Little Rover

[Intro: excerpt of NASA transmission:]
5, 4, 3, 2
Main engine start, 0, and liftoff of the Delta rocket with Opportunity
A chance to explore, and unlock the secrets of of our neighboring planet

[Verse 1]
There's a speck beyond the heavens
There's a dot among the stars
That men for generations said
To be the face of Mars
I've often thought his thirst for war
Might one day find an end
That he might calm down a little
If he only found a friend
Well it's far too far to visit
We've barely reached the moon
But we thought we'd send a messenger
To say we'd be there soon
So our finest, best and brightest
Set their minds to a machine
To venture in our stead through space
To keep him company

[Chorus]
So carry on little rover
Opportunity awaits
Though your song may be over
May your music never fade
That you’ve written in the sands
Of lands afar we’ve yet to face
Little rover
We hope you found your home

[Verse 1]
A year among the stars
And then our hero hurtled down
And Mars was quite surprised
To find the little guy around
He showed him rocks and mountains
And all the things between
And the little rover wrote us
About all the things he’d seen
The time flew by and soon
His visit reached its final day
But he and Mars got on so well
That rover chose to stay
So off they went together
For adventure they were bound
But he kept on writing letters
About all the things they found

[Chorus]
So carry on little rover
Opportunity awaits
Though your song may be over
May your music never fade
As it floats along the dust
You conjured in the trail you blazed
Little rover
We hope you found your home

[Verse 3]
A whole year of their friendship passed
And then a dozen more
And letters of adventures
Kept on piling at our door
But tiny wheels in alien fields
Can only go so far
And soon the rover's time had come
To rest among the stars
We’re all rushing to be somewhere
In this crazy human race
How ironic that some gears and wheels
Would go and win first place
Your one small step turned out to be
An odyssey in space
So one day when we join you
You left tire treads to trace

[Chorus]
So carry on, little rover
Opportunity awaits
Though your song may be over
May your music never fade
As it plays among the stars
That shine upon you where you lay
Little rover
We hope you found your home

[Bridge]
It's time to sleep little rover
Maybe someday you'll awaken
To find that we all followed you
Along the steps you’ve taken
So you can rest your head
Knowing one day we'll be saying

[Outro]
Little rover
You helped us find our home

Little rover
We hope you found your home

We're sorry
That we couldn't bring you home