Filker.com

Of Dogs and Men

Lyrics and Music ©2016 by Bill Roper


I wrote this song for the FilkONtario songwriting contest this year, where the theme was "Pets in Space". I've been kicking around a number of ideas around this theme for some time, so it was a good opportunity to get them fixed in place.

(C)    G                          C
You’ve been at our side since the dawning of man,
Am           C             D        G
Changing our lives the way only you can.
         Am                       D
You came in from the cold, took a seat by the fire,
          G                         E
And we’ll take you with us as we’re journeying higher.

(Chorus)
   F           C              G          C
So come along, pup, there’s a world to explore
F           C          D7           G
Waiting for us just outside of that door.
       F        C          G          Am    Am7
You’ll be at my side to protect and defend.
        Dm7      C/G            G              C
There’s always a place here for mankind’s best friend.


You once kept us safe when we lived on the ground.
Set up a howl when the monsters came round,
And we could sleep deep without fear of attack
Under the guard of our own puppy pack.

(Bridge)
D                      Am
Now we have portals to worlds much like ours,
D                Am
Orbiting faraway alien stars.
     D                        Am
It’s time that mankind went exploring again
          G                         E
And we’re sending out dogs with our women and men.


Wherever there’s earth and there’s water and air
And we go to explore, then our dogs will be there.
Better than any machine we might send –
A machine is a tool, but a dog is a friend.

(Chorus twice)