Lonely Clouds (The Apollo 8 Song)

Countdown finds the three of us on couches in a cone
Soon to ride a Fury like none we’ve ever known
There’s no more preparation, we swallow hard and brace
For heading out towards your night light face
Towards your night light face…

Now at long last, we may come, we respond
To your ancient long-felt pull
Measured and calm in the great black beyond
We chat with Houston imperturbably
We’re data-packets for telemetry
But bio-sensors cannot see 
That our hearts are full. . .

We may be blazing a trail in the news
But the dreamers reached you first
‘Feels like we’re bringing them home on this cruise:
Lucian of Samosata, Francis G
Johannes Kepler and Tsiolkovsky
They led us here that we may see
The visions they nursed. . .

Rounding your far side we watch our Earth rise
And we’d love to stay but really need to leave
Vast and forbidding to these questing eyes 
You’re grey as iron, your complexion’s blown
Like lonely clouds of pumice stone
But you weren’t nearly so alone
On this Christmas Eve. . .