Carmen Miranda's Ghost 11 - Sam Jones

[@samuelcox9656]

I really like how "Space is wide and good friends are too few" starts off as a cynical comment but gradually gets more meaning as the song continues.

[@samuelcox9656]

@@OculisOrbis typo lol

[@bombidil3]

@@samuelcox9656 It starts as a gripe. As the story shapes up, the audience realizes it's a lament.

[@RattiDave]

Now I met Sam Jones on a dock-side night in a run down Viking bar, A kid of maybe fifteen years at that purely nowhere star He had no ship, he had no skills, no Name or Family, And he looked at me like a thirsty soul at a boundless salty sea For Space is wide and good friends are too few "Captain take me with you, Captain I'll work for free, I was spacer-born and stranded here, Dock-side's not for me" Now that tale sure is an old one, some stationer unwise, Had slept with some spacer love and got herself this prize For Space is wide and good friends are too few And the kid grows up all restless and dreams of fairing free, The stars and worlds and foreign docks and things he'll never see "A Spacer's more then born" I said, "He's trained from infancy. And you, you've grown up station-side; boy you're no use to me." For Space is wide and good friends are too few Well I saw him take that hope of his and turn his face away, Not give up, no he'd never quit, just try further down the way "Hey kid," I said "you're stubborn; if you work with half that will, Well our engineer could use a hand, we've got a berth to fill" For Space is wide and good friends are too few He stood there with that scowling look, as if he hadn't heard, And then the tears ran down his face but he didn't say a word. Now he never was much for talkin', after we took him on board, "Yes Sir", "Yes Ma'am", "No Sir" were all the words that he'd afford. For Space is wide and good friends are too few Now the engineer Kate Meachum, well her eyes were going bad . She knew I knew, and that kid I sent, drove old Kate raving mad, "Out" she'd yell, and he'd lie low, until old Kate got cool, Then back he'd go and he'd do the scut, while Kate would call him a fool For Space is wide and good friends are too few In time Kate's eyes got much worse, and every crewman knew, But Kate herself, well her heart would stop on the day she left that crew. That close-mouthed kid would never talk, he just covered Kate's mistakes. "Kate," He'd say "Check the number four" or, "Kate that's nine-point-eight." For Space is wide and good friends are too few Now we made our rounds on the ports we used from Halleys to AlMar, And one jump all of our luck ran out at a little K-Class star We hit a rock, a vane went down, the ship went kiting through, No way to stop and no damn thing that a rescue ship could do. For Space is wide and good friends are too few "It's the number three bar" Kate Meachum said, "That's broken on that vane" "I'll send a man up," I said then, first hope I'd entertained. "No way," said Kate, "It's outside work, we can't fix that from here, And to pull that thing with a High-V charge is a job for the engineer." For Space is wide and good friends are too few Now we rode in dust at three quarters C with our shields all down and null, "Kate" I said "It's hell out there, dust is chewing up our hull" "It'll chew a hardsuit faster still, Ten minutes is all you'll last," "Die now or later," old Kate said, "I'll just work a little fast." For Space is wide and good friends are too few Well old Kate put that hardsuit on, she went out in the driving hail Of High-V gas that scoured our hull, with a shriek like a banshee wail. Her voice came back, so thin and weak that we could hardly hear, "I'm on it now, I'm at the vane, I've got the cover clear." For Space is wide and good friends are too few And silence then, a long long while all drowned in static hiss, "Damn this thing, my face plate's fogged my sight's gone all to mist" "Kate" I said "Get back inside, someone else will go," But then I heard the aft-lock work two levels down below For Space is wide and good friends are too few "Steady, Kate" said the kid's low voice, then while the minutes ran, "Easy Kate, my suit's brand new, keep low as ever you can. I'll find the pins, you tell me how, and I'll get this bastard free." Kate's voice then, we listened hard, caught about one word in three. For Space is wide and good friends are too few "Ten minutes gone," we heard Kate say, then we heard the kid's hard breath, "I got her, shove the other in, hold on for life and death" Said the kid, "My arm's gone numb. Oh that's it, now there, Kate, she's in. Get inside fast, get outta here -" he went to static then. For Space is wide and good friends are too few "Boy hang on" we heard Kate say, Then we heard Kate Meachum swear. And quiet then, just the static hiss, and a stillness in the air. Ten minutes more, "Power up" I said, For we heard no sound back there, It was my hand shoved the lever home, and the power surged and flared. For space is wide and good friends are too few Our speed ebbed down and ebbed again, as we turned for that K-Class sun But Kate and the kid went on together, on the trip they'd both begun. Old half-blind Kate and young Sam Jones made a hell of an engineer. So turn down a glass for such as they, and thank God we're sitting here. For space is wide and good friends are too few Yes space is wide and good friends are too few

[@Raffiki7521]

I am so glad that I had the privilege to hear this live at late night filk circles, done by the original. Truly awesome.

[@iknowthatyougreatlyloveyou1613]

Gospeed to you spacecowboy

[@adolfhitler3238]

Lucky bastard lol

[@gewuerzwanze5627]

@@adolfhitler3238 lmao hitler is jealous

[@TeasGuideToThePlanes]

I think the best part of this song is how the tone of the chorus changes as the song progresses. The tone of it goes from reluctant and reserved, to comradery, to a bitter-sadness. Very, very good songwriting.

[@booloughghenuh1641]

I've finally realize why this song brings tears to my, and so many others. It strikes at a deep piece of ourselves that we keep hidden away in the deepest corners of our souls, and it gives us deep insight into our human condition. Nothing is more human than living a life to the best of our ability despite seemingly indominable struggles, surrounded by friends and doing our best, working on or towards the thing we love. Nothing is more human than sacrificing ourselves for those we truly love, and nothing is more beautiful than the ultimate culmination of everything life offers, no matter how soon or sad it is, we all face it, we all know it, and whether we like it or not, it is beautiful. This song is beautiful

[@Tialakit]

Anyone else see the events of this song playing in their head like a movie?

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

yes - even with sensurround outside and in to the deep

[@OscarDiaz-ix2fl]

Yes is called imagining. Incredible right

[@rairarku2964]

I don't know why, but yes. And the end, it suddenly goes black and white, with the sound turned of as I just see them clinging outside the ship before losing hold. Sometimes I hate my imagination.....

[@gabrielstrong2186]

Rairarku imagination is a curse but also a blessing

[@rairarku2964]

@@gabrielstrong2186 I know... I can just go floating into the foggy mists of daydreamland but I can also go off to the hell that is daymareland... if that's a thing

[@xenophile620]

Dear God, what is this gem from the past... I love folk music, sea shanties, and drinking songs... and then there is this combo with science fiction! What have I been missing my whole life?

[@rkt739]

check out /r/filk, there are some out-of-print albums available for download there

[@drmom5]

Welcome to filkdom! I felt this way when I discovered SF fandom.

[@gabrielstrong2186]

Leslie Fish Ms Fish, can the rest of us also impose on your friend? I would love to get as much as I can get my grubby protuberances on. Thank you anGoddess bless your part in this wonderful genre

[@valkyrie1066]

LESLIE FISH! She does sci fi; fantasy, history....you're going to love her!

[@urekmazino6519]

I have no idea how I wound up here. I only know that this mere 8 minutes of a song has more emotional depth and impactful story telling than most movies or tv series I've seen. Cheers and thank you for uploading it!

[@ravithejon2466]

I totally agree this song made me come closer to crying than anything I've heard in a long while even tho it's fictional

[@FloofersFX]

These whole albums are amazing and just... Mysterious. A lot of the singers just vanished, can hardly find any info on them.

[@rkt739]

C.J. Cherryh, who wrote this song, has apparently left the filk scene but is still writing SF and active on Facebook. Leslie Fish, who sang it, lives in Arizona and doesn't get out much anymore. Vic Tyler, the other singer on this tape, has, as far as I know, completely dropped off the map.

[@Whipster-Old]

God damn, but you're right. I heard this track at the end of a youtube video, and it got me right in the feels. Amazing work.

[@InternetTAB]

space station 13?

[@Rolan7196]

I love the entire album but this song, in particularly, really touched me. Still pulling it up over a year after I found it. I recited most of it to friends on a long hike, but I still don't have certain verses down... It's long, but it's a great story. Setup, climax, and denouement.

[@rudasaeorien]

tratan3 I liked Some Kind of Hero just a little more.

[@umadbroimatroll7918]

This song is also in the finitys end album

[@thecondogster8672]

@@rudasaeorien yeah that song makes me feel, especially for molly

[@marksmangalactic9050]

This song fills me with a want for an era that will probably never happen. When I close my eyes, the song plays out like a movie.

[@PltO]

I was trying to remember what book or movie this story in my head was from, when I suddenly remembered it's a song. Such fantastic storytelling, I tear up every time.

[@nocturnanacht]

I used to have this tape, years ago. I wore it completely out. So glad to hear the songs again.

[@reddir]

I seem to always get misty-eyed around 5:48....damn space dust...

[@MichalSoukup1995]

So its with me, the dost, for sure :D

[@ravithejon2466]

Exactly why can't those stupid hard-suits be friggin harder!!!!

[@doopydoopz1737]

@@ravithejon2466 Maneuverability mostly

[@keybladewizard49]

The two songs you're looking for are "Toast to the Unknown Heroes" and "The Hymn of the Engineer"

[@TheGlennsof]

Excellent songs. Especially "Toast to the Unknown Heroes". Reminds us that progress is made by the combined work of many and not individuals.

[@ThreezeNiNja]

Good friends are too few... the chorus is so true.

[@cleocatra871]

Turn down a glass for such as they...and thank God we're sitting here! For space is wide and good friends are too few!

[@Ickdaogda]

The night before I drank a glass of mead to this wonderful tune. Dose that count?

[@Wilkidw]

@@Ickdaogda mead is always acceptable for a toast. The old gods would approve.

[@krish6063]

Drew me to tears, for the both of them. Bravo.

[@jonnarterius3163]

Playing this as I am hauling freight to Jita in EVE Online! Something about this folk-style song as you travel the vastness of space wondering about whats out there.

[@rutabagasteu]

Filk.. not folk. It's a different style.

[@rutabagasteu]

@Leslie Fish oh. Okay. I only heard filk at ConFrancisco. I found a copy of the book of short stories with the different versions of Carmen Miranda is Haunting Space Station Three and a cassette of your songs for sale.

[@SalmonFeet]

I imagine an old senile alien admiral or crew member, singing this at the same station he found Sam Jones

[@stevenbentley310]

I want to thank you for putting these up. I love any song that tells a story, and songs telling science fiction, fantasy, and horror tales are even better, in my book. I've been playing these in the background of my workshop, and it makes my days go so much better. Thank you.

[@valkyrie1066]

Yep. LOVED this cassette, took it camping every summer, and mine started to drag like this too! LOL

[@NuclearBumpkin]

Bottoms up, shipmates.

[@TheAtreiden]

Best Album to play Elite:Dangerous to.

[@4hands456]

that star citizen or space station 13

[@akimbofurry2179]

This album fills me with so mutch emotion.

[@Terminator85BS]

Thank you so much for uploading this. Found your songs about a year ago and I just can't stop listening. Especially this song is so hauntingly beautiful, makes me so emotional every time. Nothing better after a hard day than having a beer and playing some songs of this album. You give me a lot of joy, and for that I'm thankful.

[@SoulGriever13]

I blame Tex and the BPL. Press F to pay respects.

[@johnharold8682]

Late in lockdown and with drink taken. As someone who was an engineer for most of my life I know these people.

[@garettdelong213]

am i the only one who cries a bit at the end of this song?

[@craniifer]

No shame at tearing up at a good filk.

[@YukonWilleh]

Not at all

[@voiceofsilencio]

And I down a glass for such as them everytime I get to it

[@BEAMISHdocd]

no

[@InternetTAB]

lol 2 mins in and it's already welling up

[@jerrynash7886]

The song is great. Love it the synthesizers are wonderful. Reminds me of the Mike Pinder era of the Moody Blues.

[@guypierson5754]

Space is wide and good friends are too few :(

[@sarahcoventon1638]

The heroism in this song brings me to tears

[@yetipotato8567]

It goes so well with Some kind of hero

[@InternetTAB]

I cant sing this one without wavering

[@SFIUSSINDIANA]

Awesome songs...Thanks for posting this!

[@Cyarrick1]

This sounds like it's describing a Traveller campaign

[@torias23]

You do the community a great service

[@firstofalllosers3615]

I've listened to this song a lot but now I wonder if Kate chose to let go after Sam got knocked off

[@SG-yx5en]

I realized, we're literally 0.00015%. Perhaps we should be proud...

[@rutabagasteu]

These songs she sings are known as filk... songs. Not folk songs. I had to put the extra .. after filk.. because of auto correct.

[@SpectralKnight]

Space ninjas cutting space onions

[@godsdj7316]

I feel that.

[@keybladewizard49]

Excuse me, it's not available on Amazon right now; I'll send you a PM when I find the place where you can buy it; I have a copy myself but I don't remember where I got it.

[@rescue00751]

Thank you so much for this songs. I'm bound to them for half my life. Perhaps you can help. I'm looking for "Song for the unknown heroes", and a second song from which I only knew one single line "it's the hell for an engineer". Take care.

[@CWR_56]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKvSpZSIgbeCqtk

[@cannasablin4679]

Should upload some of these for download

[@calliss510]

Made me shed a tear, incredible!

[@keybladewizard49]

Noooot a problem~ I love those songs so of course I'dhelp you find it~

[@DetectiveZoidberg]

>Sam and Kate give their lives to save the ship >Thanks God

[@hallowedbeyourdays]

We must surely be blessed if people like them lived with us.

[@fuzzytheduck]

I feel like I’m sitting by a campfire on an alien planet, listening to my fellow crew members sing tales of their pasts.

[@Reijack]

Whenever I listen to some filk, I always listen to this song last because I have to go and cry after I finish it

[@MnemonicHack]

We all have in our minds the kinds of people we want to be friends with. We all have ideas about what we do and who we do it with and how things will go. But rarely if ever do those desires come true. No, you end up doing something you're fine with but don't really love, with people you tolerate but wouldn't really call friends. But when things get rough, those people who you would hardly call friends; people with their own lives and their own flaws, they can become the closest people to you. People you'd risk your lives for.

[@gabriellavedier9650]

Picture it. Late in the cycle on a sketchy station. The diveyest bar. Maybe-pirates are drinking with captains from wars their side won on paper or on points. The grizzled sots tell about that time they crippled a light cruiser with the luckiest shot in the galaxy, or then they threaded the needle on a blockade perfectly, or survived a space duel with some warrior of note. Then they come to this grim, stoic freight captain, listening without reaction, unimpressed by these bagging tales. They get on him, mocking him. A freighter! How absurd. Unimpressed by tales of glory! Then tell, freighter, what is your glory? The captain slams a drink, turns the glass upside down with a resolute slam, and fixes the milites gloriosus with a hard stare. With a rough, pained voice the old man starts to speak. "Now I met Sam Jones on a dockside night in a rundown, Viking bar, a kid of maybe fifteen years at that purely nowhere star..." And in the end, they all walk away, silent. Wondering. "Could I ever have been Sam Jones? Have I the courage to be Kate Meacham? Will anyone ever speak of me more grandly than I speak of myself?"

[@strayroosterstrut5345]

Bruh why tf am I cryin in the club rn

[@Peterpurplefrog]

I dont know how I came to listen to this but I do enjoy these songs - where on earth did you find this collection! I keep searching for a copy and I cannot see them anywhere.

[@advorak8529]

As they said >>from a box of tapes sent to me by user "mulewagon"

[@fallenhighway1005]

@Leslie Fish i loved all of your music but i dont know if your real or a bot.

[@LisyaMyata]

Don't know what you've found on your own but this link is for a cleaned version of the album (most likely edited to clean it) by someone on soundcloud. For physical your best bet is just burning your own. (or follow what Leslie said) soundcloud.com/ranger6012/sets/carmen-mirandas-ghost-clean

[@Hvygunner]

Wow... A blast from the past for me...

[@minewolfs-t2755]

Is this a space pirate song? This is awesome!

[@Sara3346]

Space engineer song.

[@oliverwalters9533]

I'm having a hard time figuring out if Kate an Sam sacrifice themselves, or if they get back in and leave, any of you guys got an idea?

[@rkt739]

First we hear that ten minutes is as long as a hardsuit will last against the high-V dust. Then when the captain (narrator) loses contact with them, she waits ten minutes in case they manage to come back in. But since they don't, she assumes they're dead and decelerates the ship, leaving their bodies to fly onward.

[@AceFalken]

"Boy hang on" we heard Kate say, Then we heard Kate Meachum swear. And quiet then, just the static hiss, and a stillness in the air.... ...Ten minutes more, "Power up" I said, For we heard no sound back there, That's when their journey ended.

[@goldilock2069]

They didn't make it, Sam most likely got hit with something and Kate tried to save him; they may not have died right then and there, but if they fell of the ship at that speed then there's no coming back. Turning down a glass is a somewhat traditional action to honour dead companions, it's the drinking equivalent of leaving a designated empty chair.

[@BEAMISHdocd]

I cry everytime.

[@elsalaiho1699]

Hey, anyone know if this is based on some story or if this is all the songwriter's own imagination?

[@kevinmatsumoto6483]

Both actually, it's set in the Alliance-Union stories written by CJ Cherryh and I think she actually wrote the lyrics as well. The merchanter ships of the stories are almost all family clans. The FTL used in them apparently creates a massive amount of speed at the end of the jump and the Vanes mentioned in the song somehow dumps that energy into space and slows the ship down.

[@elsalaiho1699]

@@kevinmatsumoto6483 oh, I think I'll try to see if I can get them from the library here. Thank you!

[@phoenixd2863]

It (or a similar song) has also inspired an anthology: www.goodreads.com/book/show/1025488.Carmen_Miranda_s_Ghost_is_Haunting_Space_Station_Three

[@carmenbyler]

also why couldnt they have come inside and changed suits then gone out and finished

[@ravithejon2466]

Carmen Byler exactly you're so right

[@Bigslam1993]

Shhh do not question the plotholes. But I assume they didn't have enough suits. In which case the boy did maybe kill the engineer by stealing her last suit. On the other hand... Was it child-sized? In that case thats shitty ship to work on with all the child labor

[@nerdherd1819]

The ship was in distress and getting ready to become their tomb, I’m guessing it took too much time to go back and forth from the airlock and to get another suit. They could’ve had dozens of suits, but if it takes2 minutes to reach the point they need to repair, another 2 to get back, and another 2 to change, then they would likely keep getting setback by the dust eating at it while they tried to stay alive, eventually ending in the death of the whole crew instead of two.

[@ravithejon2466]

Nerd Herd good point never thought of it that way

[@gabrielstrong2186]

Nerd Herd Nerd Herd good points all but also, after Kate opened the cover on the internal components they were exposed to dust moving at 3/4 of the speed of light, which they probably weren’t designed to take for extended periods.

[@BEAMISHdocd]

This song brings me to tears everytime.

[@SMytfa]

Thanks for Leslie Fish

[@changesforthebetter7172]

I think this my favorite version

[@maladjustedmaverick6619]

Man, the feels...

[@emwhyte]

The stories you tell are great! You should consider other forms of writing if you don't already :)

[@valkyrie1066]

She does fantasy and medieval and future as well!

[@sg21231]

I'd give my left kidney to hear Leslie live.

[@rescue00751]

You're great! Many thanks.

[@Qman747]

Who is here from the BlackPantsLegion?

[@DzheiSilis]

Praised be Goat

[@tylerpeterson3281]

Good folks and even better shitposters,

[@yecnay25]

In the name of Clan SnekCobra!

[@gaiamission7200]

what video, its been a while and i need to catch up, it'd be nice to know i can look forward to this song in one

[@DzheiSilis]

@@gaiamission7200 I believe he played some of these songs at the end of his sunless sea videos. But Goat is just a great folk singer

[@PrinceZakariyya]

amazing story

[@robinfrederick3020]

Reminds me of "the Green Hills of Earth" by Heinlein.

[@toastyPredicament]

How do you do the upside down p

[@JasonSnow-zq2ve]

All we have is our determination. Everything is against us at all times and those who stand tallest stand strongest. Leave your state sponsored daddy issues at the door and be strong.

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

Tell DUST there's a plot...

[@ryancarlson2763]

I don't literally talking about outer space instead of like an ocean dock

[@vandujrgaming4340]

Jone moment

[@volatilesky]

Any info on the cover illustration? I'm guessing it's airbrushed.

[@toastyPredicament]

Reverse upsidedown p?

[@rkt739]

Check my channel for a much higher quality upload of this song

[@CasperTheRamKnight]

is this a alternative version?

[@3213-d5m]

this is the original off the tape version i think, the hd one was the alternative version provided by rocketman

[@wun1gee]

This is an unedited version recorded from an old worn-out stretched tape that'd probably been played thousands of times which just makes it all the more magical. There's another version on KZbin from a digital copy or an undamaged tape. But it's the same recording.

[@umadbroimatroll7918]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4PWh32br6uFn5Y better quality version that allows you to hear the background music properly

[@kooshansharifi665]

I got my NT medical from Citadel13

[@pelliqan4356]

Space folk music.

[@fuzzy4461]

Feels

[@OscarDiaz-ix2fl]

I just noticed the one singing is a woman

[@ravithejon2466]

How do u know that sounds like a man

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

@@ravithejon2466 Julia Ecklar is the singer, see title.

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

@Leslie Fish Leslie ... thank you for the song (I'm listening to it right now again) and the tears (they are here right now again)!

[@SunTzuTech]

@Leslie Fish haven't heard these songs in nearly 30 years. Thank you for them.

[@davidhansen5067]

@Leslie Fish I'm sure you've been asked this before, but is there any way to get any of these songs these days, especially digitally?

[@Funnystones]

Long live Artie Dolittle

[@rkt739]

Seems to me the chords are: Em D G D Em Am Em - D Em Em D G D Em Am Em - D Em G D Em

[@natertatertot6777]

many thanks

[@kuro_neko5863]

The audio source of this copy was obviously a little on the worn side. You can find a better quality copy here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4PWh32br6uFn5Y

[@MnemonicHack]

Man, the worn sound makes it sound just straight up better, in my opinion. I love the distortion.

[@Savatore1836]

ARTIE DOLITTLE BAROTRUAMA

[@foxglovearts1129]

spACE SHANTIES

[@yeehaw3792]

Clank

[@MnemonicHack]

Heh, you come from Styx's stream?

[@yeehaw3792]

@@MnemonicHack yupp

[@ravithejon2466]

Get inside fast get outta here, he went to static then. For space is a-wide and good friends are to few. Boy hang I heard Kate say and then I heard Kate Meachum swear, static then was all we heard and the silence filled the air