Astronomy

I laid my head in your lap and we flew, and we flew
When we got to your mother's house, we took the kids room
Painted pink and white and robin's egg blue
The kids spend a few nights at their dad's and one night they share their mother's room

We slept a lot of the day on Friday
We slept a lot of the day on Saturday
We slept a lot of the day on Sunday too
'Cause, after all, it's been a busy year for me, and with the kids, you're always busy too

We spent some timе looking out the small window of the room
Into the backyard at thе lovely winter view
The dead trees coated with soft white snow, and the neighbor's yard
With a permanently parked turquoise blue fishing boat

One day we gathered in the living room to play scrabble
I asked your daughter, what was it that she wanted to be when she gets older?
She said, "There are so many things, so many many things."
Right now she loves everything to do with astronomy
I said, "When I was your age, I knew exactly what I wanted to be."
And she said, "Well, what is that?"
And I said, "A songbird, flying from tree to tree to tree to tree to tree."
And she said, "Is that what you are?"
And I said, "Yeah, I write songs, and I fly around the world and sing."
And she said, "Well when you fly home, could you please write and sing a song for me?"

My father sat at the piano and taught the littlest one how to play a scale in the key of C
When they were done, I asked my father to share his earliest memory
He said, the news of his brother dying in Pearl Harbor
He asked, what is mine
I said, "Hearing the news of the Watergate scandal."
And he said, "Ah, you must have been around 5."

And as the adults talked about colonoscopies and stents in arteries and cholesterol medication
Suddenly, we looked around and we lost the children
Off to the rooms in their own little worlds doing whatever it is that children get into
While us old people talked about old boring people things, like Trump banning flights into the United States
And we watched, on TV, series like Eugene Levy's Schitt's Creek
And, my God, my dad snores pretty loud when he falls asleep

And I remember listening to this old people crap through the walls when I was young
And I know, someday, the kids will be sharing their earliest memories long after I'm gone
And I put my coat and my hat and my gloves on, finished a cup of oolong tea
And I opened the door, and everybody said, "Where are you going? My God Mark, It's freezing."
And I walked down the road along the frozen cornfields, and these words came to me:

Astronomy
I wish I knew more about astronomy
But I'm old, and my mind is occupied with other things
Like my expenses for 2016, how a friend died at 60
And another one at 53

Astronomy
You're into that, it makes a lot of sense to be
If this planet ain't your cup of tea
I gotta say, that also makes a lot of sense to me

Somebody asked you if you think there is life on other planets
And you excitedly said, "Yes, there's got to be!"
You said it so convincingly, and I never thought about it much before
But thanks to your conviction, with you now, I completely agree

Astronomy
I asked, "Well, did you ever see the movie Apollo 13?"
You said, "No, what's it about?
And I said, "A disrupted voyage to the moon
Starring Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise."

When you looked down, I could tell I didn't win any points with you for that
You don't care about old people movies with Bill Paxton or Tom Hanks
Astronomy, astronomy, astronomy, astronomy, astronomy
Who knows, maybe you're gonna have a career in astronomy

And maybe, one day, you'll share your earliest memory with your family
Maybe it's one of your sister being born when you were 3
And as I walked along the road, the snowflakes landed on my cheeks
I wrote this song for you, it's called Astronomy

When I came back from my walk I said, "Have you ever seen the movie Alien?"
Your mom said, "No, she's too young for that Mark, it's too disturbing."
I said, "What about my favorite movie when I was a kid, The Planet of the Apes?"
And you just looked down at the ground with that really bored look on your face

Astronomy, astronomy
Next time I see you, I'm gonna ask you to tell me what you know about astronomy
Astronomy, astronomy
Next time I see you, I'm gonna ask you to tell me a few things you know about astronomy
'Cause obviously, I don't know nothing about astronomy