Rat thoughts

Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.

"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall see him dine, when we bear them thither. "
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.

"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer. "
"Mark my footsteps, my good page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly. "

In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.

A lot of people wonder about the Queen song '39.

"In the year of '39, assembled here the Volunteers in the days when lands were few.  Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn, the sweetest sight ever seen.  And the night followed day and the storytellers say that the score brave souls inside, for many a lonely day, sailed across the milky seas, ne're looked back, never feared, never cried."

A lot of people think the song is set in 1539 or 1639.  Nope.  It's not about a sailing ship.  This song is actually about a spaceship, and is set in 2039.

"In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue, the Volunteers came home that day.  And they bring good news of a world so newly born, though their hearts so heavily weigh.  For the Earth is old and grey, little darlin' well away, but my love, this cannot be.  Oh, so many years have gone, though I'm older but a year, your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me."

They left in '39 but return in '39.  2139, 100 years later.  The Volunteers have been traveling at near the speed of light, and because of time dilation, have only aged a single year while 100 years have passed on Earth.


Now if only someone would explain Seven Seas of Rhye to me.

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"We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" always gives me goosebumps.

Waltzing Matilda is probably the most famous song to ever come out of Australia.  Contrary to popular belief, it is not their national anthem (that is Advance Australia Fair).  There is no official version, this one is the version used by the Seekers.


Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah tree.
He sang and he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda, my darlin',
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
He sang and he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."


Swagman = itinerant worker or journeyman
Billabong = an oxbow lake formed by a river changing course
Coolibah tree = a type of eucalyptus
Billy = a makeshift kettle

Matilda is slang for a swagman's swag, or bundle, containing his possessions.
Waltzing is slang for traveling as a journeyman.
Thus waltzing Matilda is to travel with a swag

A traveling journeyman camped under a eucalyptus tree along side a lake and started boiling water, probably for tea.



Well, down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong;
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee.
He laughed as he stowed the jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda, my darlin',
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
He laughed as he stowed the jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."


Jumbuck = an unshorn sheep
Tucker-bag = a bag for carrying food

A sheep came up to the lake to get a drink and the journeyman caught it, presumably butchered it, and placed the meat in his food bag.


Well, up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred;
Up rode the troopers -- one, two, three.
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda, my darlin',
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."


Squatter = a person who raised livestock on land he did not own.  Over time, a squatter could gain control of the land and become wealthy.
Troopers = policemen

A squatter, presumably wealthy because he can afford a thoroughbred horse, rides up with 3 policemen and accuses the journeyman of stealing his sheep, a capital offense at the time.


Well, up jumped the swagman and jumped into the billabong;
"You'll never take me alive," said he.
His ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."

Waltzing Matilda, Matilda, my darlin',
You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me.
His ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me."


The journeyman had little chance of escaping from 4 men on horseback, so he jumped into the lake and drowned.  His ghost haunts the lake afterward.

The time had come to elect a President,
And all the famous candidates thought they were heaven-sent.
They screamed and raved and pounded their hands above their hearts,
But soon their noble promises were hard to tell apart.

Waiting at the pumpkin patch, a dog sincere and brave,
And everybody hoped that soon the country he would save.
The pumpkin said, "The day has come for you to take a stand
For love has left the people across our native land."

Some wear the sign of the elephant,
And some wear the sign of the mule,
But we'll hold the sign of the beagle high,
And love will shine right through.

All the politicians, they swore he couldn't win,
But Snoopy only shook his head and flashed his famous grin.
He jumped into his faithful friend, the Sopwith Camel plane,
And bounced around the countryside from Washington to Maine.

Some wear the sign of the elephant,
And some wear the sign of the mule,
But we'll hold the sign of the beagle high,
And love will shine right through.

New York State was lookin' bad till Snoopy made a speech.
Soon Illinois and Tennessee were both within his reach.
He won the vote in Oregon but time was growin' thin,
And back at the convention hall, the votes were pourin' in.

Snoopy smiled his way into the hearts of everyone,
But when the votes were counted up, they found he needed one.
The winning vote for Snoopy came when a stranger raised his hand.
Snoopy turned, the stranger spoke, "Mein friend, vee meet again!"

Some wear the sign of the elephant,
And some wear the sign of the mule,
But we'll hold the sign of the beagle high,
And love will shine right through.

When we pulled into Argo Port in need of R&R,
The crew set out investigating every joint and bar.
We had high expectations of their hospitality,
But found too late it wasn't geared for spacers such as we.

Chorus: And we're banned from Argo, everyone.
Banned from Argo, just for having a little fun.
We spent a jolly shore leave there for just three days or four,
But Argo doesn't want us any more.

The Captain's tastes were simple, but his methods were complex.
We found him with five partners, each of a different world and sex.
The Shore Police were on the way-we had no second chance.
We beamed him up in the nick of time-and the remnants of his pants.

Our Engineer would yield to none at putting down the brew;
He out-drank seven space marines and a demolition crew.
The Navigator didn't win, but he out-drank almost all,
And now they've got a shuttlecraft on the roof of City Hall.

Our proper, cool First Officer was drugged with something green,
And hauled into an alley, where he suffered things obscene.
He sobered up in Sickbay and he's none the worse for wear,
Except he's somehow taught the bridge computer how to swear.

The Head Nurse disappeared awhile in the major Dope Bazaar,
Buying an odd green potion "guaranteed to cause Pon-Farr."
She came home with no uniform and an oddly cheerful heart,
And a painful way of walking-with her feet a yard apart.

Our lady of Communications won a ship-wide bet
By getting into the planet's main communications net.
Now every time someone calls up on an Argo telescreen,
The flesh is there, but the clothes they wear are nowhere to be seen.

Our Doctor loves Humanity; his private life is quiet.
The Shore Police arrested him for inciting whores to riot.
We found him in the city jail, locked on and beamed him free-
Intact except for hickeys and six kinds of VD.

Our Helmsman loves exotic plants; the plants all love him too.
He took some down on leave with him and we wondered what they'd do,
'Til the planetary governor called and swore upon his life
That a gang of plants entwined his house and then seduced his wife!

A gang of pirates landed, and nobody seemed to care.
They stamped into the nearest bar to announce that they were there.
Half our crew was busy there, and invited them to play,
But the pirates only looked at us, and turned and ran away.

Our crew is Starfleet's finest, and our record is our pride.
And when we play we tend to leave a trail a mile wide.
We're sorry about the wreckage and the riots and the fuss;
At least we're sure that planet won't be quick forgetting us!

If I told what it takes to reach the highest high,
you'd laugh and say "Nothing's that simple."
But you've been told many times before,
Messiah's pointed to the door;
no one had the guts to leave the temple.

Destiny is challenging you,
"Obey me, or defy me!"

Maybe you talk too high, man.
Maybe I talk too slow.
But you've got to live a little bit faster
'cause you've got a little less time to go.

I ain't lost and I ain't searching.
But then you know me very well.
And I can't change the wind and make it blow the other way.
I'm a fool and I can tell...

That I'm alive and that's all.
That I can get up just as fast as I fall.
And I can walk and run but I'll never crawl.
And in the end it doesn't matter at all.

I don't know about the people that I read about in books.
And the Kings and Queens around my room with their quiet dirty looks.
I know I should be going somewhere, I just can't arrive.
There's a reason for believing that I've never been alive... alive...