“Russia, Let That Moon Alone”

Description

"Oh, Russia, let that moon alone, Moon ain't worryin' you! God told you to till the earth, God didn't tell you to till the moon! You can make your sputnickles And your satellites, You can't get God's moon." The moon is for light, not exploration

Notes

It's hard to believe that this silly bit of Luddite-ism can be traditional; on its face, it must have been written between 1959 (when the Soviet Union sent up the first Luna satellites) and Kennedy's announcement that the United States would try to beat the Soviets there.

Courlander's notes imply that it is from a field recording, but I'm not sure how far to trust that.

I hope it goes without saying that the Bible says nothing, positive or negative, about lunar exploration, manned or unmanned. - RBW

References

  1. Courlander-NFM, pp. 78-79, (no title) (1 text); p. 260, "Russia, Let That Moon Alone" (1 tune, partial text)
  2. BI, CNFM078

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1963 (Courlander)
Keywords: technology nonballad
Found in: US