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Spock and Uhura make music

Uhura and Spock jamming together

"Oh, On the Starship Enterprise" was a song made up by Lieutenant Uhura. In 2266, she sang two different versions of the song, accompanied by Spock as he played on his Vulcan lyre in the crew lounge of the USS Enterprise.

The first version of "Oh, On the Starship Enterprise" referred to Spock. Shortly after Uhura and Spock ended their rendition, Charlie Evans, who had recently come aboard the Enterprise, entered the crew lounge. Uhura began to sing again to the same melody, but adapted the lyrics to comment on Charlie and romantic feelings she believed he had for Yeoman Janice Rand. (TOS: "Charlie X")

Lyrics[]

Original version[]

Oh, on the starship Enterprise
There's someone who's in Satan's guise,
Whose devil ears and devil eyes
Could rip your heart from you!
At first his look could hypnotize,
And then his touch would barbarize.
His alien love could victimize:…
And rip your heart from you!
And that's why female astronauts
Oh very female astronauts
Wait terrified and overwrought
To find what he will do.
Oh girls in space, be wary,
Be wary, be wary!
Girls in space, be wary!
We know not what he'll do.
Listen to Uhura sing. file info

"Oh, Charlie's Our New Darling" version[]

Now from a planet out in space
There comes a lad not commonplace
Oh, seeking out his first embrace.
He's saving it for you.
Oh, Charlie's our new darling,
Our darling, our darling.
Charlie's our new darling.
We know not what he'll do.
Listen to Uhura sing. file info
The tune is a variation on the Scots song "Charlie is My Darling" about the Young Pretender and the Scottish Jacobite uprising of 1744/5. This song was identified by name in the stage directions from the final draft script of TOS: "Charlie X", which also noted that the song was "public domain". The script then went on to note that the new lyrics, which were specifically scripted in much the same way as dialogue, were to be written by Gene Roddenberry. There were several changes between the scripted lyrics and those sung on-screen. Although these alterations were mostly minor, the biggest change was that, in the scripted original version of "Oh, On the Starship Enterprise", the verse that repeatedly advises "girls in space" to "be wary" was written to be the second verse of the song, whereas it is sung as the last verse on-screen.
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