Whilst reading through the song–related submissions to the current, geo-arty edition of the Accretionary Wedge, my mind was cast back to my dim and distant undergrad days, when no field trip was complete without sem-drunken final evening entertainments, and the highlight was usually a trio of our years’ finest wits (not me) getting together and summarising our excursion through the medium of modern pop music. The following was composed during a tectonics field trip to Greece; it’s possible that you had to be there (and possibly also pickled in retsina) to find this funny, but I’ll give some background after the fold.
(to the tune of Pulp’s Common People)
We came to Greece we had a thirst for knowledge.
We studied geology at a Cambridge college;
that’s where I
caught James’ eye.
He told me about vertical fissures.
We said, “In that case all faults must be vertical”.
He said, “No!”
and then in thirty seconds time, we said:We want to know about normal faulting;
we want to know whatever normal faults do;
we want to sleep under a normal fault;
we want to sleep under a normal fault – like you.So he took us to a rubbish dump.
We don’t know why but he had to start it somewhere –
so he started it there.
He said, “Pretend you’ve got no compass-clino”
We said, “In that case we can’t measure any dips and strikes”
So we went home.Are you sure…
You want to know about normal faulting;
You want to know whatever normal faults do;
You want to sleep under a normal fault;
You want to sleep under a normal fault – like me?
But we didn’t understand,
we called it fault breccia and raised our hands.Drink retsina,
draw a log,
grow your goat and look at rocks,
smoke cigars and play the fool,
tell the kids “Go back to school!”.
But you’ll never get it right
‘cos though you think you’ve seen the light,
you’ll draw your faults as vertical,
and if you called Doctor Jackson you could stop it all- yeah!You’ll never know about normal faulting,
you’ll never know what normal faults do;
you’ll never fail like a normal fault,
you’ll never bust like normal faults do.Like Rachel Flecker at the outcrop,
she will quiz you and never warn you.
Look out! She’ll draw your knowledge out.
Cos demonstrators hate the students
– especially ones who think it’s all such a laugh,
and that gyros stains from Greece
will come out in the bath.
And you’ll never understand
how the big guys control the land.
You’re amazed that they exist,
and their slip’s so big that you can only wonder why…You’ll never know about normal faulting,
you’ll never know what normal faults do;
you’ll never fail like a normal fault,
you’ll never bust like normal faults do.
We wanna know about normal faulting like you,
wanna know about normal faulting like you,
wanna know about normal faulting like you…
la la la la la la la,
la la la la la la la,
la la la la la la la – oh yeah!
