Article RK83 It All Goes Around (but what?)

It All Goes Around (but what?)

by
from Making Light on (#RK83)

One of the pleasures of Ann Leckie's Ancillary series is running across the small songs that Breq, the main character, collects. One particularly graceful lullaby that threads its way through the story is It All Goes Around:

My mother said it all goes around
The ship goes around the station,
It all goes around.

My mother said it all goes around
The station goes around the moon,
It all goes around.

My mother said it all goes around
The moon goes around the planet,
It all goes around.

My mother said it all goes around
The planet goes around the sun
It all goes around.

It's clear in the story that the song is a ferocious earworm. Which is why the tune for it that Foz Meadows composed is so perfect. It fits the lyrics beautifully, and sticks in your head. It certainly stuck in the head of Tumblr user @comedrinkwithme, who demonstrated that it's a really good round.

And it stuck in my head this weekend, when I really did want something light and clear in there. It stuck hard enough that I tweeted a version of the song about the song itself:

My mother says it all is a round
The author writes a lullaby
It all is a round.

My mother says it all is a round
A reader makes a tune for it
It all is a round.

My mother says it all is a round
A Tumblr user demonstrates
It all is a round.

My mother says it all is a round
And now that fandom's singing it
It all is around.

Then it started.

@evilrooster My mother says it all is a round Round round round get aroundYeah I get around

- jeff lowrey (@jefflowrey) October 25, 2015

.@jefflowrey I get aroundI get right round baby right roundLike a Radch sphere babyRight rite round round

- Abi Sutherland (@evilrooster) October 25, 2015

@evilrooster My mother says it's all a roundDon't come around here no more.Whatever you're looking forHey! don't come around here no more

- jeff lowrey (@jefflowrey) October 25, 2015

.@jefflowrey My mother says that it's all aroundThe myth of the fingerprints,Is all around the world. (1/2)@ann_leckie

- Abi Sutherland (@evilrooster) October 25, 2015

.@jefflowrey My mother says that it's all around.It's not just me and not just youIt's all around the world. (2/2)@ann_leckie

- Abi Sutherland (@evilrooster) October 25, 2015

@evilrooster @ann_leckie My mother says it's all aroundI'm out to do the best I can As I go ramblin' round

- jeff lowrey (@jefflowrey) October 25, 2015

About then other people started getting involved:

@jefflowrey @evilrooster @ann_leckie My mother says it all goes aroundThe wheels on the busThey all go around

- Mary Aileen (@patchworkmouse) October 25, 2015

@evilrooster @jefflowrey @ann_leckieMy mother says it all goes aroundShe'll go around the mountainIt all goes around

- Mary Aileen (@patchworkmouse) October 25, 2015

@evilrooster My mother says it all goes aroundIn all encircling modeOh closely guided planAwaken in our heart(Church organ solo)

- Jurie Horneman (@jurieongames) October 25, 2015

There are more; follow the Twitter stream to find them. And Fiona inspired a "teach the cosmological controversy" version:

My mother says, it all goes around
Aetheric orbs surround the world
It all goes around.

My mother says it all goes around
The planetary spheres rotate
It all goes around.

My mother says it all goes around
The stars move with the firmament
It all goes around.

My mother says it all goes around
In heaven, all-encircling,
It all goes around.

So. Who's next?

External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/atom.xml
Feed Title Making Light
Feed Link https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/
Reply 0 comments