I’m not the man they think I am at home/
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man.

There is a lot of confusion over the meaning of Elton John’s “Rocket man”. I think a lot of the clue can be found in the above lyric. Rocket man is literally about an astronaut talking about how he is a different man at work than he is at home. But this could be anyone who does a job. Weren’t all our fathers rocketmen? Who knows what they went out and did, but their work life was probably different than their home life just like ours is.

A “rocketman” is a great symbol of this, a sort of rockstar at work. He takes his family and raises them wherever the job demands, even unforgiving places like South Dakota or Mars. We are all Rocketmen and Rocketwomen.

John uses a full band, with backup singers and overdubbing to achieve the “Rocket Man” sound. Of course, the featured instrument is the piano—and it sounds great, but it is featured less than in other classics of his. There is a lot of experimentation in the production. Check out the simulated blast off sounds coming from the various instruments. A synthesizer and slide guitar help to add that outer-space-like vibe to the sound.

Rocket Man Lyrics

She packed my bags last night pre-flight.
Zero hour nine AM.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.

I miss the earth so much I miss my wife.
It’s lonely out in space.
On such a timeless flight.

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time,
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home,
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man.
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time,
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home,
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man.
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids.
In fact it’s cold as hell.
And there’s no one there to raise them if you did.

And all this science I don’t understand.
It’s just my job five days a week:
A rocket man, a rocket man.

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time,
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home.
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man.
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time,
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home.
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man.
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.
And I think it’s gonna be a long long time.

written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

Ground Control to Major Tom/
Commencing countdown, engines on.

David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is one of the most unique rock songs of all-time. Themes in rock songs are pretty standard: love, death, breakups, war, unhappiness. We never get songs about space launches. The story of Major Tom’s successful lift off, his disembarking from his shuttle, to when something goes wrong is some serious drama.

Part of the success of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is that it sounds so foreign that we immediately feel like we are in another world when we begin the song. We almost become Major Tom and can imagine how frightened and lonely the experience of an astronaut must be. How crazy is it to be blasted into space in a tin can? I have seen a lot of space movies, but this song captures the essence better than any of them. It truly is a magical feat.

Note how “Space Oddity” changes tone several times and how the instruments used to create that sound change; the production is remarkable. Pre-liftoff the mood is tense, and it remains so until lift off. The music accelerates during liftoff, and then once we reach space the sound is almost euphoric as Major Tom gazes down at earth and describes space to Ground Control. Then we hear the solo which ends in a long descending note and Major Tom exclaims, “I’m feeling kind of scared”. The mood seems to change again as things seem to turn bad. Incredible work.

Space Oddity Lyrics

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you (two, one, liftoff)

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare
“This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you “Here am I floating ’round my tin can
Far above the moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do”

written by David Bowie