# Rocket Man, Again **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 11, 1999, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973 "1999-06-11T15:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 1999, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/1 "1999-06-11T15:20:00Z")
Although the references to the Ray Bradbury story seem feasible, I had always assumed the Elton John song “Rocket Man” was influenced by the Thomas Pynchon novel “Gravity’s Rainbow”. In this novel the main character (uh, one of the main characters), a Tyrone Slothrop, was nicknamed “Rocket Man”. There are a variety of lines in the song which had lead me to this belief. The phrases “…and all the science I don’t understand, it’s just my job 5 days a week…” and “…I’m not the man they think I am back home…” amongst others seemed to correspond nicely to various aspects of the book. Of course, it’s anyone’s guess what had actually influenced John and Taupin but with the popularity (at one time) of Pynchon’s short stories in Great Britain it would seem a viable conclusion to draw. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 1999, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/2 "1999-06-19T05:24:00Z")
Speaking of Outer-Space themes in modern pop-music, has anyone but myself ever pondered the connnection and similarities betweeen Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and (the German 80’s pop singer) Peter Schiller’s song “Major Tom”? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 1999, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/3 "1999-06-18T19:28:00Z")
Of course it does - it was an homage :-\> ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 1999, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/4 "1999-07-06T05:26:00Z")
Craxonius, See the original mailbag question and answer. Apparently, there are others who share your fascination. Hope the answer helps. SDStaffSongbird ---
**Author:** ![ImnotNathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@ImnotNathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ImnotNathan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/5 "2023-03-22T05:49:40Z")
I’m ressurecting a 2 decade dead thread to say it’s not an homage. Gravity’s Rainbow was released in 73, Rocketman in 72 ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/6 "2023-03-22T08:18:47Z")
Glad you cleared that up, because I’d wondering for close to 24 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/7 "2023-03-22T08:38:48Z")
So, Pynchon lifted ideas for his novel off the song, then? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/8 "2023-03-22T08:39:54Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Glad you cleared that up, because I’d wondering for close to 24 years now. And here I was thinking it was gonna be a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/9 "2023-03-22T08:42:44Z")
Bwahahaha! 🤡 ---
**Author:** ![crywalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crywalt/32/3224_2.png) [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/10 "2023-03-22T12:47:20Z")
The person above who said “Of course it does - it was an homage” was referring to “Major Tom” and “Space Oddity”, not _Gravity’s Rainbow_ and “Rocket Man”. ---
**Author:** ![ImnotNathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@ImnotNathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ImnotNathan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/11 "2023-03-22T14:27:47Z")
Shit that’s my bad, I was out of it at the time. Heard Rocketman and immediately started wondering if they were connected ---
**Author:** ![crywalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crywalt/32/3224_2.png) [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/12 "2023-03-23T14:24:44Z")
Everyone’s brain farts sometimes. 🙂 Bernie Taupin, who of course writes most of Elton John’s lyrics, has said that he never wrote a song that didn’t mean exactly what it says in the song. He doesn’t have deeper meanings or references, except, I guess, the kinds of unconscious cultural things that are just lying around for everybody. The thing about his lyrics when matched with the music is that they can sound like they mean more, or different things, to different people. It’s a safe bet, though, that when he wrote “Rocket Man”, Taupin was thinking nothing more than, “What would it be like to commute to work by rocket?” ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocket-man-again/973/13 "2023-03-25T00:28:00Z")
The song was inspired by the short story “The Rocket Man” in _The Illustrated Man_ by Ray Bradbury. Taupin… has acknowledged borrowing from Pearls Before Swine’s 1970 “Rocket Man” written by Tom Rapp, which was also influenced by the Bradbury story. (from Wkipedia)