Voyager's Messages
Voyager, in case it’s ever encountered by extra-terrestrials, is carrying photos of life on Earth, greetings in 55 languages, and a collection of music from Gregorian chants to Chuck Berry, including “Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground” by 20’s blues-man Blind Willie Johnson, whose step-mother blinded him at seven by throwing lye in his eyes after his father beat her for being with another man. He died, penniless, of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in the ruins of his house that burned down. But his music just left the solar system.
from The West Wing (season 5, episode 13) by Aaron Sorkin