Minus Ten and Counting 08 - The Ballad of Apollo XIII [HQ]

Thanks to rocketman0739 for providing high-quality versions of these songs.
Download the album here: archive.org/de...
Find more of Julia Ecklar's excellent music at: www.prometheus...
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Lyrics:
There's legends galore in the pulp SF lore
About shipwrecks of spacecraft a-spacing
When meteor holes come 'tween men and their goals
By demolishing ships that they're racing
Painting pictures with words like none you've ever heard,
SF writers made frightening predictions.
But the terrors they tell cannot equal the hell
Faced by three men in fact, and not fiction.
To April 11, 1970, now
We must let our narrative carry us.
Three men in a CSM named Odyssey;
Beneath them, the LM named Aquarius.
With a furious roar, Saturn leapt for the sky
With Jack Swigert, Fred Haise, and Jim Lovell
Toward a planned rendervous that would never come true
With the grey lunar gravel and rubble.
Still, they set up housekeeping in orbit 'round Earth
And translunar insertion was kindled
But the public just yawned, for this landing was third,
And behind them old Terra slow dwindled.
Apollo XIII traveled on down the track
Laid down by the three laws of Newton.
At fifty-six hours into lunar-bound coast
Lovell said, "Houston, we have a problem."
Now, they might have been struck by a meteorite;
Maybe something had just overloaded.
But their panels went red with their malfunction lights
And in Odyssey something exploded.
That blast blocked or ruptured their fuel cell lines;
Their electrical energy faltered.
With no hope at all of a rescue in time,
Thirteen's mission profile had just altered.
To physics and God they commended their lives
For no power on Earth now could save them
Although NASA let the men talk with their wives,
Of goodbyes there was never a mention.
Three men in a CSM bound for the Moon
Reached two hundred and six thousand miles.
Did they have enough air to get all the way there?
Could they trust what they read on their dials?
And when they reached Luna, could they change course for home?
Would she trap them, or loose them at random?
Untested advice and contingency plans
Were the only things NASA could hand them.
When Apollo XIII crossed the limb of the Moon
And death came from the receivers
We knew the next signal would speak of their doom
Or answer the faith of believers.
"Apollo Thirteen, this is Houston. Do you read?"
Dear God, let them answer us quickly.
The world held its breath, and in Mission Control
Every screen lit a face pale and sickly.
"Apollo Thirteen, this is Houston. Do you read?"
That empty sound stretched on for years.
"Houston...This is Thirteen...We're coming home!" said a voice,
And the world found relief in its tears.
At T plus one hundread and thirty-eight hours
They jettisoned Odyssey's wreckage.
That module was shattered and blasted apart-
A symbol of death in the space age.
Aquarius served as their lifeboat to shore,
Till they knew they would no longer need her.
At T plus one hundred and forty-one hours,
With a deep prayer of "Thank you!" they freed her.
Ed, Roger, and Gus must have smiled on those days,
Knowing theirs was the path not to follow.
But their souls were with Swigert and Lovell and Haise
Riding home on the thirteenth Apollo.
At T plus one hundred forty-three, fifty-four
Apollo XIII hit the waters.
Three men returned home, shaken up, but alive,
To their wives and their sons and their daughters!
There's legends galore in the pulp SF lore
About shipwrecks of spacecraft a-spacing
But all of them now do cause men to reflect
On three days when the world's heart went racing
Painting pictures with words all too few people heard,
SF writers could make their predictions,
But always recall that, in spite of them all,
The truth was much greater than fiction.
Yes, always recall that, in spite of them all,
The truth must be greater than fiction.

[@nyarlathotep4889]

“Yes, always recall that, in spite of them all, The truth must be greater than fiction.” What a amazing two lines.

[@johnburt1172]

Every single time I play this, the long silence tugs at some tender strand inside me. Every single time....

[@TheKhopesh]

For me, the most powerful verse is always: "We knew the next signal would speak of their doom Or answer the faith of believers."

[@dromankass8655]

It is a very good moment of the song, a well used silence (though I also like the line 'and in Odyssey something exploded'. The author of the Tintin stories, Herge, does the same thing in his 1952 comic 'Explorers on the Moon'. The Moon Rocket is approaching the moon for landing, and in those days it was believed that the gravitational stress at both take-off and landing would cause the crew to black out, while the rocket will land on automatic systems, the crew are in acceleration couches. As Mission Control guides them into the final steps of landing, the crew lose consciousness one by one with Tintin manning the radio and giving updates, until he too blacks out. As the Mission Control Director laments the silence, as that it's unbearable, there comes a loud howling noise on the radio, as Tintin's loyal dog Snowy howls loudly, as if mourning the dead, before he too falls silent. On automatic guidance the Moon Rocket descends down onto the cratered surface of the moon, before it's tripod legs come to rest on Hipparchus crater. It's engine dies away, and the great rocket stands silent on the cold grey surface of the moon. High in the star filled sky is the blue globe of the Earth, and from it come the radio hails from Mission Control. 'Earth to Moon Rocket, are you receiving?' . . . 'Earth to Moon Rocket, are you receiving?' . . . In Mission Control the Director and his staff look at each in alarm. It has been over twenty minutes since the Moon Rocket set down, and the crew should have recovered consciousness. But there is still no rely. Even the enemy Nazi spy-master, secretly listening into the communications in his own base in a rival nation, glowers crossly at his radio and mutters 'By Lucifer, it's a bad blow for us if they are all dead'. 'Earth to Moon Rocket, are you receiving?' . . . 'Moon Rocket, are you receiving?' . . .

[@arcadiaberger9204]

@@dromankass8655 Dang....

[@ViniciusAL20]

I'm 20 years old and i'm in love with Julia Ecklar's voice, I wish I could've seen her live but I didn't even exist back then lol, her voice is perfect.

[@plantlord3266]

brilliant and powerful song done only as Julia can do it. She did this live at a worldcon I was at and not a dry eye in the room. Stunning use of the music if Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

[@greatjonumber4958]

I love the line about Gus Grissom, a nice throwback to Apollo I

[@Marcus001]

😢

[@connormclernon26]

I’ve listened to the audio of that disaster. Chilling

[@tateranus4365]

yeah he was a total badass, one time he was watching a test of the ejector seats on the Gemini capsule and the explosive bolts for one of the doors failed so the test dummy went careening into the door, reportedly he laughed and said "well... that would be ONE bad headache, but also one short headache" keep in mind that was a mockup of the capsule he was going to ride to orbit in... astronaughts are wired different...

[@andreapierce2980]

Which line was that?

[@tateranus4365]

@@andreapierce2980 Ed, Roger, and Gus must have smiled on those days, Knowing theirs was the path not to follow.

[@Slytheringrrl2]

45 years ago today, 29 souls were lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald, the inspiration for this song.

[@radeemer1]

So this song was inspired by Gordon Lightfoot's song? When did they make this?

[@SongsfromtheStars]

The album was released in 1983.

[@greatjonumber4958]

@@radeemer1 Lightfoot's song came out in '76, and this song was in '83.

[@afriendofafriend5766]

Pretty sure this song is about the Apollo 13 mission?

[@mkb7001]

@@afriendofafriend5766 yes but the music

[@lenorevanalstine1219]

one thing thats scary is if they had had the malfunction earlier they would have died if it had happened one the moon or after they would have died the amount of effect luck had on them surviving is crazy they were in such a bad situation they had to stop dumping their urine as it was making them drift too much and they wouldnt have enough fuel to correct and not burn up they also nearly froze

[@barragethree5047]

I love filk I love Julia Ecklar I am a Michigander HOW IN THE SWEET STARRY VOID WAS I SO IGNORANT AS TO PASS THIS BY

[@Inqusitor_VDM]

FUCKING SAME! And ive known all the words to "wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" since i was 10 (thank you dad, god rest your soul) I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVENT FOUND THIS SOONER

[@delton39]

I just realized this is to the tune of the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald

[@joren2840]

Oh my god, thank you so much, so so much, for uploading the clear versions for all of these songs. You're a fucking hero mate.

[@Tula-cs1ef]

Fun fact some of the test audience for Apollo 13 hated it and on the comment card wrote "too unrealistic, they'd never have made it,"

[@eggisfun4217]

💀💀

[@grimalkin6676]

I know this is late but this is kinda true for most of the movies made about extreme events that happen, especially certain war events. Some things just sound so insane its hard to believe. So most of those movies tend to tune it down some.

[@Cinnamonscholar]

Space and tech forgot the most indomitable things, Humanity's will to help, create and survive...

[@sanguiniusonvacation1803]

Didn't expect a Lightfoot song cover

[@mycoolhandgiveit]

Thank you for uploading! The previous version I found was copyright striked :(

[@republicsrpska2527]

the only other upload I could find immediately has some background noise

[@cyqry]

You're an absolute saint for uploading all of these songs! I would be careful putting this one up though; Weyrd had previously uploaded this and got a copyright strike from the supposed writer. Too many strikes and the whole channel goes, along with the rest of the songs.

[@SongsfromtheStars]

I'll keep that in mind, however, since it's not monetized, there shouldn't be a problem.

[@cyqry]

@@SongsfromtheStars I've seen folk strike things even when it isn't monetized. Unfortunately, it seems like some people just hate watching others upload their work and would rather it be forgotten :(

[@flinko99]

I think it might literally be because the guy doesn't like Julia's wording in one line

[@cyqry]

@@flinko99 Sounds like it from what I've seen. Which is even more ridiculous because it didn't get shut down for *copyright* reasons yet that's what he used. Writer of this song is a grade A asshole.

[@bengusmcribcager6373]

@@cyqry what line specifically is he angry about? this is some advanced boomer hate, i gotta know

[@afriendofafriend5766]

This song would make me shiver in the Sahara.

[@bradpotts1747]

chills every damn time

[@mattm402]

Nonfiction or not... I think it makes it even better. Did I just heat a filk song set to the tune of the Edumund fitzgerald?

[@PeterBoddy]

Amazing song!

[@camohawk6703]

My grandmother knew all the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts. I wm wondering if she was reliving what happened to Apollo 1 when Apollo 13 happened.

[@TheGroundedAviator]

I think we can all agree this was going to happen at some point, it just does, I'm not being pessimistic, cynical or anything, I'm just being an engineer. And with Apollo 1, Soyuz 1&1, Challenger and Colombia another inevitable fact happened for reasons not worth going on about forever.

[@fionawimber1028]

You know this will be good when you hear this is a parody of Edmund Fitzgerald!

[@okbamtheman]

Since nobody has posted the lyrics yet here they are There's legends galore in the pulp SF lore 'Bout shipwrecks of spacecraft a-spacing When meteor holes come 'tween men and their goals By demolishing ships that they're racing Painting pictures with words like none you'd ever heard SF writers made frightening predictions But the terrors they tell cannot equal the hell Faced by three men in fact, and nonfiction To April 11, Nine-teen Seventy now We must let our narrative carry us Three men in a C.S.M named Odyssey Beneath them, the L.M named Aquarius With a furious roar, Saturn leapt for the sky With Jack Swiggart, Fred Heise, and Jim Lovell Toward a planned rendervous that would never come true With the grey lunar gravel and rubble Still, they set up housekeeping in orbit, 'round Earth And translunar insertion was kindled But the public just yawned, for this landing was theird And behind them old Terra slow dwindled Apollo XIII traveled on down the track Laid down by the three laws Of Newton At fifty-sex hours into lunar bound coast Lovell said, "Houston, we have a problem" Now, they might have been struck by a meteorite Maybe something had just overloaded But their pannels went red with their malfunction lights And in Odyessy something exploded That blast blocked or ruptured their fuel cell line Their electrical energy faltered With no hope at all of a rescue in time Thirteen's mission profile had just altred To physics and God they commended their lives For no power on Earth now could save them Although NASA let the men talk with their wives Of goodbyes there was never a mention Three men in a CSM bound for the Moon Reached two hundread and six thousand miles Did they have enough air to get all the way there? Could they trust what they read on their dials? And when they reached Luna, could they change course for home Would she Trap them, or loose them at random Untested advice and contingency plans Were the only things NASA could hand them WHen appollo 13 crossed the limb of the moon And death came from the recivers We knew the next signal would speak of their doom Or answer the faith of belivers "Apollo Thirteen, This is Houston, Do you read?" Dear god let them answer us quickly The world held its breath and in mission control Every screen lit a face pale and sickly "Apollo Thirteen, this is houston. Do you read?" . . That empty sound streteched on for years "Houston. . .This is Thriteen. . . We're coming home!" said a voice And the world found relief in its tears At T plus one hundread and theirty-eight hours They jettosoned Odyssey's wreckage That modual was shattered and blasted apart A symbol of death in the space age Aquarius served as their lifeboat to shore Till they knew they would no longer need her At T pluss one hundred and fourty-one hours With a deep prayer of "Thank You" they freed her Ed, Roger, and Gus must have smiled on those days Knowing theirs was the path not to follow But their souls were with Swiggart and Lovli and Heise Riding home on the thrirtheenth apollo At T plus one hundread forty-three Fifty-four Apollo XIII hit the waters Three men returned home, shaken up, but alive To their wives and their sons and their daughters! There's legends galore in the pulp SF lore Bout shipwrecks of spacecraft a-spacing But all of them now do cause men to reflect On three days when the world's heart went racing Painting pictures with words all to few people heard SF writers could make their predictions But always recall that in spite of them all He truth was much greater than fiction Yes always recall that, that in spite of them all The truth must be greater than fiction

[@SongsfromtheStars]

The lyrics are in the description already but thanks

[@swiftarrow1174]

Why does this sound like "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot? it's like they have the same chords or something Edit: yeah, 6:18 has the exact same lyrics as 3:50 in kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnmTfGmln9J6kKM

[@SongsfromtheStars]

it's the same entire tune lol

[@swiftarrow1174]

@@SongsfromtheStars a bit late there but yeah

[@JimmyBlonde]

Nobody knew, nobody cared.

[@eggisfun4217]

?