Galaxy Train 0.999c

[Spacecraft launch] [Intro: Steam locomotive whistle, 2–3 seconds, then immediate vocals] [Verse 1] Speed up too fast, our bodies start to break Stop in a flash—no human form remains So just one gee, the weight we know on Earth A gentle push for years and years on end Three years, eight months by the clocks on the train Back home on Earth, it's been twenty-two years Still ninety-nine point nine percent of light speed Just point oh oh oh eight three percent of the way [Chorus] The Galaxy Train Takes so long to reach three nines Near the speed of light The Galaxy Train Keeps pushing at one gee Not a sudden burst of speed But years to get that fast [Verse 2] The whistle blows, the world falls on its side What used to be the floor becomes a wall The windows rise in rows above our heads The night lies sideways, pressed against the glass Three cars straight down to reach the dining car Then three cars up to get back to my seat The conductor climbs, feet on the seat backs Each meal becomes another cliff to climb [Chorus] The Galaxy Train Makes each meal a climb Three cars down and three cars up Every single time The Galaxy Train three nines Down to eat and up again All along the way [Verse 3] We've gained our speed, but now we must slow down We can't just stop from near the speed of light The thrust cuts out, and all our weight is gone Our hair and tickets drift into the air We brake at one gee, facing the same way The rear was down, but now it's overhead We used to climb down to the dining car Now we climb up along the same old route [Chorus] The Galaxy Train Takes so long to slow three nines You can't stop at once The Galaxy Train Slows again at one gee Not a sudden braking force But years to bring it down [Verse 4] And on we ride, bound for Andromeda Two and a half million light-years away Just twenty-nine years pass aboard the train On Earth, two and a half million years pass No stops at any station on the way And even then, the journey takes that long We never even reach the speed of light Yet reach a station in an age unknown [Chorus] The Galaxy Train Takes so long to cross Twenty-nine years on the train To Andromeda The Galaxy Train three nines Two point five million years Have passed back home on Earth [Verse 5] Where are the beds, and where's the shower room? These same old seats for twenty-nine long years? Where do we wash our clothes and hang them dry? We have to live here, not just take a ride A boy gets on to travel to the stars He's over forty when the train arrives What happens to the conductor's pension? Five million years round trip—that's far too long [Final Chorus] The Galaxy Train Where's a place to sleep? Twenty-nine years in a seat? Where's the shower room? The Galaxy Train A boy turns forty here What about the pension plan? Five million years round trip [Outro] The Galaxy Train three nines A very long journey A journey to the stars Twenty-nine years of climbing cliffs each day Why did you design it like this? If it has to be shaped like a train, Then fly it roof-first! Where are the beds, and where's the shower room? These same old seats for twenty-nine long years? Where do we wash our clothes and hang them dry? We have to live here, not just take a ride A boy gets on to travel to the stars He's over forty when the train arrives What happens to the conductor's pension? Five million years round trip—that's far too long [Final Chorus] The Galaxy Train Where's a place to sleep? Twenty-nine years in a seat? Where's the shower room? The Galaxy Train A boy turns forty here What about the pension plan? Five million years round trip [Outro] The Galaxy Train three nines A very long journey A journey to the stars Twenty-nine years of climbing cliffs each day Why did you design it like this? If it has to be shaped like a train, Then fly it roof-first!