A long, long time ago,
I can still remember how,
that unix used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
that I could make that keyboard dance,
and maybe I'd be happy for a while.
But my editor it made me shiver,
with every keystroke I'd deliver.
No use, could not insert,
unless I type in one 'i' first.
I still remember how I cried,
on first that day this 'vi' was tried.
Yes it touched me deep inside,
the day the unix died.
So....

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window, but my editor's vi.
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.

Did you read the book of use?
Do user's give you bad abuse?
And what of vi will it last?
Or do you believe in WYSIWYG,
do you think windows will be big?
and can you teach me how to code real fast?
Well, I know that you're in love with it,
because I saw you paste in something quick.
You're so stuck to those days,
Man I dig your stone-age ways.
I was a lonely teenage program man,
with a cup of coffee and a project plan,
but I knew things were out of hand,
the day the unix died.
I started singing . . .

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window but my editor's vi,
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.

Now for ten years I've been on my own,
and vi grows old and so unknown,
But that's not how it used to be.
When the master wrote for the great machine,
in a cubicle he worked unseen,
with a code that came to you and me.
But while the machine was going down,
the master made with one last frown.
The reason was unlearned,
no system was returned.
The technician read a book on parts,
windows slowly made it's mark,
the programmer coded in the dark.
The day the unix died.
We were singing . . .

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window but my editor's vi,
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.

Helter-skelter in a summer swelter,
my station failed they had to melt her.
OS five lost, it did not last
failing with some final task.
The hacker tried for a backdoor pass,
but the manager was there and much too fast.
Now the password's lost and all is doom,
and salesman march to a different tune.
Windows made a swift advance,
Till vi had lost its only chance.
When the master one day lost the feel,
the system just refused to yield,
so in the end vi's fate was sealed,
The day the unix died.
We started singing . . .

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window but my editor's vi,
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
a generation lost in space.
With no time left to start again.
So come on, code me nimble, code me quick,
oh cut six lines with just one flick.
Ah vi is the coders only friend.
And as I watched him type a page,
my hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel codes as well
nor breaks that editor's spell,
As the last text was captured by machine,
the monitor began to gleam,
I heard PC's laughing in a dream,
the day the unix died.
He was singing...

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window but my editor's vi,
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.

I met a girl who talked so wise,
I asked her for some command advice.
But she smiled and told me none.
I went down to the system store,
where I met the master years before.
But the man said the unix wouldn't run.
And at their desks the programmers screamed,
the salesmen sold while the hackers schemed.
I thought he must be jokin',
the editors - all were broken.
And the three things I could use with haste,
the copy, cut and the holy paste,
They hid away like search-replace,
the day the unix died.
And they were singing....

Vi, vi, ah my editor's vi,
drove my cursor to the window but my editor's vi,
Them good ole boy's were yanking lines with a 'y',
singin' this will be the day unix died
this will be the day unix died.