I grew up when Pluto was a planet. But, as you no doubt know, 18 years ago, on August 24, 2006, poor Pluto was downgraded from a regular ol' planet planet to a dwarf planet. KCRA explains that:
the International Astronomical Union voted to strictly define a planet, which ultimately downgraded Pluto from the ninth planet from the sun to a dwarf planet — causing controversy both scientifically and culturally.
I recently stumbled upon this awesome fan-created animation of Jonathan Coulton's song "I'm Your Moon," a surprisingly beautiful love song from Charon (Pluto's moon) to Pluto. Mike Young used photos from NASA and other sources to create the video, and the images, animation, music, and lyrics combine to form an incredibly sweet tribute to Pluto. Here's the first verse and the chorus:
They invented a reason
That's why it stings
They don't think you matter
Because you don't have pretty rings
I keep telling you I don't care
I keep saying there's one thing they can't change
I'm your moon
You're my moon
We go round and round
From out here, it's the rest of the world that looks so small
Promise me
You will always remember who you are.
Back in 2006, when Pluto was first downgraded, Jonathan Coulton wrote about the song on his blog:
A few people suggested I do a song about Pluto, and I thought it was a fine idea. It was turning around in my head last week when the first line of the chorus came to me, as if from deep space.
As you certainly know by now, Pluto is not a planet anymore. Just yesterday the International Astronomical Union made it official by redefining "planet." Pluto is a now considered a dwarf planet, along with a few other small, icy spherical things out there. Obviously very upsetting to Pluto. As you are also no doubt aware, Pluto's moon Charon is kind of unusual: it's about half the size of Pluto, which is pretty large for a moon. And it doesn't orbit around Pluto, they actually orbit around each other, faces locked, like dancers. You wouldn't be crazy to think of them as a double dwarf planet. What I'm getting to is this: Charon sings this song to Pluto.
Several years later he followed up with some updates about how much the song has meant to his fans:
This is one of those songs that a lot of people really latch onto. I just got a little weepy while listening to it because I thought of all the stories people have told me about singing it to their newborns and playing it at their weddings. I was just thinking about Pluto when I wrote it, but since it left my hands it's been infused with the essence of all these other relationships. And so now the Pluto thing really is just a metaphor, and when I hear it or sing it I think about all those real people feeling things. Which is awesome – I love hearing that songs of mine have taken up residence in people's emotional lives. That's the point of songs, isn't it?
If you've never heard "I'm Your Moon," definitely give it a listen. Maybe have your tissues handy, too.
Here's to Pluto and Charon! Enjoy the song and video!
