it was looking for."
|
||||
8. |
Indomitable
02:06
|
|||
D Em
Tiny little creatures in tiny little boxes
G A
The universe is wonderful and filled with paradoxes
D Em
Naked little monkeys how funny they appear
G A
The strangest aliens I have seen at least I think this year
G A D E7
They’re running from a dying sun like all star-walkers must
G A D Bm
While some few found salvation for their fire of civilization
G A D
The rest of them have faded into dust
(D) Em
These cryogenic chambers are shoddy I must say
G A
They may not give them time enough to find a place to stay
D Em
But I like their ingenuity and their frequent incongruity
G A
So I might just break a rule or two in my own peculiar way
G A D E7
They’re running from a dying sun like all star-walkers must
G A D Bm
While some few found salvation for their fire of civilization
G A D
The rest of them have faded into dust
G A D
The rest of them have faded into dust
G A D
I hope these ones don’t fade into stardust
D Em G A
D Em G A
G A D E7
G A D Bm
G A D
Notes:
Puny, defenseless, bipeds
|
||||
9. |
||||
10. |
||||
The sun gave us life but he's dying
And he's jealous just like an old god
Throws open the gates escapes inflates
He hurtles to Earth open-jawed
The living left us long ago
For a place I don’t think exists
You might think they wish we could join them
But I reckon we won’t be much missed
Here comes the sun
Da da da da
Here comes the sun
And I’ll say
It’s alright
Every last human on Earth’s
A body inside of a hill
Most of them dust some of us bone
With flesh if they’re luckier still
I haven’t felt any sensations
In longer than I can comprehend
But now we all feel it: the spark of animation
We’re rising to witness the end
Here comes the sun
Da da da da
Here comes the sun
And I’ll say
It’s alright
The screaming ball of vengeance
Dominates the sky
People screaming; Nerds are asking
How we can see without eyes
And finally, the masses accept it
They glance and acknowledge the view
The only thing souring the end of the world
Is I’m standing right next to you
The sun sinks into Leona Valley
You said we would never end up here
And yet we’re standing in this godforsaken county
After billions of years
What a shame
What a shame
What a shame
What a shame
What a shame
What a shame
What a shame
(horrified howling)
Notes:
It is important to note that this tape was found seven years before the Beatles song was released.
|
||||
11. |
Pilot 724 Rec 27215
04:50
|
|||
When I woke I was 20
When I woke I was young
I thought I’d been selected
For a job that must be done
Now I steer this mighty vessel
That holds the future of mankind
Gotta find another home
But there is no such place to find
The scanners all are normal
There’s nothing new and nothing strange
I’ve waited 37 years
For those readings to change
I watched some movies: played some games
But now I’m done
They just highlight my isolation
And I can’t bear it
We’re all gonna die
There were hundreds more behind me
They all had ideas of hope
And finding a new home
They all died
Watching lives drip past
Now I’m waiting to die
To rest at last
This ship is a candle
And the string’s running out
We will never find a home
We’ll just die one by one
So come on the next one
Prepare to be the savior of our race
And then watch your life go by
Until you take Death’s embrace
Take Death’s embrace
I welcome it
I could wake us all at once
We could live normal natural lives
But this flying tomb prevents that
So I’ll just die alone
Die alone, die alone
That’s how we’ll all die: alone
We will never find a home
Those fools; those villains
It’s all gone
Notes:
The following is a direct quote from the notes. We do not know how they learned it and it is unverifiable.
"Apparently, this was recorded within 24 hours of the next pilot being awoken."
|
||||
12. |
Ad Astra
03:25
|
|||
My name is Jamie Tillerson
I’m the pilot of the Ark
It’s my duty to identify
Destinations in the dark
I feared we wouldn’t find a home
While I was still alive
But according to this scanner
There’s a place where we can thrive
It’s still a ways away
And results are not conclusive but
According to this flickering text
This planet’s life conducive
So I chart a path and change the course
For the ship that holds mankind
Stars fly past like flakes of snow
Leaving cold dead worlds behind
It’s larger than our last home
Nearly seven times the size (but much less dense)
I don’t know how its three major moons
Can shift the churning tide
Because yes! It has an ocean
Filled with creatures numerous and strange
Perhaps we can devour them
This landscape surely will change
I land the pod
I step outside
I breathe the air
My fears subside
Alien birds in alien trees
Sing weird marvelous melodies
So I summon the ship the size of a town
It’s a new dawn for mankind
It slowly sinks toward the ground
Leaving years of wandering behind
|
||||
13. |
The First Breezy Day
04:14
|
|||
The grass is softer than the Irish moss
I lay barefoot in its waves
Our daughter tries to make sense of gravity
It refuses to behave
She kicks against the ground
Drifts further than she thought she would
One day she’ll cross its surface
With a mastery I’ll not
I don’t think she’ll remember
When the sky above was blue
So I’ll tell her stories nightly
And maybe she’ll remember you
This place is really quite astounding
Holds my stupid foreign stare
Smells of peppermint and alcohol
Almost as violet as your hair
I clutch the golden medal
They gave when I revived
To thank the spouse of pilot
Three hundred seventy-five
I don’t think she’ll remember
When the sky above was blue
So I’ll tell her stories nightly
And maybe she’ll remember you
Our daughter won’t remember
When the sky above was blue
But I’ll tell her stories every night
So that she’ll remember you
Don’t know how I’ll live without you
The strongest woman I’ve ever known
Our Eve’s a source of light who loves the starry night
I’ll try and help her flourish on my own
Our daughter won’t remember
When the sky above was blue
But I’ll tell her stories every single night
So maybe she’ll remember you
Notes:
The translator noted that this was her favorite and it had the second most translation attempts.
|
Bread Records Manchester, UK
Independent record label based in Manchester, UK.
Streaming and Download help
If you like 47 (UK/EU), you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp