Long, long, time ago, I can still remember 
How UNIX used to make me smile... 
And I knew that with a login name 
That I could play those unix games 
And maybe hack some programs for a while. 
But February made me shiver 
With every program I'd deliver 
Bad news on the doorstep, 
I couldn't take one more spec... 
I can't remember getting smashed 
When I heard about the system crash 
And all the passwords got rehashed 
The Day That UNIX Died... 
And I was singing:

Chorus:
Bye, bye, nroff, rogue and vi 
Gave my program to Phil Levy but Phil Levy was high, 
The boys on the board were sayin' "kill this, goodbye." 
Singin' this'll be the day that I die... 
This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the new games shell 
And do you have faith in the manual? 
If b:dennie tells you so... 
Well, do you believe in UNIX C 
Can hacking save you memory 
And can you tell me why vi's so slow 
Well, I know that you're in love with C 
'Cause I saw your code on UNIX B 
You just kicked off your shoes 
Man, you cleaned up every kludge! 
I was a lonely young computer geek 
With a program due 'most every week 
But I guess that I was meant to freak 
The Day That UNIX Died 
And I was singin:

(chorus)

Well, for ten weeks we've been in this class 
The professor really is an ass. 
But that's not how it used to be... 
When Ira Pohl taught in CIS 12 
And user limits could go to hell 
And there was still space on UNIX C. 
And while the board was looking 'round 
The Chancellor brought the budget down 
The classes were adjourned 
Evaluations weren't returned 
And while Huffman read a book by Pohl 
The CIS board made some prof's heads roll 
And we wrote programs that weren't whole 
The Day That UNIX Died 
And we were singin'...

(chorus)

Helter skelter in the summer swelter 
I went in the lab to find some shelter 
Ninety degrees and risin' faaaaaasst!!! 
C stayed up for ten whole days 
The hackers really were amazed 
Wonderin' how long it all would last. 
Well, both the forums were really great 
Nobody got us all irate 
We had a stroke of luck 
The system did not duck 
'Cause the hackers kept their code real clean 
The UNDR-shell was really keen 
Do you recall what was the scene 
The Day That UNIX Died 
And we were singin...

(chorus)

Our programs were all in one place, 
UNIX had run out of space 
With no time left to start again... 
So, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, 
Use every programming trick 
'Cause UNIX may soon crash again... 
And as I watched the system fill 
My login process would be killed. 
The system just went down 
Consternation up at Crown"!!! 
The hours went on into the night 
And all that we could do was rite 
I saw Dennie laughing with delight 
The Day That UNIX Died 
And he was singin'...

(chorus)

I met a girl who sang the blues 
And I asked her for some stat lab news 
But she just cursed and said "grow up" 
I went down through the stat lab door 
Where I'd learned of UNIX years before 
But the man there said that UNIX wasn't up 
And in the halls the students screamed, 
The majors cried and the hackers dreamed, 
But not a word was spoken 
The Vaxes all were broken 
And the three folks I admire most 
The Father, Frank, and a. G.'s ghost 
They caught the last train for the coast 
The Day That UNIX Died 
And they were singin...

So bye, bye, nroff, rogue and vi 
Gave my program to Phil Levy but Phil Levy was high. 
The boys on the board were sayin' "kill this, goodbye" 
Singin' this'll be the day that I die...