Banned from Argo
| "Banned from Argo" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Leslie Fish from the album Solar Sailors | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Filk, bluegrass | |||
| Writer(s) | Leslie Fish | |||
| Solar Sailors track listing | ||||
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"Banned From Argo" is a filk song written and originally recorded by Leslie Fish, released in 1977 on the album Solar Sailors, and later as part of various compilations (Star Trek Comedy: The Unofficial Album; Dr. Demento's Hits From Outer Space, etc.) It won the 2003 Pegasus Award for Best Classic Filk Song.
The song pokes fun at the conventions and characters of the original Star Trek television series. Though no character is mentioned by name, they are identified by their shipboard title/duties and certain characteristics (such as Captain Kirk's sexual escapades or Scotty's taste for alcohol), and are stated to be a Starfleet crew in the final verse. The framework of the song's "story" is the starship crew's stop at "Argo Port" for shore leave, where their antics result in chaos and destruction, prompting the planet's government to ban them from returning, as stated in the chorus:
And we're banned from Argo, every one.
Banned from Argo, just for having a little fun.
We spent a jolly shore leave there for just three days or four,
But Argo doesn't want us anymore.
(The final chorus adds a faux-innocent "Wonder why?" to end the song.)
In the original recording, the song is played in a bluegrass style, with guitars and banjos as the only musical accompaniment. It follows a pattern of single verse followed by single chorus, with an instrumental interlude, the length of one verse and chorus together, between the second-to-last chorus and the final verse. The tune to the single verse is "The Boston Burglar".
The original version of the song prior to recording referenced Klingons in place of pirates in the eighth verse, but was altered for recording. Since Pon Farr and Starfleet are both mentioned in the recording lyrics, the removal does little to mask the song's origins.
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