Know Your Universe! - Sjambak by Jack Vance

Idoru Toei's musical version of "Sjambak" by Jack Vance, featured in "The Pitch Science Fiction 4Q2024" available at: https://lphi.top/p-tpsf-3
Logophilia official website: https://lphi.top/lh
Logophilia official X link: https://x.com/ToeiIdoru

Lyrics SRT:

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,000
[Intro]
[instrumental]

2
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[Verse 1]
Howard’s mood swings, sharp and fast,

3
00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000
Another crisis built to last.

4
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,000
He paces, mutters, shakes his head,

5
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"The show's in a rut," he said.

6
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,000
Seaweed processors? Alphard Nine?

7
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Who cares about seaweed, truly mine?

8
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[Chorus]
We need glamour! Mystery’s call!

9
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,000
Thrills that grip and enthrall!

10
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,000
Loosen up the cosmic reins!

11
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,000
Give them human joys and pains!

12
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Sock 'em! Shift! A brand new ground!

13
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The old universe must resound!

14
00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000
[Verse 2]
Wilbur Murphy’s scribbled plea,

15
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A Horseman riding wild and free.

16
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Ten thousand miles, a waving hand,

17
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Across the void, a cosmic stand.

18
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,000
Guttural consonants, hard to say,

19
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,000
Cirgamesç… where does it lay?

20
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,000
[Bridge]
It’s fact! I swear! A man on high!

21
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000
Greeting ships that streak the sky!

22
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000
My brother-in-law, a purser true,

23
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Saw him riding, shining through!

24
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,000
[Chorus]
We need glamour! Mystery’s call!

25
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,000
Thrills that grip and enthrall!

26
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000
Loosen up the cosmic reins!

27
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000
Give them human joys and pains!

28
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,000
Sock 'em! Shift! A brand new ground!

29
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,000
The old universe must resound!

30
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,000
[Verse 3]
Superstition? No, no, not quite.

31
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A sober fact in fading light.

32
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000
Bhang-fueled visions, hazy dreams,

33
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000
Javanese planets, cosmic schemes.

34
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000
But still… a man on horseback there…

35
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Suspended high in empty air!

36
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[Bridge]
Voodoo girls and secret rites!

37
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Naked dancers bathed in lights!

38
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Color! Life! Excitement’s spark!

39
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Leave your mark upon the dark!

40
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[Verse 4]
The steward swears he saw him clear,

41
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A Singhalût man, banishing fear.

42
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Vest and pantaloons, a yellow hat,

43
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Riding where no rider sat!

44
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No suit to shield from vacuum’s bite…

45
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Just riding through the endless night!

46
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000
[Chorus]
We need glamour! Mystery’s call!

47
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,000
Thrills that grip and enthrall!

48
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,000
Loosen up the cosmic reins!

49
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,000
Give them human joys and pains!

50
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000
Sock 'em! Shift! A brand new ground!

51
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000
The old universe must resound!

52
00:02:39,000 --> 00:03:08,000
[Outro]