# Why no really positive songs about space flight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387 "2003-09-23T20:07:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/21 "2003-09-24T01:14:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*Complete Trekie geek _and_ a sense of humor. Now that’s something I could respect in the morning. \*\* Sorry, I’m spoken for. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/22 "2003-09-24T01:30:15Z")
**Revtim** This belongs in the depressing category but I’m surprised how this one got overlooked: **"Spaceman" by Harry Nilsson I wanted to be a spaceman, that’s what I wanted to be, but now that I am a spaceman, nobody cares about me.** From 1972 I believe. Also a _small_ portion of it can be heard in the movie “Contact”. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/23 "2003-09-24T02:03:50Z")
You’re right, there ought to be more positive songs about space flight. If you’re just looking for space songs that are interesting to listen to, though, try Earth Below Us, Circling Skies, the Purple People Eater, and Space Monkey. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/24 "2003-09-24T02:12:51Z")
_Eight foot two Soli Blue Eight transistors in each shoe Has Anybody seen my gal? … but when I woke She was gone Eighteen Billion miles Away…_ Oh, wait. I guess that’s not really positive… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/25 "2003-09-24T04:57:35Z")
_I thought that they were angels but to my surprise They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies Singing come sail away come sail away Come sail away with me_ ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/26 "2003-09-24T05:49:57Z")
What about “Mr Spaceman” by The Byrds? _Hey, Mr. Spaceman Won’t you please take me along I won’t do anything wrong Hey, Mr. Spaceman Won’t you please take me along for a ride_ ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/27 "2003-09-24T06:16:50Z")
All righty then. Let’s get serious here. What about: _Fireball XL-5_ * * * **Fireball XL5** I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest guy alive I’d fly you ‘round the universe. In fireball xl5. Way out in space together. Conquerors of the sky. My heart would be a fireball. A fireball. Every time I gaze into your starry eyes. * * * There’s “Martian Love Song,” and even “Hey Mister Spaceman” by the Byrds. Lest we forget, there is also “Urban Spaceman” by the Bonzo Dog Doh Dah Band. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/28 "2003-09-24T06:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*You’re conflating two seperate lines. The McCoy chorus is “It’s worse than that; he’s dead, Jim!” The Scotty chorus is “You canna change the law of physics!” > > The Spock chorus, by the way, is “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.” \*\* Doesn’t “It’s worse than that, it’s physics, Jim!” come near the end of the song? I wouldn’t call this a positive space flight song. After all, they’re “boldly going forward, 'cause we can’t find reverse!” ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/29 "2003-09-24T07:30:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\*But I think that tells you a lot about why space flight per se is not well thought of. Too associated with the government and bureaucracy. And I have also found - to wildly overgeneralize - that ouside the science fiction field, most artists of all stripes are ignorant and fearful of science to the point of active hostility. I’ve never understood why, but you can find examples that date back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. > \*\* I believe you, and have given this matter some thought myself. I think the reason this is so is because science and art are two things that just don’t mix, by their very nature. They are polar opposites in what they demand of a person’s sensibilities and intellect. Think about it: how many good writers are also good at math? How many scientific or technical people that you know also have finely-tuned tastes in art, cuisine, literature, etc.? Not that such people are unknown, but they are truly rare. As someone who once attended engineering school but now makes his living as a writer, I can bear personal witness to what I stated above. To be more specific, I’d say a lot of artists (at least the ones I’ve known) are antipathic because they perceive science, with its emphasis on structure and repetition of results, as a fundamental repression of the intuition that is the heart of most artistic expression. On the flip side, many scientists reject all but the least abstract forms of art (such as architecture) as so much frippery; what value can something have if it can’t be quantified? ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/30 "2003-09-24T12:26:40Z")
It’s early, and I can’t think of anything specific except “destination moon” by They Might Be Giants but I’m almost positive they have some pro- space travel songs. See also: the b52’s “there’s a moon in the sky (called the moon)” does “planet claire” count? I’m sure they have others too. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/31 "2003-09-24T12:45:15Z")
What about Starship Trooper by Yes? I can’t remember the words, or even what it was about, but I don’t think it was depressing. Gee, I’m oodles of help… ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/32 "2003-09-24T12:57:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tamex \* > \*\*Doesn’t “It’s worse than that, it’s physics, Jim!” come near the end of the song? > > \*\* Yup, that’s right. At the end the lyrics are frantic and twisted together before the final slow finale. I submit _Moxy Fruvous_ - \*[You Will Go to the Moon](http://www.fruvous.com/ywgm-lyr.html) \* * * * (All) Orbiting Rondelle (Dave on lead) You will go to the moon You’ll probably be heading there soon Someday flowers will grow there But first you’ve got to go there Oh, You will go to the moon (ooo, you gonna get it) ## You will live in the stars Your backyard will probably be Mars You will ride a crater scooter And eat off your computer Oh you will live in the stars . . . ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/33 "2003-09-24T16:55:00Z")
Some years ago, Kenny rogers had a song, [Planet Texas](http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/Stage/5476/R_Artists/Rogers_Kenny/planettexas.html), that sounds pretty positive. Sample stanza: _Their shootin’ irons shot laser lights and their spurs was anodized Bandanas caked with stardust and their jeans was pressurized Well they handed me a halter and said, “Tighten up the girth.” But before I hit the saddle we were miles above the earth And I mean miles above the earth_ DD ---
**Author:** ![WPL2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee59a6/32.png) [@WPL2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WPL2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/34 "2003-09-24T18:41:34Z")
“Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer? I blame you for the moonlit sky and the dream that died with the eagles flight I blame you for the moonlit nights when I wonder why are the seas still dry? don’t blame this sleeping satellite ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/35 "2003-09-24T20:16:23Z")
I dunno, **Lizard,** that sounds like a bunch of stereotyping to me. Many of the scientists I know are also interested in art and music–some to the point where they made a very difficult decision about which career to pursue. Most of the scientists I know have a greater appreciation of art and culture than the average non-scientist, 'cause we’re all over-educated intellectual elitists. I don’t want to deny your personal experience, but at the very least I definitely don’t think it’s fair to lump scientists into the same category as engineers, who are much less likely to have a liberal-arts education. (In most universities, the engineering school is separate from the school of arts and sciences, and requires its students to take fewer humanities courses.) And my friends who are artists who are very interested in science and positive about it. Then again, I guess if I knew an artist who was very anti-science, they probably wouldn’t stay a friend for very long, so there’s definitely a selection effect! It may just be that it’s easier (or perhaps, more interesting?) for artists to make a negative statement than a positive statement about _anything_. I mean, if we just did a straight-up tally of songs that are positive about love vs. the somebody - done - somebody - wrong songs, we might conclude that musicians think love . . . er, is not a good thing. (Every negative word I put next to love “love” created a song lyric from the Eighties! See! Proof!) Perhaps we should not be surprised that musicians also dwell on the negative side of science. Anyway, here’s a non-negative song about space travel, in honor of the late Mr. Johnny Cash: “I fly a starship Across the universe divide And when I reach the other side I’ll find a place to rest my spirit, if I can . . .” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/36 "2003-09-24T20:20:39Z")
_Benson, Arizona_ from Dark Star isn’t negative. Nor is it positive. It’s more sort of wistful. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/37 "2003-09-24T21:17:30Z")
“Beep! Beep!” by Louis Prima ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/38 "2003-09-24T21:35:45Z")
“Higher and Higher” and “Floating” by the Moody Blues. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/39 "2003-09-24T22:20:03Z")
**Polycarp** , more and more these days I’m beginning to believe that C. P. Snow’s treatise on the Two Cultures is outdated. There are scientists and then there are uncultured people. 😛 Isaac Asimov used to write (frequently) that all scientists are expected to recognize and appreciate Shakespeare but that English professors would be insulted if asked to explain the second law of thermodynamics. The number of writing scientists - both fiction and popular science books - seems to be at an all-time high. And a good many of the books by scientists I’ve read have made artistically cultural references. (OTOH, when John Brockman acted as agent and got a large number of scientists million-dollar advances for books a while back, rumor hath it that the results were such badly-written piles of crap that only a few of them ever got into print and the whole line of books was canceled.) It’s still rare in my experience outside sf to find artists who truly understand and appreciate science. They exist, but the difference is that it is in no way expected of them, while scientists are thought to be inferior nerds if they don’t know “culture”. I’m more on **Lizard’s** side on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/40 "2003-09-24T23:29:53Z")
How about [Godspeed, John Glenn](http://www.aroara.com/)? There’s _two_ versions of the song, BTW, one was released after Glenn’s first flight into space, the second was updated after his flight on the shuttle a few years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387.md?page=3)