I was outside last night watching Marianne water the tomatoes when I remembered that Mercury would be visible just after sunset until the 20th of June. It's supposed to be low in the west north-west about an outstretched fist distance above the horizon, but unfortunately, the neighbours house and trees blocked my view. Maybe I'll drive out in to the country a bit to try to get an unobstrucked view tonight. Saturn and Mars are in the same general vicinity, so it's a good time to catch a couple of planets at once, without having to look too hard for them.
We've been singing 'Solar System' to Lola for the past few months if my compulsion to observe Mercury in this brief period of opportunity needs any explaining. It's off of the Beach Boys early seventies album, "The Beach Boys Love You" and I'm pretty sure that Brian Wilson wrote it as a bedtime song for his kids, which is probably why Lola seems to like it so much. The lyrics have that enthusiastic,naïve, somewhat rambling but charming style Wilson's songs have when he's not working with a another lyricist. Here they are, from memory:
What do the Planets mean?
And have you ever seen
Sunrise in the morn,
It shone when you were born.
Saturn has rings all arrrround it,
I searched the sky and I foouunnd it.
Soooolar Syyyystem
Briiiings Us Wiiiisdom.
(Doo de doo doo doo doo)
Then there's the Milky Way,
That's where the Angels play,
You've seen the Lovers Moon,
Looks good in the month of June.
Neptune is god of the see-eaa.
Pluto is too far to see-eee.
Soooolar Syyyystem
Briiiings Us Wiiiisdom.
(Doo de doo doo doo doo)
(Tempo gets temporily more jaunty) The Con-stel-la-tions are stars that form animals
Leo and Capricorn too.
Staaarr- lightt...Staaarr- bright
Make - my wish - come true - tonight!
(Doo de doo doo doo doo)
If Mars had life on it,
I might find my wife on it!
Venus the Godddess of Love,
Will thank all the stars above
Mercury's close to the Suu-uuun.
You'll see it when day is dooo-oone.
Soooolar Syyyystem
Briiiings Us Wiiiisdom.
Soooolar Syyyystem
Briiiings Us Wiiiisdom.
Soooolar Syyyystem
Briiiings Us Wiiiisdom. (Repeat for as long as you want)
It's kind of nonsense poetry that a half-asleep slightly jibbering Dad would think up in a desperate attempt to lull a baby asleep: "Okay, what should I sing about?Well, I've been getting kind of interested in the Solar System lately, that could be cool, and she'll learn about the planets and stuff. Why am I so interested in them anyway? What do the planets mean? Well let's start at the first planet, The Sun, Okay. Okay, so the Sun isn't exactly a planet, who cares, Just keep the words going, don't think about them too much. The Sun was shining when she was born, I can't forget that; I used my telescope a couple of weeks ago to see Saturn, and I actually saw the rings! Cool! So much to learn from the planets! is she falling asleep yet Nope. I always like looking at the Milky Way, and I showed you the Lover's Moon the other night. So beautiful. Okay, Neptune, God of the sea, that's easy, and Pluto, is too far to see! Clever, Clever! Wope! She's getting losing interest, starting to
cry again; better liven it up a bit, the tempos kind of dragging, let's change it up. She likes animals. The constellations look like animals! Okay, so the constellations don't technically have anything to do with the Solar System, they do in this song!. Plus I mentioned the Milky Way earlier, which isn't really in the Solar System, but at least the Solar System is in the Milky Way. Oh gawd, what should I say about Mars? Obvious! It it has life on it! What rhymes with life? Wife! That's pretty funny! But I love my wife, I don't want it to seem like she's some alien being. Quick, think of something about how much I love my wife. Of
course; Venus! Perfect! But my love is even bigger than me being thankful to Venus.. How big is my love... So big that Venus is thankful to all the Stars! Mercury's up now too, I'll mention that. Oh! She's asleep, I should probably wrap it up. I forgot to mention Jupiter and the Earth, but what can you do..."
Starts with sunrise and his baby being born and ends with a verse about how much he loves he wife and seeing Mercury at the end of the day. No wonder I've been singing it so much; this is a song about the past nine months of my life!
