Friday, December 09, 2016

The Evil Emperor's Tool, part 3/Goodbye Dagobah

[A Star Wars parody of "Another Brick in the Wall, part 3" and "Goodbye Cruel World" by Pink Floyd]

I had a vision, the future I see
Friends in trouble, die without me
I have seen how best to serve my friends
Don't think I will sacrifice their plans
No, I don't think I will sacrifice their plans

I'm no fool, but I'm gonna challenge the evil Emperor's tool
I just hope I don't become the evil Emperor's tool

*****

Goodbye, Dagobah
I'm leaving you today
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye

Goodbye, Ben and Yoda
There's nothing you can say
To make me change my mind
Goodbye

Where Are They Now?

[A Star Wars parody of "Don't Leave Me Now" by Pink Floyd]

Oh, Needa
Where are they now?
Don't say that you lost them again
Remember the orders I gave
I need them, Captain
To put through the shredder
To draw out Skywalker

Oh, Needa
Where are they now?
Where could they go?
So send out the bounty hunters
To find the Millennium Falcon for me

Oh, Captain
Where are they now?
How could you fail me this way?
They ran away

Oh, Needa
Apology 'cepted, Captain Needa

Ooh, Admiral
Ooh, Piett
Ooh, Piett

The Dark Side of the Force

[A Star Wars parody of "One of My Turns" by Pink Floyd]

Day after day, Yoda shows me the way
Of the Force that a Jedi can use
And night after night, I learn how to fight
"But beware of the dark side, for it can consume you"

And something is very not right around here

And I can feel sinister cold from that cave
I feel evil domain it is
With me, I'll take my weapons
Into the cave, here I go

Hiss of a saber!
From the darkness comes Darth Vader
His red lightsaber held high

Don't be so frightened
That way leads to hate and anger
I must remain calm

Yoda, I am not prepared
To face this man alone
And how will I survive this battle?
How did he get here so soon?

Should I give him a fight?
Would ya, would you like to see me try?
Oh, no!

So I take a swing at him
And I cut off his head

Why is he wearing my face?

Vader's Empire/Han's Love

[A Star Wars Parody of "Empty Spaces" and "Young Lust" by Pink Floyd]

What shall we do to flee this asteroid cave
Where we hide from their attack?
How shall we flee Darth Vader's empire?
How shall we escape his wrath?

*****

I'm the best damn pilot
A bounty on my head
Trapped here with you, Princess
Tell me you'd want to be anywhere else instead

Ooh, I need a classy woman
Ooh, you need a scoundrel man

Hyperdrive busted, got dirty hands
You say you only want a nice man
You're afraid of how good it can be
Ooh, Leia, I'll set you free

Ooh, I need a classy woman
Ooh, you need a scoundrel man
Ooh, I need a classy woman
Ooh, you need a scoundrel man

Goodbye My Friends

[A Star Wars parody of "Goodbye Blue Sky" by Pink Floyd]

Ooh, ooh, ooh
D- d- d- did you join the fighting ones?
D- d- d- did you go escape with Han?
D- d- d- did you ever wonder where I went to run for shelter
When Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers attacked us
From the clear blue sky?

Ooh, ooh
D- d- d- did you save the fleeing ones?
D- d- d- did you hear of Dagobah?
The flames are all long gone but the pain lingers on

Goodbye, my friends
Goodbye, my friends
Goodbye
Goodbye

Thursday, December 08, 2016

Yoda

[A Star Wars parody of "Mother" by Pink Floyd]

Yoda, should I trust in Obi-wan?
Yoda, should I go to Dagobah?
Yoda, do you think I'll try to save them all?
Ooh ah, Yoda, should I heed the call?
Yoda should I run from these AT-ATs?
Yoda, should I kill who I'm looking at?
Yoda, will they put me in the firing line?
Ooh ah, should I give my sorrow time?

Hush now, Luke Skywalker, don't you cry
Vader's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Vader's gonna put all of his fears into you
Vader's gonna keep you right here under his wing
He won't let you fly and he won't let you sing
Vader's gonna keep you locked up or dead
Ooh, Skywalker, ooh, Skywalker
Ooh, Skywalker, of course Vader will cut off your head

Yoda, do you think they're safe enough...from him?
Yoda, do you think he's dangerous...to them?
Yoda, will he bring rebellion to an end?
Ooh ah, Yoda, will he kill my friends?

Hush now, Luke Skywalker, don't you cry
Vader's gonna check out all Hoth looking for you
Blockade won't let any those rebels get through
Rebels gonna blow up until you give in
Vader will always find out where you been
Vader's gonna keep hunting, hungry and mean
Ooh, Skywalker, ooh, Skywalker
Ooh, Skywalker, you'll always be a target for me

Yoda, are you even truly real?

The Proudest Fight of Our Lives/The Evil Emperor's Tool, part 2

[A Star Wars parody of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick in the Wall, part 2" by Pink Floyd]

When we grew up and worked for food
There were certain soldiers who would
Hurt civilians any way they could

By murdering our parents
And poisoning our kids
And torturing all dissenters
Maliciously to find out what they did

By all, it was well known
When Darth got home at night
That old and psychopathic Emp'ra
Would zap him within inches of his life

*****

We don't need your dark empire
We don't need your Sith control
No shock stormtroopers in our cities
Vader, leave rebels alone
Hey Vader, leave rebels alone

Mean and cruel, you're just the evil Emperor's tool
Buckethead fool, you're just the evil Emperor's tool

We don't need your dark empire
We don't need your Sith control
No shock stormtroopers in our cities
Vader, leave rebels alone
Hey Vader, leave rebels alone

Mean and cruel, you're just the evil Emperor's tool
Buckethead fool, you're just the evil Emperor's tool

The Evil Emperor's Tool, part 1

[A Star Wars parody of "Another Brick in the Wall, part 1" by Pink Floyd]

Vader hunts for the rebels
Searching for a Skywalker
A signal from an icy planet

Vader, how you know Luke's hiding there?
Vader, how d'ya know Luke's hiding there?

Ozzel fool, it was just the Emperor's tool
Ozzel fool, we are all the Emperor's tool

The Cold Ice

[A Star Wars parody of "The Thin Ice" by Pink Floyd]

Leia loves you, buddy
And Artoo loves you, too
And this tauntaun may look warm to you, Luke
But your face is turning blue

Ooh, this smells
Ooh, this smells so bad
Ooh, ooh, so bad

If you should go fighting
In the cold ice of a wampa cave
Waving your saber, you cut off its arm
And escape just to land on your face

Don't be surprised when a swirl of the ice
Appears like Obi-wan
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your blood flowing out behind you
As you hug the cold ice

Use the Force?

[A Star Wars parody of "In the Flesh?" by Pink Floyd]

So ya
Thought ya
Might like to join in the show
To feel the warm thrill of Force power
That Jedi knight glow

Tell me, is something eluding you, young boy?
Is this not what you expected to see?
If you wanna find out how to use Jedi Force
You'll just have to go to Dagobah, of course

Sunday, December 04, 2016

Moisture Farm of Owen, the Album

Twenty or so years ago, I read a draft of lyrics about C3PO on Tatooine, called "Moisture Farm de Owen" and written to the tune of "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I edited the lyrics to make it better fit the song, to my liking. I also wrote a sequel about the heroes' time on the Death Star, to the tune of "Life in the Fast Lane" from the same album.

The Eagles' album, Hotel California, was the most popular album in the United States shortly before the first Star Wars movie was released, so they magically fit together.

I recently got the notion to finish the full album in parodies, to tell the whole story of Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope set to music. Here is the result:

Moisture Farm of Owen
Princess in Chains
Life in the Death Star
Give Sorrow No Time
Victim of Greed
Pretty Droids All in a Row
Live to Fight Again
The Last Battle

The Last Battle

[A Star Wars parody of "The Last Frontier" by the Eagles]

She came from Alderaan, destroyed by Tarkin
Imprisoned on the Death Star, she escaped from there
She took the station plans to the rebel base
They searched for a fatal flaw, with all due haste

If we shot the thermal port, it would disintegrate
So we manned our fighter craft, may the Force be with you
And we flew from Yavin 4, hoping we'd survive
Fighting for a republic, fighting for our lives

Gold group started their attack, Red group drew their fire
TIE fighters joined the fight, led by Darth Vader
And he killed us one by one, none would survive
We lost Tiree, we lost Dutch, they came from behind

Then three X-wings flew down across the Death Star
To the canyon of the port, going full throttle
Worry about the TIE fighters, worry about the tower
Worry about the targeting, and hear the old fossil

Darth Vader came and shot up Wedge, but nobody caught him
He set his sights on Darklighter, and Biggs, he bought it
Leaving Luke out all alone, never the same
He watched his old friend die, burst into flame

Luke left his computer behind to use Obi-wan's Force
Vader couldn't hit him, but he shot Artoo
Tarkin fired up the Death Star gun, rebel base in range
To bring the Empire's fist down, to bring the Empire's reign

The Falcon appeared out from the sun, sent Vader on the run
Left Luke all in the clear, we have got to end it here
We gladly blew that evil thing, and justified our bloody deed
In the name of history and in the name of love

And you can see them there in the temple throne room
Stand up and cheer about what we did up there
They called it Death Star, I don't know why
You call some place Death Star, kiss it goodbye

Live to Fight Again

[A Star Wars parody of "Try and Love Again" by the Eagles]

In my cockpit on my own
Where the Empire tries to fry me
Like a circle, I fly around
Luke was lost until I found him
Saved him from those fighters

One by one, those TIE fighters come
Day by day, rebel pilots fade away

Ooh, the trench showed to our eyes
Turbo lasers might be found there
Vader showed up right on time
And the moves he made, so fine
Hit my X-wing that surrounds me

Should I stay or go?
I really want to know
Would we lose or win
If I live to fight again?
Oh, gonna live to fight again
Oh, I'm gonna live to fight again
Oh, gonna live to fight

Right or wrong, what's done is done
It's only moments that you borrow
But the thoughts will linger on
Of the glory and the bombs
When the sun comes up tomorrow

Well, it might take years
To cover all my fears
What do you know?
I'm still here, so let it go

Oh, gonna live to fight again
Oh, gonna live to fight again
Oh, gonna live to fight again
Oh, sometimes lose, sometimes win
Sometimes you need to live
Oh, gonna live, gonna live

Gonna live, gonna live, gonna live, gonna live
Gonna live, gonna live, gonna live, gonna live
Gonna live, gonna live, gonna live, gonna live
Gonna live