Kantrowitz 1972

Refrain:
The launch cannon thunders. The pilot beam burns
Command says shes tracking. The big mirror turns
The main beam roars out and the plume reaches high
And our lasers are sending out life to the sky

Theres a shell standing ready. We load her up fast
With five tons of ice for the lasers to blast
A clear ton of payload she lifts at ten gees
And in five minutes flat shell be orbiting free

And? Refrain

Now the spacers get the glory. The spacers get the pay
But their steel and their air comes from us everyday
They may look down their noses at us on the ground
But theyre all unemployed if our lasers shut down

And? Refrain

Now the shuttle men boast of the fires they ride
But theyre great clumsy candles with people inside
Let them fly limousines. Weve no time for that here
We lift more in three days than theyll carry all year

And? Refrain

From the beam crews on down to the loaders below
We work like the devil till the launch boss shouts, Go
Then the deep throated roar of a billion watt beam
Shakes deep in our bones and takes root in our dreams

And? Refrain

Then the last shell lifts out and the plume drifts away
We greet the next shift and go home for the day
But the big lasers burning to lift out a man
And well ride our own beams just as soon as we can

And? Refrain
Yes, our lasers are sending out life to the sky