Time dilation & rock 'n' roll
By now many of you have no doubt heard that Brian May, best known as the lead guitarist of Queen, has received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Now that you know this, give a(nother) listen to ‘39 from Queen’s album A Night at the Opera. Written (and ably sung) by Dr. May, ‘39 tells the story of a group spacefarers who sail out to the stars “In the year of ‘39…in the days when lands were few”. They return to Earth, according to the crew, that same year—but arrive many years later according to those they left behind:
In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue The Volunteers came home that day And they bring good news of a world so newly born Though their hearts so heavily weigh For the earth is old and grey, to a new home we'll away But my love this cannot be For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me
That’s right—Queen wrote a song about time dilation. I’ve always liked Queen, but this takes them to a whole new level.

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