Edmonton Balloon Club Song
Written in 1982 by
John Bortscher, Guy Smith and Murray Scholtz

HIGH RIVER BALLOONING
(sing to the tune of "On Top of Ole Smokie")

Updated: June 18, 2002

Welcome to High River We've come to compete Let's ditch the observer Cause we'd like to cheat On top of my half ton Wrapped up in a sack In front of a basket With a fan in the back I got my old Cameron All filled up with air I turned on my burner And singed all my hair The wind it was blowing At 40 or more The green flag was flying Shucks I ripped a gore It took off like a rocket Then dropped like a rock My tanks were all empty Oh god! What a shock It then hit a thermal And started to rise I saw my whole life flash In front of my eyes The girl who was with me We were surely in love So we joined the mile high club From way up above

At the height of our passion She let out a cheer The basket was rockin' Then we hit a shear We dropped like a bullet And passed through some trees Right into some barley Right up to our knees We dragged through the field And right through a fence Set fire to the barley The heat was intense The farmer came runnin' A gun in his hand And in came the chase truck All over his land So we bought the barley And he kept the truck It wasn't a good deal In fact we got....BURNED So if you like ballooning Come fly with us But if you hate adventure You'd best take the bus (c) Edmonton Balloon Club 1982

The Ten Commandments of Ballooning

1. Thou Shalt keep thy air hot, lest the earth rise up and smite thee.
2. Thou shalt always fly with champagne.
3. Thou shalt avoid landing in anything resembling crops, for these are the bounty of the earth, and sowers of the seeds may rise up and slay thee.
4. Thou shall ensure that the thirst of thy fan is always satified with petrol.
5. Thou shalt not criticize thy neighbor's balloon colors, for yours may not be much better.
6. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's chase vehicle or crew.
7. Thou shalt always keep bountiful supplies of propane in thy tanks, for this is the souce of thy light.
8. Thou shalt always keep thy crew happy lest they forget to retrieve you some day.
9. Thou shalt not fly into the midst of fluffy cumulus clouds, lest the shears flatten thine envelope and make thy heart skip many beats.
10. Thou shalt honor the pronouncements of thine air traffic controller, lest the air intake of a Boeing become stuffed with many yards of nylon and much wicker.

From Moses Nagorski *1983*
Transcribed by Father Bruce Brown (Pious Piccard Parish)
Reprinted by Angel Marion *1989*
Sung gloriously at the Edmonton Balloon Club 25th Anniversary, Nov 21, 1998