Today, on the 57th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, this inspiring song commemorating the past and the future of our presence on the Moon was released. It is written and arranged by NSS member Don Deever, who received an NSS Excellence Award for his contributions to the NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement. The lyrics are below.
THE MOON IS CALLING US HOME
Song Lyrics, Music and Arrangement by Dr. Donny Deever
Performed by America 250 Band
[Intro]
[Mission Control]
“Tranquility Base here— the Eagle has landed.”
[Verse 1]
On a steamy Florida morn with sweltering tropic dew,
a tower shook with thunder and a dream came roaring through.
Saturn rose with fire; three men rode on the flame,
with Earth behind their shoulders and the Moon within their aim.
Columbia crossed the darkness where no highway ever ran,
with Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins and the hopes of every land.
They knew the dust might swallow them, the ground might fall away,
but courage is the choice to make when fear has had its say.
[Chorus]
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
where the Eagle found a harbor and the Blue Earth bid commune.
We left our flag and footprints, but the journey wasn’t through—
the Moon is urging us “Come home,”
she’s calling me and you.
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
raise tomorrow’s lights beneath this hopeful tune.
We went there once to prove what technology had hewn—
now the future’s calling us,
calling us back to the Moon.
[Post-Chorus]
Oh-oh, across the great unknown!
Oh-oh, the Moon is calling us home!
[Verse 2]
Warning lights were flashing; the computer sounded fear,
and a crater full of boulders rose beneath the landing gear.
Neil took the Eagle forward, flew beyond the jagged stone,
while the fuel kept falling lower and the world held on at home.
One heartbeat, then another—
a hair from being stranded…
And then: “Tranquility Base here;
the Eagle has landed.”
They stepped into forever from the bottom of the stair;
Aldrin saw magnificence in desolation there.
They gathered stones and wonder beneath an endless night,
and left a golden olive branch for peace to end all fights.
They carried names of fallen crews and rivals lost in flight,
American and Russian hearts were honored at that site.
And circling high above them through the lonely lunar black,
Michael Collins kept Columbia on its faithful homeward track.
[Chorus]
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
where three brave hearts flew farther than the dreams they knew.
One watched in lonely orbit while the other two broke through—
The Moon is calling us home,
she’s calling to me and you.
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
let the children of tomorrow see the Earth rise into view.
The first great leap was not the last— it opened something new—
and the Moon is beckoning us, “Come soon,”
beckoning us back to the Moon.
[Bridge]
There was bread and wine in silence,
there were prayers no crowd could hear,
there were letters signed for families
in case they disappeared.
There was one small broken switch there
that could strand them on the plain,
till a simple felt-tip pen became
their road to home again.
Every triumph has a thousand
human stories underneath—
human hands and human worry,
human faith and human grief.
They came in peace for all mankind,
not merely for acclaim,
and every nation watching
felt the future call its name.
[Instrumental]
[Future Verse — brighter, modern lift]
So build the lights at Shackleton,
raise the windows toward the blue;
plant a garden under starlight where no earthly garden grew.
Send the miners, send the dreamers, send the builders and the wise;
send the teachers and the healers underneath the lunar skies.
Make a village in the silence,
make a harbor in the stone;
let the first Earth child born there
call that silver valley home.
Let them point toward Earth at evening,
like a lantern shining through,
and say, “They crossed that darkness
so that we could follow too.”
[Final Pre-Chorus]
Don’t let those immortal footprints
be the ending of the trail.
They were arrows pointing outward;
they were dreams that would not fail.
The Moon still waits before us
at the turning of the road—
Yes, the next great human chapter
is a story yet untold.
[Final Chorus]
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
where the Eagle found a harbor and Terra Firma floated blue.
From a footprint to a future, there is work for us to do—
The Moon is urging “Go!”
She’s inviting me and you!
Back to the Moon, back to the Moon,
raise a city full of starlight on a silent afternoon.
We went there once as visitors— now raise the dream anew!
The Moon pleads, “Do more than visit soon…
Return home to the Moon!”
[Choir]
Back to the Moon! Carry the fire!
Back to the Moon! Build something higher!
Back to the Moon! The dream is alive!
The next giant leap is ours to decide!
[Outro — a cappella, piano, radio static]
We touched the stars in sixty-nine
and proved what hope could do.
Now the Moon is calling us home—
Let us start coming through.
“We’re going back.”
