Editing The Green Hills of Earth (section)

==Plot summary==

It is the story of "Noisy" Rhysling, the blind space-going songwriter whose poetic skills rival [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s.  Heinlein (himself a medically retired [[United States Navy|U.S. naval]] officer) spins a yarn about a radiation-blinded, unemployable spaceship engineer crisscrossing the [[Solar System]] writing and singing songs. The story takes the form of a nonfiction magazine article.<ref>{{cite book|last=Heinlein|first=Robert A.|title=The Past Through Tomorrow|publisher=Berkley|year=1981|edition=14th|page=363|chapter=The Green Hills of Earth|isbn=0-425-04756-3|quote=Nor can we quote them in a family magazine.}}</ref>

The events of the story concern the composition of the titular song.  Rhysling realizes that his death of old age is near, and hitchhikes on a spaceship headed to Earth so he can die and be buried where he was born. A malfunction threatens the ship with destruction, and Rhysling enters the irradiated area to perform repairs. While completing the repairs, he knows that he will soon die of [[Acute radiation syndrome|radiation poisoning]] and tells them to record his last song; he dies just moments after singing the final, titular verse.