David G Harrington - Starship Man in Red

from SpinTunes 17 Round 2 by Spintunes

	/

Streaming + Download

Purchasable with gift card

about

There has always been a rumour that if you wore a red uniform in the old Star Trek and no one ever knew your name, that you were not long for this world and would soon be dispatched by some alien force to a better place.

I thought it would be interesting to explore what that might be like from the viewpoint of the doomed crewman, a minor character in the drama, but made of flesh and blood and filled with hopes and dreams like everyone else.

These lyrics explore his or her journey that takes them to that fateful moment.

So....

Who wants to be a "Starship man in Red"? Any takers?

I'd still go.

lyrics

V1.
All of my life I wanted to be the man
Who flies up to the stars
and when the chance it came along
I had to grab it with open arms

V2.
The Federation Academy
Was like a surrogate family to me
And, when I fell out
Man I had something to shout about

PC.
First day on the Enterprise
And man I just felt alive
They beamed me up to the holodeck
The best experience I’ve had yet

I get assigned to the landing crew
Hope I remember what I’ve gotta do
I try to recall what was said
And some strange reason my uniform is red

C.
Who’d wanna be the Starship
Man in Red
A close to even chance you end up dead

That’s more knowledge than a man should know
But I’d still go I’d still go

V3.
One of the things that drives me insane
Is nobody ever remembers my name
It’s almost like I’m a disposable prop
And nobody cares or blows their top

V4.
To these guys I’m just a pair of hands
To take the hit in some barren lands
If there’s a union for the space force guys
I might strike before the battle cries

PC.

Last day on the Enterprise
Man I won’t be leaving alive
Beaming down to the planet now
Cannon fodder is what I am now

Here I am in the landing crew
And I forget what I should do
No one remembers what I said
And for some strange reason my uniform is red

C.

credits

from SpinTunes 17 Round 2, released March 29, 2021

license

some rights reserved

about

Spintunes Union, South Carolina

Spintunes is a semi-annual songwriting contest. Every other week, the competitors receive a challenge and a week to meet it.

Each album on this site contains the responses to a single challenge.