Surprise Leslie Fish Remember the fifties, those fat complacent days When the future seemed a century away? Then up went Sputnik, gave the world a butt-kick, And made it clear tomorrow starts today. Beep beep, boop boop, hello there! (Gazhupa!) Sputnik sails giggling through the skies. (hey! hey! hey!) Red flags, red faces, jump in the race as The space age begins with a surprise. (surprise!) You generals once thought Von Braun a waste of cash And that Goddard needed treatment really bad. Then that global shot put gave you the hot foot and beep beep, you've blasted off the pad. Chorus Done for a threat, propaganda, or prestige, The point is, the thing was in the sky. It made generals frown and put money down And meet that bet or know the reason why. Chorus That's how it started, all those years ago, The push that got us climbing into space. Cynic beginnings bring forth big winnings, But look at all we've gotten from that race. Chorus The project wore out and spiraled back to earth On re-entry it burned up very soon Hail and goodbye, to that upstart of the sky And in twelve more years a man walked on the moon. Chorus