This is a Tomorrowlands universe story; they are listed at http://www.tomorrowlands.org/story/stories.html.

© 1999, Tad "Baxil" Ramspott

"Over the Horizon" -- The Howl (revised version)
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I heard last night they found a body by the riverside
When they said it was a werewolf, I don't know how long I cried
Just another brutal murder that the papers shrug away
It seems that there's more fear and hate the longer that I stay

"We don't like your kind, boy, so you better leave this place"
It's always in their stares -- sometimes they tell me to my face
The politicians claim the country's big enough to share
Apparently that don't extend to those with body hair

(CHORUS)
There's no place to be me -- no aeries, dens or caves
In the land of the free, in the home of the brave
Just living in disguise, fighting fear in others' eyes
So take me away to New Atlantis, take me home (*)

Some bigot calls us "baby killers" live on CNN
The right wing resurrects the Revelation line again
Three dragons still face ten to life for flyin' slightly low (**)
To hell with all of that, we've got a better place to go (***)

(CHORUS)

Well I'm standing at the shore, I'm looking out across the sea
Out over the horizon is a place for folks like me
Now I don't want no gold-paved streets, that dream is just a sham
Just help me reach my country, where I'm loved for who I am (****)

(CHORUS out)


(Stuart Roseman, 1997; rewritten 2007 -- see notes below)

(*) So take me over the horizon, take me home
(**) Three dragons face a firing squad for flyin' slightly low [In 2007, the Flyby Three *still* fight an outstanding warrant.]
(***) Everyone wants me to leave but no-one tells me where to go. [The revised line has gained some fame as being The Audience Participation Line (tm) at their live concerts.]
(****) All I want's a home where I am loved for who I am

"Over the Horizon" was first popularized in 1998 on The Howl's second album, "Coin of the Realm." Their first album never got much attention. It was with "Coin" that the band really found their national voice, and "Over the Horizon" was one of the songs that lifted them from rock curiosity to radio phenomenon.

As the first all-theri rock band to hit the mainstream, their songs captured the voices of a people torn in two. Throats human and animal joined in chorus on many of their hits; most credit the masterful talents of Stuart Roseman, lead singer and songwriter, for making this combination work as well as it did.

The Howl never broke into the Top Ten (as a small handful of later theri bands were able to do), but they paved the way for their successors. "Over the Horizon" peaked at #17, staying a solid member of the Top 40 for months.

Naturally, it was a backbone of their subsequent concerts, and remained so for years. The song was starting to wear on the band by 2007, though. Almost a decade of fighting for social progress with their music hadn't changed the basic situation, hadn't changed the battleground -- and they'd moved on to new words, new tunes, desperate to keep their message alive.

But then, that year, New Atlantis was raised.

The Howl toured the main island. They liked what they saw. They liked even more what they heard. And with that, Stuart dug through their song archives. The rest is history.

"Over the Horizon" went through a few quick lyrical rewrites, and The Howl dedicated the 2007 album "No More Tears" (first containing the new version) to Tashi. With its still-relevant social message, "Over the Horizon" became an anthem of sorts for Theri-American expatriates.

The idea to give the song any official status in New Atlantis was short-lived. International relations with the United States remained touchy for quite some time after New Atlantis' founding, and the clear snipes at the "American Dream" were a little too sensitive. As Tashi put it, "Insulting another country in your national anthem is not good diplomacy."

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