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New filk: No Deep, Dark Skies

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Arthur T.

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Jul 16, 2021, 2:34:29 AM7/16/21
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Title: No Deep, Dark Skies
ttto: Deep In the Heart of Texas

We now bewail, "The stars are pale"
Deep in the hearts of cities

No nebulae for you to see
Deep in the hearts of cities

We are appalled at sky glow's pall
Deep in the hearts of cities

Look up and moan; we seem alone
Deep in the hearts of cities

You cannot buy a deep dark sky
Though you are miles from cities

At best wan stars, or maybe Mars
Though you are miles from cities

Majestic skies are just grim lies
Though you are miles from cities

The view is hell; stay where you dwell
Deep in the hearts of cities

My lyrics copyright 2021 by Arthur Tansky. License granted for
non-commercial, non-political archiving and performance as long as:
1. copyright notice is maintained, and
2. no money changes hands.

--
Arthur T. - ar23hur "at" pobox "dot" com

Guessing a lyricist's opinions from his songs is as futile as
guessing an author's opinions from his novels.

Jeff Urs

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Jul 16, 2021, 8:42:11 AM7/16/21
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Arthur T. <art...@munged.invalid> wrote:
> Title: No Deep, Dark Skies
> ttto: Deep In the Heart of Texas
>
[snip]
> Majestic skies are just grim lies
> Though you are miles from cities

Nicely done, but

Come, flee your coasts; stars still we boast
Out here where eight's a city[1].

[1] Kentucky, although you probably can't see the stars in South Park View,
home-rule city with a population of seven.

--
Jeff

Gary McGath

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Jul 16, 2021, 9:40:55 AM7/16/21
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It was eight before they killed Kenny?

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

Jeff Urs

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Jul 16, 2021, 10:23:33 AM7/16/21
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Well, the thought of stars
Made me think "Cave Run"[1],
So for cities small,
I thought "Morehead's one"[2].
(Wikipedia's flow
South Park View found me, though;
Of our cities, it's most small.)

Facebook proved the next
Of my social waves;
There the cricket scores
Ballymena's gave.
Wikipedia found
Morehead's her sister town --
It's a small world after all!

[1] The night skies at Cave Run Lake, in the Daniel Boone National Forest,
are everything Arthur's missing.

[2] Morehead, population 7,000 or so, is a hop, step, and a jump from Cave
Run Lake.

--
Jeff

Arthur T.

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Jul 16, 2021, 1:57:20 PM7/16/21
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In Message-ID:<scrur1$a12$1...@dont-email.me>,
Jeff Urs <jeff...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Come, flee your coasts; stars still we boast
>Out here where eight's a city[1].

Good guess that I'm on the coast.

When I was young, we got an okay view of meteor showers just by
climbing onto the roof to get away from direct light. I don't think
that would help much now.

And you don't have to leave the coast for dark skies. The Poconos is
a (long) day trip for me and the skies there are fantastic. I saw my
shadow on grass on a moonless night, and the only thing I can think
that might have thrown it is the Milky Way (though people have told
me that that's impossible).

But for dark skies, you have to get a ridiculous distance from the
nearest cities. And even acceptable sky views require knowledge,
planning, and a longish trip.

There are advantages to living in a big city. And the sky is just one
of the offsetting disadvantages.

Lee Gold XP

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Jul 16, 2021, 4:20:58 PM7/16/21
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And what tune is this song to be sung to?

--Lee Gold

Jeff Urs

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Jul 16, 2021, 5:39:02 PM7/16/21
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Lee Gold XP <lee....@ca.rr.com> wrote:
> On 7/16/2021 7:23 AM, Jeff Urs wrote:
>> Well, the thought of stars
>> Made me think "Cave Run"[1],
>> So for cities small,
>> I thought "Morehead's one"[2].
>> (Wikipedia's flow
>> South Park View found me, though;
>> Of our cities, it's most small.)
[snip]
>
> And what tune is this song to be sung to?

Just the verse part of "It's A Small World".

--
Jeff
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