Three Space Elevator Songs

Song lyrics, music and arrangement by Dr. Donny "Rocker" Deever. The lyrics appear on the video and are also reproduced lower down on this page.

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1. Green Road to Space

Space elevators are called the Green Road to Space because they would ensure environmentally neutral operations as they do not burn rocket fuel in our atmosphere nor leave debris along their path. The image is stylized to look like a green road.

2. Send It Up

This song is inspired by the idea that space elevators would be permanent infrastructures like bridges and hence should reduce the cost of going to space in the same manner that bridges reduce the cost of crossing rivers.

3. Build the Road

A Space Elevator Anthem for Space Settlement and Exploration

Lyrics

Lyrics to Green Road to Space

Song lyrics, music and arrangement by Dr. Donny "Rocker" Deever.

Majestic lines that rise so high,
from Earth’s green fields to star-washed sky,
not fiction’s dream, not distant lore,
but science knocking at the door.
A ribbon stretched through blue and black,
a steady road — no fiery track,
From solid ground to silent stars,
a gentler way to travel far.

No thunder shakes the burning ground,
no carbon fuel, no sonic sound.
Just cabins climbing, smooth and slow,
on power winds and solar glow.

This is the green road to space,
a cleaner climb, a lighter trace,
no smoke, no flame, no scar left wide,
just Earth below and stars as guide.
We rise without the sky’s distress,
with less to burn and more to bless—
A future built with care and grace,
a greener path… green road to space.

No shattered stages cast aside,
no metal ghosts that drift and hide,
no orbital debris to fear,
no cluttered skies from year to year.
They climb the tether clean and true,
a seamless path from old to new,
where every journey clears the way,
for safer nights and brighter days.

Electric hearts, renewable,
a system safe, reusable,
efficiency in every mile,
a slower climb— but worth the while.

This is the green road to space,
a cleaner climb, a lighter trace,
no smoke, no flame, no scar left wide,
just Earth below and stars as guide.
We rise without the sky’s distress,
with less to burn and more to bless—
a future built with care and grace,
the greener path… green road to space.

Rockets roar and fade away,
built to burn, then break and stray,
but this will stand through time and years,
enduring hope beyond our fears.
From wind and sun, the power flows,
from careful hands, a future grows,
a structure strong, a promise long,
where Earth and space at last belong.

This is the green road to space,
where progress leaves a softer face,
where science walks with nature’s hand,
and lifts us up— not tears the land.
From ground to stars, a shining gate,
a wiser path, a hopeful fate—
We rise together, Earth embraced,
the greenest path… green road to space.

No roar, no fire, no poisoned air,
just human dreams and thoughtful care,
a quiet climb, a boundless view—
The sky grows closer… greener, too.

Lyrics to Send It Up

Song lyrics, music and arrangement by Dr. Donny "Rocker" Deever.

What if the road to the stars had a station on the ground?
What if every load went higher while the price kept coming down?
Send it up!

Every rocket is a wonder, every launch a roaring flame,
but the fuel and tanks and engines must be paid for every game.
Build a cable to the heavens, build a climber made to run,
draw the power from the planet, make the journey more than one.
No throwaway road behind us, no new tower every flight,
just a working line of commerce climbing calmly through the night.
When the system’s built and moving, when the freight begins to flow,
every trip can share the highway, every year the costs can go—

Down from rare to reachable,
down from dream to plan;
open up the upper sky
to every willing hand.

Send it up — bring the price down!
Freight on a ribbon from the Earth to higher ground.
Less fire, more cargo, turn the whole world around;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!
Send it up — let the work begin!
One road used a thousand times can let a thousand builders in.
More science, more service, more chances going ’round;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!

Up, up, up — while the cost comes down!
Up, up, up — let opportunity come ’round!

When each kilogram costs fortunes, every bolt must earn its place,
every school and smaller nation meets a locked and guarded gate.
But if hundreds beat ten-thousands, what a difference that could make:
More weather eyes and warning signs, more knowledge, less at stake.
Universities could send their work, young companies could rise,
farmers see the thirsty fields through clearer watching eyes.
Signals reach the distant towns, disasters find relief;
Cheap access turns the heavens into tools for life beneath.

Not a playground for the wealthy,
not a prize for just the few;
Make the high road wide enough
for bold new minds to use.

Send it up — bring the price down!
Freight on a ribbon from the Earth to higher ground.
Less fire, more cargo, turn the whole world around;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!
Send it up — let the work begin!
One road used a thousand times can let a thousand builders in.
More science, more service, more chances going ’round;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!

Heavy shielding, stronger frames,
parts designed to last —
Room for tools and backup systems,
not just feather-light and fast.
Refuel what is running low,
repair what starts to fail —
Bring old hardware home again
instead of leaving one more trail.
Build the depots, build the workshops,
move the freight by steady stream;
When the cost of weight comes falling,
industry can scale the dream.
Solar stations, larger antennas,
research platforms broad and strong—
When the road can carry plenty,
better business comes along.

What makes a railroad valuable?
Every train that rides!
What makes a harbor powerful?
Every ship it guides!
What makes a space road change the world?
The cargo climbing through!
The more we use the pathway,
the more the pathway lets us do!

Pay for power —
Not a mountain full of fuel!
Use the climber —
Use it over, that’s the rule!
High throughput, shared investment,
steady traffic, year by year;
turn the cost of reaching orbit
from a barrier to a frontier!

Send it up — bring the price down!
Freight on a ribbon from the Earth to higher ground.
Less waste, more cargo, let prosperity come ’round;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!
Send it up — open the door!
For the student, for the scientist, the nation wanting more.
More service, more invention, new industries unbound;
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!

From thousands into hundreds —
Let the savings multiply!
From a launch into a lifeline —
Build a business to the sky!
Make the road, move the world,
let a new economy sound:
Send it up, send it up —
Bring the price down!

Up, up, up —
While the cost comes down.
Build the road.
Bring the price down!

Lyrics to Build the Road

Song lyrics, music and arrangement by Dr. Donny "Rocker" Deever.

We have touched the Moon.
We have crossed the night.
Now build the road that carries life.

A rocket opens heaven with a door of fire and sound,
but a lasting road to space must start and end upon the ground.|
Raise a ribbon through the blue sky, let the steady climbers go;
carry more than flags and footprints— carry what a world must grow.
Lift the tools and lift the water, lift the shelter, steel, and seed;
Lift the parts that crews can fashion into everything they need.
Let the cargo rise in rhythm, let the pathway bear the load;
We have dreamed about the future—
Now it’s time to build the road!

Not another distant someday,
not another promise slowed;
Every home begins with builders,
every journey needs a road.

Build the road, build the road,
from the blue Earth to the great unknown.
Lift up life, lift the light,
lift the hands that make the darkness bright.
Moon by moon and world by world,
let the human story grow—
The stars can be our next abode…
But first we’ve got to build the road.

Higher, higher— steady as we go!
Build the road! Build the road!
Raise the shipyards into orbit where the larger vessels rise,
free from narrow launch-day limits, free to open wider skies.
Build them strong with room for shielding, healing rooms and gardens green,
ships for years instead of moments, built for places yet unseen.
Set the fuel depots waiting, keep the rescue craft prepared;
Send the science, send the medicine, send the backup systems there.
When a mission meets a crisis far beyond our planet’s glow,
give them tools enough to answer—
Give them somewhere safe to go.

Exploration requires more than courage;
Space settlement needs more than dreams.
It needs roads that carry thousands,
it needs parts, and plans, and teams.

Build the road, build the road,
from blue Earth to off-world abodes.
Lift up life, lift the light,
lift the hands that make the darkness bright.
Moon by Moon and world by world,
let the human story grow—
We can go to moons to stay
but first we’ve got to build the way!

Send the telescopes above us
where the universe is clear.
Send the watchers and the warning
for the worlds that wander near.
Send the miners toward the Moonlight,
send the labs beyond the air.
Send the builders toward the places
where tomorrow waits out there.
Make a harbor high above us,
make a gateway strong and wide;
Assemble ships for Mars there
with the Earth still close beside.
Test the engines, train the crews there,
learn before the farther flight;
Every lesson gleaned in orbit
increases odds of planning right.

There will still be risk before us.
There will still be things that fail.
But a road brings help and hardware,
and a road keeps hope on trail.
Do not wait for perfect answers;
"Perfect" never crossed a sea.
Build the systems, face the questions,
learn from micro-gravity.
Not because the stars are easy,
not because the road is sure,
but because a life on many worlds
makes human life endure.

For the children—
For the science—
For the future—
For us all—
Raise the pathway through the heavens;
Answer history’s waiting call!

Build the road, build the road,
from the blue Earth to the great unknown.
Lift up life, lift the light,
lift civilization through the night.
Moon by moon and world by world,
let the human story grow—
We can make the stars our home,
now it’s time to build the road!

Build the road, build it now!
No needless delay is our vow.
Lift the hope, lift the hands,
lift the courage of a hundred lands.
Not in fifty years from now—
Let the first great climbers go!
We can make the stars a home,
right NOW it’s time to build the road!

Build the harbor!
Build the station!
Build the ships that travel far!
Build the future!
Build together!
Build a road to reach the stars!

We have touched the Moon.
We have crossed the night.
Now build the road
that carries life.

Build it now.