# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![owlofcreamcheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@owlofcreamcheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlofcreamcheese)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/41 "2003-09-25T01:26:19Z")
“queen of outer space” he has sex with a big ugly alien… thats good… I guess… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/42 "2003-09-25T02:36:47Z")
The Pixies had a lot of good songs about outer space. “Bird-dream of the Olympus Mons” is a particular favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/43 "2003-09-25T03:02:34Z")
How about Porno for Pyros \*[Pets\*](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/porno-for-pyros/pets.html)? > [@](#): > > Will there be another race > To come along and take over for us? > Maybe martians could do > Better than we’ve done > We’ll make great pets! ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/44 "2003-09-25T07:44:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Why no really positive songs about space flight? Well, it’s pretty tough to get exited enough about going to the moon to collect rocks and bring them back without incident to write a song about it… ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/45 "2003-09-25T07:45:35Z")
\*excited ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/46 "2003-09-25T12:59:48Z")
**Genesis** – _Illegal Alien_ 😃 Sorry, I couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/47 "2003-09-25T19:44:15Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. Well, one of their albums is _Apollo 18_. But I’m not quite sure if “In the spaceship, the silver spaceship, the Lion’s on the phone” is quite pro-spaceflight. There’s also “For Science”, which features the narrator volunteering to sleep with a Venusian woman. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/48 "2003-09-26T15:57:45Z")
It isn’t the entire song, but there is a good verse about the space shuttle in Jimmy Buffett’s song “Somewhere Over China” (circa 1983 or thereabouts): How I would love to drive the shuttle Just to hear the engines roar And to operate the lever that controls the payload door I could buzz the Himalayas Barrel roll above Hong Kong Set it down in San Francisco to the clanging of a gong. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/49 "2003-09-27T01:51:14Z")
I’ve got to second “Countdown” by Rush. By far the most inspirational song about space flight I’ve ever heard. It starts: - Lit up with anticipation We arrive at the launching site The sky is still dark, nearing dawn On the Florida coastline Circling choppers slash the night With roving searchlight beams This magic day when super - science Mingles with the bright stuff of dreams Floodlit in the hazy distance The star of this unearthly show Venting vapours, like the breath Of a sleeping white dragon… \* This was written after the band members were invited to watch a shuttle launch, and they dedicated the song to the people of NASA. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/50 "2003-09-27T02:16:46Z")
I remember a funny space song but I dont remember the name of it. Heres the chorus… “The moon is full tonight…but Uranus looks better. Fly with me to Uranus tonight…” funny stuff 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/51 "2003-09-27T15:23:20Z")
I’d say because the idea of space travel is meaningless to most people. I, and I’d say nearly everyone on this board has no hope of going into space in the immediate future. The artists have no connection to the event, the audience has no connection, so why would anyone be inspired to write about it? The Rush lyrics quoted by **Sam Stone** (and I haven’t heard the song) leave me cold, and sound terribly artificial. Songs about space flight only really work when space flight represents something else, usually escape. See, for instance, Jebediah’s _Star Machine_. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/52 "2003-09-27T15:47:52Z")
“It’s worse than that it’s physics, Jim.” \*is[/] a line at the end of “Star Trekking” when everything starts to break down. Sigh. Why do I know that? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/53 "2003-09-29T04:13:44Z")
Even though it’s an instrumental, “Telstar” by the Ventures was undeniably a positive song about space exploration, and it was also a hit. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/54 "2003-09-29T06:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d say because the idea of space travel is meaningless to most people. I, and I’d say nearly everyone on this board has no hope of going into space in the immediate future. The artists have no connection to the event, the audience has no connection, so why would anyone be inspired to write about it? The Rush lyrics quoted by Sam Stone (and I haven’t heard the song) leave me cold, and sound terribly artificial. I don’t understand this sentiment at all. You’re saying space is not romantic? It’s dull? We’re talking about mankind leaving the world of its birth and making halting steps into the void. We’re talking about human beings shutting themselves into tin cans and hurtling themselves to other worlds. We’re talking about the vast reaches of the universe, with billions of flaming suns and other worlds. Strange landscapes, perhaps other life even civilizations. To say that there is nothing to write about with respect to space travel is baffling to me. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/55 "2003-09-30T15:43:05Z")
I think there’s plenty to write about space travel, just not in the form of pop music. Sure, space travel is about “mankind leaving the world of its birth and making halting steps into the void” and “human beings shutting themselves into tin cans and hurtling themselves to other worlds,” but who are these people doing it? Not me. Not you. Pop (as opposed to classical) songs work because people can relate to them. It’s why John Lennon’s _Imagine_ endures; it speaks about things that we can all relate to. But I can’t relate to being sewn up in a tin can and sent to other worlds. Only about 10 or 15 people can. It might be interesting to think of the possibilities of space travel, but this only works when spoken of in the abstract. A few military guys spending billions of dollars to go into space to see what happens to ants in weightless conditions isn’t romantic or emotional, nor does it imply the possibilites of mankinds future. Space travel is only romantic when, as I said, it represents something tangible: hope, escape. You don’t catch a space shuttle of hope, though. When songs do delve into the realm of science fiction, they sound pretentious or silly. I guess Blink 182’s _Aliens Exist_ is about space travel (though in reverse), but it’s not inspiring. It’s just silly. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/56 "2003-09-30T22:34:42Z")
While not, per se about space travel, I think Kate Bush’s _Rocket’s Tail_ is a good endorsement of the romanticism and excitement of leaving the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![MusicJunkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/57 "2003-10-01T03:30:43Z")
Watcher of the Skies by Genesis involves (presumably) space travel. If it’s positive or not is anybody’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/58 "2003-10-01T06:38:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Sure, space travel is about “mankind leaving the world of its birth and making halting steps into the void” and “human beings shutting themselves into tin cans and hurtling themselves to other worlds,” but who are these people doing it? Not me. Not you. Pop (as opposed to classical) songs work because people can relate to them. It’s why John Lennon’s Imagine endures; it speaks about things that we can all relate to. And I think music is much bigger than that. I see no reason why pop music can’t be about bigger things than cheatin’ and hurtin’. In fact, the more ambitious pop musicians HAVE written about larger themes. Rush, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/59 "2003-10-01T22:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*And I think music is much bigger than that. I see no reason why pop music can’t be about bigger things than cheatin’ and hurtin’. In fact, the more ambitious pop musicians HAVE written about larger themes. Rush, for example. \*\* Of course, Rush started out at a time when the record companies were willing to work with an artist, and keep them signed even though the artist _wasn’t_ a hitmaker (but **did** produce quality work). Now, however, it’s an entirely different ballgame, if an artist doesn’t have an obvious hit, they’ll never get signed, if they don’t have a string of hits, they’ll get dropped. The bulk of folks record labels are pushing these days haven’t the **brains** of Geddy and the boys, so for them to have the necessary curiosity and ability to write a decent song about spaceflight, is well-nigh impossible. Moby, however, _is_ a big space nut (he recently went to Space Camp), and he _has_ talent. He’s done one space-themed song (_We All Are Stars_) and might do more. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387/60 "2003-10-02T01:30:57Z")
How did you all fail to mention Europe’s _The Final Countdown_ ? The defining moment in 1980s rock… Oh, and Inspiral Carpets’ _Saturn 5_ . That was a REALLY positive song… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-really-positive-songs-about-space-flight/203387.md?page=4)