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THE LAST JOURNEY (SPACE SHUTTLE DISASTER 1986)

from INSIDE DREAMS (2024 Remaster) by The Santairs

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about

I wrote this song shortly after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28th, 1986. For me, it had more of a significance, especially in my hometown area, than most other places. The commander of the mission was Richard “Dick” Scobee, a man who attended the same school as I did 29 years prior. This was also the first mission to feature a “teacher” in space if I remember correctly. When this took place, I watched how it broke apart and my heart just sank. I remember, at first, people clapping and cheering at the explosion, thinking that it was part of the separation of the craft. Within several seconds, the crowd watching the event knew. The mood of the school, Auburn Senior High, was a very somber one the next school day. The usual nonsense of school seemed to stop, at least for a short while. The beat to this song was somewhat happy and uplifting, and some of my friends that heard me perform this song felt that the words were good, but the music didn't fit the mood and message. For that reason alone, I left this song in my cassette vault and didn't touch it until now, 11/21/14. I kept it simple, with just a couple acoustic guitars and some quick vocal parts. I also played it in a more folk way, which got rid of some of that “happy” feel the melody originally had. Just before I finished recording this song, there was a serious downpour of rain hitting the roof of the studio. I took my microphone and recorded the sounds hitting the roof and used it as the ending tag of the song. I thought it was appropriate for the mood. But after playback and a basic mix, I noticed that the rain sounds could be misinterpreted as a fire burning. I opted to keep the ending since the mood of the entire day has been dark and dreary, but I always found raindrops falling somewhat soothing. I just don't want people being horrified, thinking that I injected something totally off the wall or disrespectful in there since that wasn't the case.
This is song #84.

Recorded at The CELL BLOCK Studio in Auburn, WA.

lyrics

The Last Journey Started So Well.
The Last Journey Ended In Hell.
I Saw The Faces Confused With Doubt,
And Then The People Began To Shout.
I Saw The Sky Light Up In Flames.
What Went Wrong? Who's To Blame?
The Students Cried And The Teachers Mourned.
The People Screamed And The Loved Ones Scorned.
The Last Journey Was Safely Away,
But Things Would Change On That Fateful Day.

I Saw Them Laugh And I Felt Them Cry
As I Looked Up In The Dark, Blue Skies.
I Watched It Fall And I Watched In Pain.
The Feelings I Had Were Drivin' Me Insane,
As I Looked Up In The Clouds Again.

The Children Witnessed, Now What Have They Learned?
They Saw It Tumble As They Watched It Burn.
Though It's A Time For Pain And Sorrow,
But You Can Bet More People Will Follow.
When We Awoke, We Saw The Tears.
The Worst Has Happened, Our Biggest Fears.
But Time Won't Heal The People We've Lost.
We Need To Know No Matter What Cost.

The Tragedy Touched All Our Lives,
The Men And Women, The Husbands And Wives.
They Died Too Soon In This Young World.
All The Flags Are Now Unfurled.

They Were Our Heroes To The Girls And Boys.
Those Men And Women Gave Us Such Joy.
The Last Journey Ended In Pain.
The Last Journey Won't End In Vain.
The Last Journey, Oo! The Last Journey.

credits

from INSIDE DREAMS (2024 Remaster), released May 17, 2015
Wayde K. Brown

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The Santairs Auburn, Washington

I am a musician, singer, and songwriter doing this part-time but have been doing it all my life. I started singing before I could talk at the age of one, and wrote my first real song at 15 years of age. (If you count avant-garde as a song, then the age would be 7.) I currently own my own recording studio; and I write, perform, and record my own music (and other's from time to time.) I am Santairs. ... more

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