SONGS ABOUT SPACE
David Bowie’s 1969 hit “Space Oddity” is perhaps the most iconic song about space travel, but he’s hardly the only musician to write about about leaving our planet. Here are a few cosmic classics.
ELTON JOHN
“Rocket Man” John didn’t give his titular rocket man a name, but it’s easy enough to imagine that it’s Major Tom, given that the song’s themes closely echo the haunting loneliness of “Space Oddity.”
BILLY BRAGG
“The Space Race Is Over” When Bragg was a kid, he assumed that travelling to the moon would be a normal part of 21st century life. “The Space Race Is Over” is a melancholy lament for those unfulfilled dreams.
THE ROLLING STONES
“2000 Light Years from Home” The Stones hopped on the psychedelic bandwagon with this trippy 1967 odyssey. Although they were criticized for aping the Beatles’ psych style, these intergalactic lyrics were ahead of their time.
DIGABLE PLANETS
“It’s Good to Be Here” Most space songs describe leaving Earth; this one flips the formula, as the rap aliens of Digable Planets leave their distant home in Sector 6 and bring the funk to our world.
BIF NAKED
“Spaceman” The Canadian alterna-pop star has a message for any extraterrestrials who might be listening: “Come rescue me.” With classic ’90s angst, she imagines alien abduction as a way to escape the drudgery of her life. Isn’t being on Earth just the worst, you guys?