Symphony of Science: 'Our Place in the Cosmos' (ft. Sagan, Dawkins, Kaku, Jastrow)

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." -Carl Sagan. Here's the third movement of the growing Symphony of Science, a series of songs that use scientists' spoken voices auto-tuned to make them sing. In this latest installment, the focus is again on the vastness of the cosmos and our place in it. The video also includes a few clips from my favorite film of all time, Koyaanisqatsi (more on that later this week).

If you're a fan of the original song ("A Glorious Dawn" featuring Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking), you can now buy it on vinyl from Jack White's record company. It's only six bucks (shipping included!), and the B side features replicas of the Voyager Golden Record's engravings. It's made of vinyl, not gold, though.

You can download free MP3s and learn more at SymphonyOfScience.com. See also: We Are All Connected.

Complete lyrics after the jump.

Lyrics [Narrator]With every centuryOur eyes on the universe have been opened anewWe are witnessTo the very brink of time and space [Robert Jastrow]We must ask ourselvesWe who are so proud of our accomplishmentsWhat is our place in the cosmic perspective of life? [Carl Sagan]The exploration of the cosmosIs a voyage of self discoveryAs long as there have been humansWe have searched for our place in the cosmos [Richard Dawkins]Are there things about the universeThat will be forever beyond our grasp?Are there things about the universe that areUngraspable? [Sagan]One of the great revelations of space explorationIs the image of the earth, finite and lonelyBearing the entire human speciesThrough the oceans of space and time [Dawkins]Matter flows from place to placeAnd momentarily comes together to be youSome people find that thought disturbingI find the reality thrilling [Sagan]As the ancient mythmakers knewWe're children equally of the earth and the skyIn our tenure on this planet, we've accumulatedDangerous evolutionary baggage We've also acquired compassion for others,Love for our children,And a great soaring passionate intelligenceThe clear tools for our continued survival [Michio Kaku]We could be in the middleOf an inter-galactic conversationAnd we wouldn't even know [Sagan]We've begun at lastTo wonder about our originsStar stuff contemplating the starsTracing that long path Our obligation to survive and flourishIs owed not just to ourselvesBut also to that cosmosAncient and vast, from which we spring