<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The Green Hills of Earth is a classic science fiction short story written by Robert A. Heinlein and published in the February 8, 1947 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. It is remembered as being the first science fiction story published by this mainstream magazine. It was included in the eponymous 1951 collection The Green Hills of Earth and in the 1967 Future History omnibus The Past Through Tomorrow.

Plot

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Rhysling, a rambunctious, Ozark Mountains-born spaceship "Jetman," renowned for his accordian playing and his rollicking, off-color ballads, is blinded in an accident onboard the Goshawk. He turns to a hand-to-mouth life as a wandering minstrel, and is known popularly as "Rhysling, The Blind Singer of The Spaceways." Rhysling's blindness infuses him with a new humanity and compassion, his songs become more mature, and by the time he is an old man several publishers have collected his songs and doggerel. Especially popular is "The Green Hills of Earth," a song he has been composing for many years, but one for which he is unable to find a satisfactory concluding verse.

On Rhysling's first trip back to Earth since he was blinded, to live out his final days among "The Green Hills of Earth," the vessel he is traveling on has engine trouble. In the engine room, Rhysling, alone, is left conscious and exposes himself to deadly radiation to repair the engines by touch. He calls the bridge and requests that a recorder be turned on. He composes the final verse of "The Green Hills of Earth" as he dies.

Inspiration

Heinlein's 1941 story Universe mentions "Rhysling, The Blind Singer of The Spaceways." According to the liner notes he wrote for the Leonard Nimoy-read spoken word album of the story, he had been mentally collecting notes for the story for years, but could not write it as he felt he knew little about blindness. During his World War II work for the Naval Air Experimental Station at the Philadelphia Naval Yards, Heinlein met a blind machinist he identified only as "Tony." Tony had a safety and production record as impressive as sighted machinists and could unerringly identify people by the sound of their footfalls, without need of them speaking to him first. In addition, Tony often entertained the shop with his accordion playing and his singing. Heinlein credis Tony with inspiring him to finally write "The Green Hills of Earth."

Television/Radio Adaptations

The story was adapted for the 1951 television series Out There. Singer John Raiit played Rhysling in this loosely adapted version which included a love interest.

It was adapted fairly faithfully for the radio series Dimension X (1951), X Minus One (1955) and The CBS Radio Workshop (1957).

Legacy

The Rhysling Award is given annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for best poem.

External Links

• The Green Hills of Earth at ISFDB.org

Related Terms and Articles

• The Green Hills of Earth (collection) is a 1951 short story collection of Heinlein's work, including this story