I am a fan of the music of Elton John. Your Song, Levon...I won't bore you with a greatest hits list, but it would be very large. One song I like, but never really thought about much is Rocket Man.
Yes, I know, we all know the song...but have we ever really dissected the lyrics? What is this song really about?
(NOTE: To all the smarty-mcfarties out there that are sure to say: "We all know this song is about cocaine use because Bernie Taupin said in such in such year to such and such magazine..." Yeah, I read that, too... AND even MORE people are probably kicked back thinking, "What an idiot, this guy is trying to tie the lyrics of this song with what Elton John would have meant, when, in fact Bernie Taupin wrote the song, not Elton!!" Yeah, I know that, too, just humor me, ok?) Now that is out of the way, let's begin:
MUSICOLOGY #1: Rocket Man
When I hear this song, I don't want to fight for the argument that it is about a strung out coke-head, who has lost it all on the Fairy Powder. I also can't get behind the theory that it is about a man going into space...for real. I like to subscribe to a theory that goes a little something like this.
Rocket Man, in my opinion, is about Elton's wanting to tell the world of his sexuality. Let me explain, line by line.
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
Elton, the gay man still, at this point, trapped in a straight-man's body (Rocket Man was written in 1972...Elton John became openly bi-sexual in 1976.) The opening verse is basically the main character coming to grips with being gay. He tells wis wife of his double-life, and the results are her packing his bags pre-flight (before he "flies" away from his home). When he leaves for good, he's going to be "high as a kite" (happy, excited by his new found freedom.) But then the song goes from glee to worry.
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
The first line "I miss the earth so much I miss my wife" is saying he doesn't miss not having a woman in his life, but rather having a person in his life who understood and loved him. "It's lonely out in space." In the '70's, and still today, being gay or lesbian isn't accepted as main stream, and I'm sure they feel isolated and lonely that they aren't as accepted as others...a feeling like being in space. Timeless Flight? How long will these views be octracized?
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 chorus is saying it's gonna be a long time before the main character doesn't feel like he's in space. A long time until he feels accepted. He's not the man they think he is at home, this straight man who has a passion for women, but rather, he's a rocket man. Meaning, he perfers "rockets"...do I need to explain what this is a metaphor for? Rocket in his pocket? Ok, let's move on. "Buring out his fuse" to me represents the gay man's inability to have children of his own, thus burning out his fuse...his family name. (yes, a gay man can adopt and the name can live on, but no blood relation...except through serrogate...you caused me to overanaylis, are you happy?)
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
Mars, the red planet...red represents anger. Anger, in any form, is no place to raise a kid. Elton John's real childhood included a strict father...maybe, this line is saying don't raise your kids in anger for who they are, because that only makes them feel small, and "cold as hell." If you are constantly angry, then how are you raising that child? There is, in fact, no one there to raise them.
And all this science I don’t understand
It’s just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man
The science Elton speaks of is the theory that some believe homosexuality wasn't a born trait, but rather a learned trait. One that could be corrected or "cured" with electro-shock, religion, or more straight living, no pun intended. But Elton counters, "it's just my job five days a week." Elton knows he didn't choose to be gay, he is. That's his life, his job, to be a rocket man...a gay man.
.......................
So, I leave you with this to ponder. Rocket Man...a coked out Astronaut, or Elton's cry for acceptance? You be the judge.
7 comments:
Your analogy is interesting but I have to disagree. I think "Rocket Man" is loosely based on the short story " The Rocket Man" in Ray Bradbury's book "The Illustrated Man". In case you don't know Ray Bradbury is a science fiction writer. He also helped design the "Spaceship Earth" ride at Disney World's EPCOT Center. You might know him best for "Something Wicked this Way Comes". But really, Elton's song IS based on Bradbury's "The Rocket Man". Bradbury's hero in "Rocket Man" is a professional Rocket Man who makes three-month-treks to "Saturn, Neptune and Pluto" and who has such a wanderlust he finds it absolutely impossible to stay at home. When he finally decides the "next trip" is his last (though he can't tell his wife, they have a real communication problem), his prophecy becomes all too real as his ship falls into the sun, and he dies. ....."and I think it's gonna be a long, long time ..."
Yeah, I had heard that analogy as well about the Ray Bradbury...of 'Fahrenheit 451' fame...and Sir Elton's song. Thanks for jogging my memory on that one!!
Hope you enjoyed my "take" on Rocket Man, even though we know the true meaning of the song.
Thanks for the post!
I liked your analogy better anyway!
Thanks!! I appriciate the compliment. I am, however, getting a bit confused with all these anonymous comment leavers. Is there one person posting, or 10? I haven't a clue. Maybe we can work on a system. Anonymous A, B, etc. Just pick a monogram (an initial, or whatever) and comment with that each time you comment...That way, you stay anonymous, but at least I know which anonymous you are!!
I believe the song came out before the short story was written.
I enjoyed your analysis of Elton's song Rocket Man. I have been looking into this a little and yours is very good.
I would just add/correct one part. I do not see the red planets meaning as anger. The astrological sign for Mars is the same sign as the male symbol. A circle with an arrow shooting up and off to the right. This adds to your point a bit better. Mars is being used here to describe the gay community, an all male planet would be a cold place to raise children because at that time and still today women are the primary caregivers, the primary source of love, the primary source of heat.
Just a thought...
I think this is brilliant. Add in what JP said and you really have something. The idea that it's "just" a take on Ray Bradburys story always left me cold. I mean, you could just as easily say it's a song about longing, conlicting desires and a sense of dutiful, if not prosaic, sustaing love.
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