You guys all inspired Janis Ian to return to the studio so she could do a professional track of the “Welcome Home” song. She also tweaked the lyrics. They’re below. I’m sharing the new versions here, which Janis is providing free. However, I know y’all are very generous with your donations, so I’m also including a link so that you can donate to Janis’s foundation, the Pearl Foundation. The Pearl Foundation funds college scholarships for returning students, something that is more important than ever in these troubled times.
So enjoy the song. Share it please, along with the copyright, and say thanks to Janis. Her website (with other free downloads and a place to buy her music) is http://www.janisian.com/. You can download them here: http://www.janisian.com/mp3_downloads.html
Here are the new versions of the song, inspired by your enthusiasm for the original version. I love them all. It’s a great song.
Welcome Home (The Nebulas Song) u
Welcome Home 2 (The Nebulas Song) t
WELCOME HOME (THE NEBULAS SONG)
Words & music by Janis Ian
I learned the truth at seventeen
That Asimov and Bradbury
and Clarke were alphabetically
my very perfect A-B-C
While Algernon ran every maze,
and slow glass hurt my heart for days,
I sat and played a sweet guitar
while Martians grokked me from afar
Odd John was my only friend
among the clocks and Ticktockmen
while Anne McCaffrey’s dragons roared
above the skies of Majipoor
Bukharan winds blew cold and sharp
and whispered to my secret heart
“You are no more alone
“Welcome home”
Tribbles came, and triffids went
Time got wrinkled, then got spent
Kirinyaga’s spirits soared
and Turtledove re-wrote a war
While Scanners searched, and loved in vain
Hal Nine Thousand went insane
and Brother Francis had an ass
whose wit and wile were unsurpassed
Every story I would read
became my private history
as Zenna’s People learned to fly
and Rachel loved until I cried
I spent a night at Whileaway
then Houston called me just to say
“You are no more alone
“so welcome home”
Who dreams a positronic man?
Who speaks of mist, and grass, and sand?
of Stranger Station’s silent tombs?
of speech that sounds in silent rooms?
Who waters deserts with their tears?
Who sees the stars each thousand years?
Who dreams the dreams of kids like me,
whose only home is fantasy?
Let’s drink a toast to ugly chickens,
Marley’s ghost, and Ender Wiggins
Every mother’s son of you,
and all your darling daughters, too
And when the aliens finally come,
we’ll say to each and every one
“You are no more alone
“so welcome home
“Welcome home.”
Music © Mine Music Ltd./EMI Japan Publishing/Lyric © Rude Girl Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by Permission
I sat here listening to the song and tried to figure out just how many of these stories I have read or watched. I think there were only a couple that I did not recognize.
I had the same A-B-C’s in jr high school. They, and Ellison are still my hero’s. Thanks for putting this up, and thanks to Janis Ian for singing it. I love it!!
You’re welcome. I’ll let Janis know that both of you liked it as well.
To me, this is the ultimate Filk song. Quite lovely.