The Astronomical Quilt Song

Lyrics

(Verse 1) Two hundred miles above the blue, where the sun begins its rise Karen sat by the Cupola, with the starlight in her eyes An engineer, a pioneer, with a needle and a thread She didn’t have a sewing machine, she used her hands instead A nine-inch square of red and white, taped down to keep it still No gravity to hold the cloth, just a quilter’s iron will She stitched a star in silence, while the world turned far below Then sent a message through the dark, to watch the project grow. (Chorus) Oh, it’s the Astronomical Quilt, a galaxy in hand Stitched from every corner, of every distant land Three thousand miles of fabric, or a million miles of space We’re bound together by the thread, and the beauty of this place. (Verse 2) The word flew down to Houston, then it traveled ‘round the globe From the busy streets of Tokyo, to a quiet country road Two thousand souls responded, from thirty different lands Sending stars of silk and cotton, made by patient, aging hands Two thousand four hundred pieces, like a falling meteor shower Arrived at NASA’s doorstep, with a quiet, patchwork power From Australia to the UK, the blocks began to pile A global conversation, stretching out for every mile. (Bridge) The volunteers in Houston, they gathered in the light To piece the world together, and to do the stitching right Twenty-eight king-sized horizons, assembled row by row Each block a different story, with a different kind of glow They hung them in the hall where sixty thousand came to see That science and the needle, are the same philosophy. (Chorus) Oh, it’s the Astronomical Quilt, a galaxy in hand Stitched from every corner, of every distant land Three thousand miles of fabric, or a million miles of space We’re bound together by the thread, and the beauty of this place. (Outro) Karen stood before the quilts, and she saw the stars align A tapestry of human hearts, a cosmic, grand design For though we’re small beneath the night, when we’re all sewn side by side The universe is a blanket... where no one has to hide.

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