{"id":68,"date":"2008-12-25T13:15:02","date_gmt":"2008-12-25T20:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/blog\/?p=68"},"modified":"2011-12-30T06:56:59","modified_gmt":"2011-12-30T06:56:59","slug":"in-the-year-of-39","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/?p=68","title":{"rendered":"in the year of 39"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I recently re-discovered a marvel of a song, ’39*,<\/em> written and sung by Brian May and friends on Queen’s We Are The Champions<\/em> LP (the one with Bohemian Rhapsody). At first blush, the song sounds like a Queenly retooling of a traditional folk tune, a tale of intrepid sailors setting sail for new lands. But May also happens to be an astrophysicist<\/a>, and if you listen closely, you’ll hear a heartbreaking sci-fi story involving space travel at near-light speed and the tragic consequences of a phenomenon called “time dilation<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

The first verse sets the scene. In XX39, 20 souls are sent to find a new home for mankind, as their own world’s ability to support them dwindles:<\/p>\n

In the year of ’39 assembled here the volunteers
\nIn the days when lands were few
\nAnd the ship sailed out into blue and sunny morn
\nSweetest sight ever seen
\nAnd the night followed day and the storytellers say
\nThat the score brave souls inside
\nFor many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas
\nNe’r looked back, never feared, never cried<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Milky seas” is the first tipoff that this isn’t about sailing in the ordinary sense. The chorus confirms, with:<\/p>\n

Don’t you hear my call though you’re many years away
\nDon’t you hear me callin’ you
\nWrite your letters in the sand
\nFor the day I’ll take your hand
\nIn the land that our grandchildren knew<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many years <\/em>away suggests a journey beyond miles, and our narrator looks forward to seeing his lover again “in the land that our grandchildren knew,” the future world of their children’s children.<\/p>\n

The second and final verse answers any questions that remain, finishing with a devastating reveal:<\/p>\n

In the year of ’39 came a ship in from the blue
\nThe volunteers came home that day
\nAnd they bring good news of a world so newly born
\nTho their hearts so heavily weigh
\nFor the earth is old and gray, little darlin’ we’ll away
\nBut my love this cannot be
\nFor so many years have gone, though I’m older but a year
\nYour mother’s eyes, from your eyes, cry to me<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The year is again XX39, 100 years hence, and our hero returns with good news — but is saddened to find his world “old and gray.” Furthermore, now returning to “the land that our grandchildren knew,” he finds that as a result of the near-light-speed of his travels, he is only “older but a year,” though “so many years have gone.”<\/p>\n

It pains him to see whoever it is welcoming him. Who is it? It seems to be the daughter he left behind, now fully grown, in whose eyes he sees her mother’s… But unless she is 100 years old, I imagine it is his grand<\/em>daughter, one of the “grandchildren” the chorus repeatedly references. So the lover he left behind is long gone, leaving only his memory of her (as her “letters in the sand” have long since washed away). After this final revelation, the song ascends into a final chorus, ending with a tragic lament to his long-lost love, and finally, anyone who will listen:<\/p>\n

…all your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand
\nFor my life still ahead, pity me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

* why “39”? Well, someone, somewhere, counted. Apparently, if you tally every recording by Queen, on every album, this is the 39th. Try not to freak out. Click here for the chord chart<\/a> — sing along!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently re-discovered a marvel of a song, ’39*, written and sung by Brian May and friends on Queen’s We Are The Champions LP (the one with Bohemian Rhapsody). At first blush, the song sounds like a Queenly retooling of a traditional folk tune, a tale of intrepid sailors setting sail for new lands. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8,26,33,72,88,111,118,133,142,143],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","tag-8","tag-brian-may","tag-chords","tag-in-the-year-of-39","tag-lyrics","tag-physics","tag-queen","tag-tab","tag-time-dilation","tag-time-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorbornia.com\/word\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}