The Rocket That Grandpa Rode

There's an old gypsy moth, made of glue and cloth
That lands in a horse filled field
An unusual event for those palomino gents
Who just stared at their future revealed

Why, oh why-oh did he fly out of Ohio?
Before we knew that genes held the code
But taking to wing is a haunting, taunting thing
Just like that rocket Grandpa rode

Yeah, it was the rocket that Grandpa rode
Sounds like braggin' but it's true, I'm not tryin' to big-time you
Shot up into space and he said look out down below
Gotta love that rocket that Grandpa rode

And the kids turned to flying machines
With their arms open wide like wings
But one solitary boy knows a plane is not a toy
I'm talkin' 'bout the man on the moon

I still remember July of '69
We all got to stay home from school
In stark black and white, we followed the flight
And the whole world was in that capsule

Oh, on the rocket that Grandpa rode
Sounds like braggin' but it's true, I'm not tryin' to big-time you
Oh what a flight, you'd better look out down below
Yeah, that's the rocket that Grandpa rode

Spacemen and women on this bus, an obese driver I don't trust
We're goin' to watch the shuttle fly away, last day
And for some kids behind my seat, there's a very special treat
More than just history on parade

Giant nozzles, bolts and beams, they called her Atlas by all means
Blood, sweat and tears were her payload
She was a stairway to heaven, old Apollo 11
The rocket ship their Grandpa drove

Oh, on the rocket that Grandpa rode
Sounds like braggin' but it's true, I'm not tryin' to big-time you
Rising up from that lagoon, we beat those Commies to the moon
Yeah, on the rocket their Grandpa rode
Yeah, on the rocket their Grandpa drove

Thank you, Neil
Thank you, NASA
Thank you, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock
Scotty, Lieutenant Uhura and Chekhov
Yeah, the rocket that Grandpa rode