Hotel Mauna Kea
The Photomixers
Lyrics
(a parody of The Eagle’s Hotel California by Felder, Henley and Frey)
- On a volcanic highway, cool wind in my hair,
- Pale mist of a cryogen, drifting down through the air,
- Up ahead in the distance, I saw a silver dome, bright.
- Granted time at the IRTF, I must observe for the night.
- The baseline is drifting, the spectrum looks weird.
- Are those emission lines? What’s this dip over here?
- Will the referees buy it? Or is it just trash?
- Proposals are pending, I’m running out of cash.
- Welcome to the Hotel Mauna Kea,
- Such a dusty space, such an arid place.
- We’re living it up at the Hotel Mauna Kea,
- Any time of year, if the night is clear.
- Sleep deprivation, there’s no air to breath,
- Long drive to the summit, family’s missing me.
- Flat tire on the dirt road, I can no longer drive.
- Will I miss dinner, will they hold it ‘til I arrive?
- Got an altitude headache. I can hardly see.
- I stopped drinking coffee, now I drink only tea.
- There’s ice on the switchbacks, summit’s out of reach
- Can’t do our science, let’s go to the beach!
- Welcome to the Hotel Mauna Kea,
- Such a dusty space, such an arid place.
- We’re living it up at the Hotel Mauna Kea,
- If the orbit is right, they might give us a night.
- The window is fogging, the dewar’s gone soft,
- The signal is dying, too much cirrus aloft,
- Now the lasers are arcing, the guide camera’s fried,
- I’m a victim of a disk crash, my career has just died.
- Last thing I remember, I was running for the door,
- I had to find the passage back to the lab I had before.
- Relax, said the P.I., it will just take one more tweak.
- Close the dome any time you like, but you can never leave!