There Goes Time

So having written a song on the "End of the World" for the FilkONtario songwriting contest and then having discovered that the actual topic was the "End of Time", I said to myself, "Well, I've got a few days left, so let's see what I can do."

And I set out to write a song that I'd been considering for years and years.

I failed dismally. Nothing wanted to come out and play.

Obviously, I needed a different idea. And then I found one and constructed the song below.

I had a placeholder tune -- a new one that I'd constructed just for the meter -- for this that I replaced when I got to the con, because the lyrics went in a direction completely different from what the tune originally suggested.

Apparently, the whole enterprise was successful, because the song won. :) (Hey! I was surprised.)

And the prize -- a piece of lead glass with a guitar and musical notes etched inside -- is absolutely lovely and will be on my mantel shortly.

G                          C
One of these dimensions is not like the others:
G              D           G
Length, width, height, and time.
G               C
Eighteen others hide beneath the covers
G             D           G
Waiting for a chance to unwind.
    Em7                          G
The theory is so simple, but the math’s complex.
A7                 D
Counterintuitive results perplex.
G                               C
If you know the way to make the constants bend,
G          Em7     D        G
Space goes on, but time can end.

(Chorus)
C                   G
Eighteen dimensions in a little ball.
   D                  G
We look for them, but they’re too small.
C               G
Factor infinity into numbers prime,
A7              D
One unrolls and there goes time.


It’s easy to understand when you do the math.
There’s just one dimension like time.
Follow the numbers down the spiral path.
Listen to the midnight chime.
In our universe, there’s only room for four.
If one unwinds, one’s shown the door.
It’s easy to make happen, if you know the way.
Add a dimension and time can’t stay.

Is it a particle or is it a wave?
Only time will tell.
Send time off into an early grave.
What’s left as a shell?
We’ll only know if we take a chance.
Equations detangle and the factors dance.
Once another dimension ascends,
Space goes on, but time can end.

(Chorus, then repeat)
Eighteen dimensions in a little ball.
We look for them, but they’re too small.
Factor infinity into numbers prime,
One unrolls and there goes –