I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I read in the late 1950s.
I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from the local library.
The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet, pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special mention was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
On Oct 7, 6:18 pm, "Dave Moore" <d...@djmoorenospam.fsnet.co.uk>
wrote:
> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
> read in the late 1950s.
> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from the
> local library.
> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special mention
> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
Maybe it would help if you could give more clues? Is there *anything*
else you remember about the story? Were there intelligent aliens in
the story? Dangerous animals? Was the setting desert or forest? Was
the castaway rescued in the end? Could he eat the local food, or was
he living on food tablets from his spaceship? Can you remember
anything about any of the other stories in that anthology?
If nobody here knows your story, another good place for queries like
this is the BookSleuth Forum at abebooks.com.
> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
> read in the late 1950s.
> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from > the
> local library.
> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special > mention
> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
Maybe it would help if you could give more clues? Is there *anything*
else you remember about the story? Were there intelligent aliens in
the story? Dangerous animals? Was the setting desert or forest? Was
the castaway rescued in the end? Could he eat the local food, or was
he living on food tablets from his spaceship? Can you remember
anything about any of the other stories in that anthology?
If nobody here knows your story, another good place for queries like
this is the BookSleuth Forum at abebooks.com.
========================================
Thanks, Butch,
I don't recall much more about the story -- it was over 50 years ago, and I was very young :-)
What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which he would never see again. Sad ending.
What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest in jazz, for which I am grateful.
I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read it again.
>> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
>> read in the late 1950s.
>> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from
>> the
>> local library.
>> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
>> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special
>> mention
>> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
> Maybe it would help if you could give more clues? Is there *anything*
> else you remember about the story? Were there intelligent aliens in
> the story? Dangerous animals? Was the setting desert or forest? Was
> the castaway rescued in the end? Could he eat the local food, or was
> he living on food tablets from his spaceship? Can you remember
> anything about any of the other stories in that anthology?
> If nobody here knows your story, another good place for queries like
> this is the BookSleuth Forum at abebooks.com.
> ========================================
> Thanks, Butch,
> I don't recall much more about the story -- it was over 50 years ago, and I
> was very young :-)
> What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned
> spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which he
> would never see again. Sad ending.
> What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an
> example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the
> story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest in
> jazz, for which I am grateful.
> I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read it
> again.
> So, any further help would be much appreciated.
> TIA !
> Dave
Where did you read it -- in a collection of short stories? A magazine? Were there illustrations? Think about the paper -- was it newsprint, or was it smoother and heavier? Think about the text -- was it set in two columns, or did the words run right across the entire page?
If it was over 50 years ago then the work appeared before 1962, yes? That winnows it down a great deal.
> >> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
> >> read in the late 1950s.
> >> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from
> >> the
> >> local library.
> >> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> >> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special
> >> mention
> >> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
> > Maybe it would help if you could give more clues? Is there *anything*
> > else you remember about the story? Were there intelligent aliens in
> > the story? Dangerous animals? Was the setting desert or forest? Was
> > the castaway rescued in the end? Could he eat the local food, or was
> > he living on food tablets from his spaceship? Can you remember
> > anything about any of the other stories in that anthology?
> > If nobody here knows your story, another good place for queries like
> > this is the BookSleuth Forum at abebooks.com.
> > ========================================
> > Thanks, Butch,
> > I don't recall much more about the story -- it was over 50 years ago, and I
> > was very young :-)
> > What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned
> > spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which he
> > would never see again. Sad ending.
> > What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an
> > example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the
> > story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest in
> > jazz, for which I am grateful.
> > I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read it
> > again.
> > So, any further help would be much appreciated.
> > TIA !
> > Dave
> Where did you read it -- in a collection of short stories? A magazine?
> Were there illustrations? Think about the paper -- was it newsprint, or
> was it smoother and heavier? Think about the text -- was it set in two
> columns, or did the words run right across the entire page?
> If it was over 50 years ago then the work appeared before 1962, yes?
> That winnows it down a great deal.
In the original post (quoted in the post you replied to) the OP stated
explicitly that he read it "in the late 1950s" and that (he believes)
it was part of "an anthology of scf-fi stories [he] borrowed from the
local library."
> >> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi > >> story I
> >> read in the late 1950s.
> >> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from
> >> the
> >> local library.
> >> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> >> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special
> >> mention
> >> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
> > Maybe it would help if you could give more clues? Is there *anything*
> > else you remember about the story? Were there intelligent aliens in
> > the story? Dangerous animals? Was the setting desert or forest? Was
> > the castaway rescued in the end? Could he eat the local food, or was
> > he living on food tablets from his spaceship? Can you remember
> > anything about any of the other stories in that anthology?
> > If nobody here knows your story, another good place for queries like
> > this is the BookSleuth Forum at abebooks.com.
> > ========================================
> > Thanks, Butch,
> > I don't recall much more about the story -- it was over 50 years ago, > > and I
> > was very young :-)
> > What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned
> > spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which > > he
> > would never see again. Sad ending.
> > What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an
> > example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the
> > story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest > > in
> > jazz, for which I am grateful.
> > I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read > > it
> > again.
> > So, any further help would be much appreciated.
> > TIA !
> > Dave
> Where did you read it -- in a collection of short stories? A magazine?
> Were there illustrations? Think about the paper -- was it newsprint, or
> was it smoother and heavier? Think about the text -- was it set in two
> columns, or did the words run right across the entire page?
> If it was over 50 years ago then the work appeared before 1962, yes?
> That winnows it down a great deal.
In the original post (quoted in the post you replied to) the OP stated
explicitly that he read it "in the late 1950s" and that (he believes)
it was part of "an anthology of scf-fi stories [he] borrowed from the
local library."
=============================================
That's right. It was a hardcover anthology of sci-fi stories. My local library had several of these at the time (late 1950s) and I read them all. I recall the name August Derleth as an editor or co-editor of one of them, but whether it was of the book in question I don't remember.
In article <k53a0j$s7...@speranza.aioe.org>, "Dave Moore" <d...@djmoorenospam.fsnet.co.uk> writes:
>"Butch Malahide" <fred.gal...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:99f1436d-8770-4dd3-b911-e66e98ac0c94@b15g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...
>On Oct 9, 9:43 pm, Brenda Clough <BrendaWri...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> On 10/9/2012 7:17 PM, Dave Moore wrote:
>> >> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi >> >> story I read in the late 1950s.
>> >> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from
>> >> the local library.
>> >> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
>> >> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special
>> >> mention
>> >> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
>> > What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned
>> > spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which >> > he would never see again. Sad ending.
>> > What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an
>> > example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the
>> > story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest >> > in jazz, for which I am grateful.
>> > I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read >> > it again.
>> > So, any further help would be much appreciated.
>> Where did you read it -- in a collection of short stories? A magazine?
>> Were there illustrations? Think about the paper -- was it newsprint, or
>> was it smoother and heavier? Think about the text -- was it set in two
>> columns, or did the words run right across the entire page?
>> If it was over 50 years ago then the work appeared before 1962, yes?
>> That winnows it down a great deal.
>In the original post (quoted in the post you replied to) the OP stated
>explicitly that he read it "in the late 1950s" and that (he believes)
>it was part of "an anthology of scf-fi stories [he] borrowed from the
>local library."
>=============================================
>That's right. It was a hardcover anthology of sci-fi stories. My local >library had several of these at the time (late 1950s) and I read them all. I >recall the name August Derleth as an editor or co-editor of one of them, but >whether it was of the book in question I don't remember.
Scrolling about half-way down the page shows the collections that he
edited. Reading their title list might jog your memory.
I picked one at random, _Worlds of Tomorrow_, and found that its lead
story is titled "The Dead Planet", which sounds like an appropriate
title for the story that you described. (Note that I've never read any
story in which "St. Louis Blues" played a role, nor have I ever read
any Hamilton.)
-- Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Life's too important to take seriously.
On Sunday, October 7, 2012 7:18:36 PM UTC-4, Dave Moore wrote:
> Hi Folks I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I read in the late 1950s. I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from the local library. The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet, pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special mention was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues". Any suggestions gratefully received. Thanks in advance. Dave
I remember "The Deal Planet" very well--turns out the space explorers (rot-13) qvfpbire gung gur qrnq cynarg gurl unir qvfpbirerq vf Rnegu. I believe it was by Edmond Hamilton.
Cheers,
CC
In article <k53qcl$7h...@dont-email.me>, mstem...@walkabout.empros.com (Michael Stemper) writes:
>In article <k53a0j$s7...@speranza.aioe.org>, "Dave Moore" <d...@djmoorenospam.fsnet.co.uk> writes:
>>That's right. It was a hardcover anthology of sci-fi stories. My local >>library had several of these at the time (late 1950s) and I read them all. I >>recall the name August Derleth as an editor or co-editor of one of them, but >>whether it was of the book in question I don't remember.
>Scrolling about half-way down the page shows the collections that he
>edited. Reading their title list might jog your memory.
>I picked one at random, _Worlds of Tomorrow_, and found that its lead
>story is titled "The Dead Planet", which sounds like an appropriate
>title for the story that you described. (Note that I've never read any
>story in which "St. Louis Blues" played a role, nor have I ever read
>any Hamilton.)
I just found a copy of this specific story on-line, and it doesn't have
a lone traveller, so it's not the one you're looking for. <hand-wave>
But, I'd still recommend scanning the ISFDB listings for anthologies
edited by Derleth, as something might ring a bell.
-- Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Life's too important to take seriously.
>>I picked one at random, _Worlds of Tomorrow_, and found that its lead
>>story is titled "The Dead Planet", which sounds like an appropriate
>>title for the story that you described. (Note that I've never read any
>>story in which "St. Louis Blues" played a role, nor have I ever read
>>any Hamilton.)
> I just found a copy of this specific story on-line, and it doesn't have
> a lone traveller, so it's not the one you're looking for. <hand-wave>
> But, I'd still recommend scanning the ISFDB listings for anthologies
> edited by Derleth, as something might ring a bell.
> -- > Michael F. Stemper
> #include <Standard_Disclaimer>
> Life's too important to take seriously.
Thank you, Michael and Chuck. You are right, Michael, it's not "The Dead Planet," which has a completely different story line.
I once thought it might have been Arthur Clarke's "The Songs of Distant Earth," since the title seemed appropriate, but it's not that one either.
As you say, it might be in another Derleth anthology, although the titles in the list ring no bells. Maybe the Derleth connection is a red herring. Whatever, it's proving to be a difficult search. I thought the "St Louis Blues" connection might ring bells with others who had read the story, and I've not given up hope yet.
On Wednesday, October 10, 2012 12:17:52 AM UTC+1, Dave Moore wrote:
> I don't recall much more about the story -- it was over 50 years ago, and I > was very young :-)
> What I remember, there were no aliens involved, just one lonely marooned > spaceman sitting and gazing at a distant Sun, thinking of Earth, which he > would never see again. Sad ending.
> What really sticks in my mind was the mention of "St Louis Blues" as an > example of the music on Earth. I didn't know the number when I read the > story, but was prompted to find out more, and that led me to an interest in > jazz, for which I am grateful.
> I'm just curious about the story, and its author, and would like to read it > again.
> So, any further help would be much appreciated.
Can we get a read on /how/ distant the Sun is? It's nearer on
Venus, of course, although whether you can see it depends on the
clouds, and, of course, on whether the author knows what Venus has
turned out to be actually like. If it's a visible disc, Mars is possible, if a little chilly, which opens up Ray Bradbury as author, and a visit or two by Roger Zelazny - whom I mention just because he throws in details of cultural art like that.
Then there's the asteroids, and, for the gas giants, you're more
likely to be on a moon than "on" the planet itself. And on Pluto
you're basically looking at a star slightly brighter than the others.
And so to Proxima Centauri...
The music of "Saint Louis Blues" was published in 1914, which lets in most of the possible sci-fi authors. I suppose that it isn't going to be useful to consider which star systems it could have possibly been transmitted to by radio by any given date, at the speed of light. And I think we didn't send out space probes with long-playing records on until the Voyagers in 1977.
<http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html> has the track
listing, which includes "Melancholy Blues" (aren't they always...
well, that probably isn't a unique observation), performed by "Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven" in 1927, and of course "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65. Or not.
On Oct 7, 6:18 pm, "Dave Moore" <d...@djmoorenospam.fsnet.co.uk>
wrote:
> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
> read in the late 1950s.
> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from the
> local library.
> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special mention
> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
I reposted your query to the BookSleuth forum at abebooks.com, and I
believe your story has been identified their by aokkittycat666:
The story is "Star Bride" by Anthony Boucher. A quotation from the
story:
[BEGIN QUOTE]
He just sits there by the waters and looks up at the blue star and
sings their sad folksongs with the funny names: _Saint Louis Blues_
and _Barbara Allen_ and _Lover, Come Back To Me_.
[END QUOTE]
Is that the one you're looking for? It differs in some respects from
your description. [SPOILER WARNING] The lonesome guy is a Martian, as
we learn on p. 3 of the 3-page story; up to then we've been led to
believe he's an Earthman. The Martians, apparently 100% humanoid
except for their green skin, have conquered Earth. Our jazz fan has
gone to Earth, and has married an Earthwoman in a quaint native
ceremony. Now he's back on Mars and, debilitated by space fever, he is
planetbound, and he misses his "star bride" and the songs of Earth.
If that's your story, here's the publication history:
> I'm trying to remember the title (and/or author) of a short scf-fi story I
> read in the late 1950s.
> I believe it was part of an anthology of scf-fi stories I borrowed from > the
> local library.
> The story was about a lone space traveller marooned on a lonely planet,
> pining for Earth and the music he remembered hearing there. Special > mention
> was given to the jazz number "St Louis Blues".
I reposted your query to the BookSleuth forum at abebooks.com, and I
believe your story has been identified their by aokkittycat666:
The story is "Star Bride" by Anthony Boucher. A quotation from the
story:
[BEGIN QUOTE]
He just sits there by the waters and looks up at the blue star and
sings their sad folksongs with the funny names: _Saint Louis Blues_
and _Barbara Allen_ and _Lover, Come Back To Me_.
[END QUOTE]
Is that the one you're looking for? It differs in some respects from
your description. [SPOILER WARNING] The lonesome guy is a Martian, as
we learn on p. 3 of the 3-page story; up to then we've been led to
believe he's an Earthman. The Martians, apparently 100% humanoid
except for their green skin, have conquered Earth. Our jazz fan has
gone to Earth, and has married an Earthwoman in a quaint native
ceremony. Now he's back on Mars and, debilitated by space fever, he is
planetbound, and he misses his "star bride" and the songs of Earth.
If that's your story, here's the publication history:
That's brilliant! Thank you so much -- and aokkittycat666 too.
It almost certainly is the story I had in mind, despite minor differences in my recall due, no doubt, to the 50 years elapsed since I last read it.
The collection I read it in was most probably the UK edition of "Stories For Tomorrow" edited by William Sloane. I also recall some of the other story titles listed.
Butch Malahide <fred.gal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> [SPOILER WARNING] The lonesome guy is a Martian, as
> we learn on p. 3 of the 3-page story; up to then we've been led to
> believe he's an Earthman.
The anthology http://tinyurl.com/9e9gbec calls this a "short short
story." Editor Asimov explains, "in the short short story, everything
is eliminated but the point." As Butch more or less says, a plot twist
is the point of this story.
Writing a plot twist comes easy to me. A twisty plot exploits at least
a couple of story elements. It builds suspense until an unmistakable
climax, in the form of a plot twist, occurs.
The audience entertains itself by playing a round of "guess what
happens at the end." Like watching golden-age or silver-age TV drama,
guessing the end within the first five minutes, then sticking around
to see how well one did.
On Sunday, October 14, 2012 9:58:39 PM UTC+1, Butch Malahide wrote:
> The story is "Star Bride" by Anthony Boucher. A quotation from the
> story:
> [BEGIN QUOTE]
> He just sits there by the waters and looks up at the blue star and
> sings their sad folksongs with the funny names: _Saint Louis Blues_
> and _Barbara Allen_ and _Lover, Come Back To Me_. > [END QUOTE]
Well, then! He can see it fine.
I called Mars! (And Venus, and the other solar planets except for
Mercury but including asteroids and Pluto, and also all other planets in the universe.)
