Have you ever wanted to go on a trip to the moon? Or go exploring the depths of space? Or perhaps you just find the vastness of space fascinating?
Well, if you love all things related to space travel and heavenly bodies, this playlist is perfect for you!
Train – Drops of Jupiter
Let’s start off this list with a song written by Pat Monahan about the death of his mother. As tragic as the event was, he got the idea in his head that maybe no one ever really leaves when they die. He figured that maybe she’s just going back to the atmosphere. And so he wrote a song about how his mother is out there in space doing all the things she loves and still maintains a connection with him in some way.
Starry, starry lyrics: Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall from a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there
David Bowie – Space Oddity
Space Oddity is actually a play on the words “space odyssey,” though the phrase doesn’t appear in the song. And why is this song about an oddity? It’s because the song is about a man who encounters a problem while he’s on a spaceship. He comes to terms with the fact that he’ll probably be lost in space forever with no hope of return, and thus he just chooses to appreciate the view.
Starry, starry lyrics: 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?
Elton John – Rocket Man
Rocket Man came out at around the time of the Apollo 16 mission, the 5th time people were sent to the moon. The song was inspired by the hype around space exploration, though it’s more about the man than the mission. The song is about a man who is sent to live in space as part of a scientific experiment. He muses about being lonely and missing his wife, as well as how cold it is in Mars. However, it can also be interpreted as a man who’s high (burning his fuse) musing about life in outer space.
Starry, starry lyrics: 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
The Killers – Spaceman
Next up is a song that’s said to be a mix of the two previous songs. While Space Oddity and Rocket Man are about men being sent out to space, Spaceman is about a man being sent to space because of an alien abduction. The whole song is about his experience of being experimented on by aliens and how no one believes him. The man then starts to think that it was all in his mind.
Starry, starry night: The star maker says, it ain’t so bad
The dream maker’s going make you mad
The spaceman says, everybody look down
It’s all in your mind
Coldplay – A Sky Full of Stars
After Train’s bittersweet hit and David Bowie’s existential song, we had to follow it up with a song that’s unabashedly happy. A Sky Full of Stars is a song that represents the release after overcoming a difficult challenge. It’s a happy song that’s so easy to dance to because it’s a song of celebration. It may not have been a groundbreaking song that changes the face of music, but it sure is a joyous song that’s both fun to play and listen to.
Starry, starry lyrics: ‘Cause you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars
Such a heavenly view
You’re such a heavenly view
Muse – Starlight
Who’d have thought that Matt Bellamy would admit that this song is as cheesy as it gets. Well, behind the phenomenal vocals and superb arrangement is a pretty simple love song. According to him, the song is about being on the road for some time and wanting to get away from it all. And in all of that chaos of touring, you wish you could just pack up with the one you love and escape for a bit.
Starry, starry lyrics: Far away
The ship is taking me far away
Far away from the memories
Of the people who care if I live or die
The starlight
I will be chasing a starlight
Until the end of my life
I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore
Steve Miller Band – The Joker
You may know this song because of its uber cute video of cats being, well, cats. According to Steve Miller, he came up with the idea for the song at a party in San Francisco. He sat on the hood of a car under the stars and came up with all the things he was – a joker, a smoker, a midnight toker. The other parts of the song are reference to his other songs like “some people call me a space cowboy,” “the gangster of love,” “Maurice,” and “the propitious of love.”
Starry, starry lyrics: Some people call me the space cowboy yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
Cause’ I speak of the pompitous of love
Switchfoot – Stars
This uplifting song from Christian band Switchfoot is all about finding order in the chaos of the world. The band’s vocalist Jon Foreman explained that when his life is getting chaotic, he goes outside to look at the stars. Seeing those heavenly bodies was his way of reminding himself of the order and perfection of the galaxies, and how the chaos of earth looked from outer space.
Starry, starry lyrics: Stars looking at a planet
Watching entropy and pain
And maybe start to wonder how
The chaos in our lives could pass as sane
I’ve been thinking if the meaning of resistance
Of a hope beyond my own
And suddenly the infinite and penitent
Begin to look like home
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
Ah, yes. How can we not include the official soundtrack of the 2017 solar eclipse? Total Eclipse of the Heart is about a woman missing her lover as she reminisces about their incredible chemistry together. But now that her lover is gone, her heart is experiencing an eclipse. But that’s okay, because eclipses are just temporary, right?
Starry, starry lyrics: Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there’s only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
The Beatles – Across the Universe
Who would have thought that this soothing song was borne out of an argument? John Lennon was lying next to his wife in bed, and he can’t get her words out of his head – it was flowing like an endless stream. He convinced himself to get out of bed and turn the idea into the song we all know today.
Starry, starry lyrics: Words are flowing out like
Endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe.
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
Are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me
Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Chris Cornell has stated before that he usually feels better whenever he writes lyrics that are bleak or dark. We’d like to think that Chris was euphoric after he wrote Black Hole Sun. The song describes the sun as a black hole, a gigantic void that comes in to wash away the rain. The song itself portrays a vivid image of why some people absolutely hate the glaring heat of the sun as opposed to the calmness of rain.
Starry, starry lyrics: In my eyes, indisposed
In disguises no one knows
Hides the face, lies the snake
The sun in my disgrace
Boiling heat, summer stench
‘Neath the black the sky looks dead
Call my name through the cream
And I’ll hear you scream again
Incubus – Stellar
Lead singer Brandon Boyd admits that the song was inspired by his love for his girlfriend, Joan English. Lyrically, it’s a very straightforward, transcindental love song where he invites his lover to join him in outer space.
Starry, starry lyrics: Meet me in outer space
We could spend the night
Watch the earth come up
I’ve grown tired of that place
Won’t you come with me?
We could start again
Karen O – The Moon Song
This lullaby was created specifically for the 2013 movie Her. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, Her is about a man’s blossoming friendship with a female talking Operating System. The man is quite introverted and finds solace in talking to the OS, going as far as to share with her his hopes and dreams.
Starry, starry lyrics: I’m lying on the moon
My dear, I’ll be there soon
It’s a quiet and starry place
Time’s we’re swallowed up
In space we’re here a million miles away
Maroon 5 – Lost Stars
Here’s another song from a movie, this time from Begin Again. Lost Stars was written by New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, and he describes it as one of the saddest songs he’s written. The song is about people being ethereal, fleeting lost stars who are just looking for meaning. And they do this despite the fact that none of us are permanent, and are instead just sparks on the horizon.
Starry, starry lyrics: God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young
It’s hunting season and the lambs are on the run
Searching for meaning
But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?
Frank Sinatra – Fly Me to the moon
Of course, we simply must cap off this list with the Frank Sinatra classic, Fly Me to the Moon. For those of you who noticed the joy in Frank’s voice, the reason behind that is his upcoming marriage to actress Mia Farrow. In the song, you can practically hear Frank inviting his soon-to-be wife on a journey through the stars.
Starry, starry lyrics: Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on
A-Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me
Whether it’s leaving earth for a new planet, coasting through galaxies, or seeing stars in the eyes of your lover, this playlist has you covered!
