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Riders of the Rim

Lyrics and Music ©1980 by Bill Roper


The edge of the galaxy is a very lonely place.

Em                                            D
Where the stars are scattered thinly, and the cold of space seeps in,
C             D             Em
There fly the riders of the rim.
Em                                 D
Out at the edge of night where the Milky Way grows dim,
C             D             Em
There fly the riders of the rim.

	Em  Am                    Em
	The darkness of the sky entraps your questing eye
	    D                               Em
	And beckons to you in your headlong flight.
	    Am                         Em
	And after all you've seen, the black of space is clean,
	        D                         Em
	And you wash your soul in stygian night.

Where your tiny straining ship may take months to make its trip,
There fly the riders of the rim.
And all the while the sound of the engines, all around,
Where fly the riders of the rim.

	The engine's constant whine, the voices in your mind,
	Make you cry out for the silence of deep space.
	And that soundless siren call swallows engine noise and all – 
	Everything you fled instead of faced.

When you see the men who've run from all the things they've done,
There fly the riders of the rim.
And they're sailing far from home, all together, all alone,
Where fly the riders of the rim.

	What drives a man to flee the starry lands,
	To sail out where the sky is cold and dark?
	What demon's eye tracks him as he flies?
	What devil left on him his mark?

Where the stars are scattered thinly, and the cold of space seeps in,
There fly the riders of the rim.
And they're sailing far from home, all together, all alone,
Where fly the riders of the rim.

C           D             Em
They're all riders of the rim.
C           D             Em
They're all riders of the rim.