The days are getting shorter, the planets are in retrograde — whatever that means — and the Northern Lights are coming through with flying colors. The latter phenomenon has held captive both imaginations and phone cameras in recent weeks, as shades of green and purple and blue define social media feeds and skylines alike.
Both marvelous and mysterious, the existence of the aurora borealis can serve as an escape — an invitation to ponder the beauty and impermanence of life, and there is no better channel for such contemplation than music. So much of space remains up in the air, pun intended, and it is this lack of knowledge to which singers and songwriters continue to turn for imagination and inspiration.
For those desiring some distance from Grounds, or those seeking celestial solace from the stress of midterms, to drift away from daily worries and discover new worlds through imagination, here are some songs about space.
“Drops of Jupiter” by Train
A song about loss that simultaneously soars with heartfelt optimism, this classic chronicles the celestial journey taken by its subject through a series of rhetorical questions. “Tell me,” lead singer Pat Monahan requests repeatedly as he searches for answers through a slow rock rhythm about what is out there but ultimately falls back to what is right here.
“Drops of Jupiter” is ethereal in its employment of cosmic imagery — the planets, the stars and the Milky Way — but is also grounded in reality, with a piano and guitar backdrop and string accompaniment that remain a consistent and stabilizing presence throughout the song. During the bridge, Monahan calls on specific memories such as “deep-fried chicken” and “the best soy latte you ever had,” lending a sense of everyday levity to the spiritually uplifting anthem.
The song’s final inquiry — “did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?” — provides listeners with a life-affirming sense of joy and serenity, while also leaving questions unanswered about the nature of such self-discovery. Through this, Monahan invites his audience to reflect on their own experiences of love and loss, and whether those two forces are able to coexist in harmony, just as the piano and strings are able to do in the song.
“Cosmic Love” by Florence & The Machine
Overflowing with passion and vulnerability, this indie rock anthem is a musical exploration of the themes of love, loss and transformation. Through lines such as “And I was in the darkness / So darkness I became,” lead singer Florence Welch ruminates on love as illuminating but also blinding, almost to the point of losing herself.
This dichotomy is heavily supported by the song’s instrumentation, which begins with delicate harp plucking that soon swells into a full orchestral arrangement – an evolution that mirrors the lyrical journey Welch takes, from vulnerability to acceptance of the all-encompassing power of love. The pounding drumbeats and layered harmonies, both tenets of the band’s signature sound, give the song an almost spiritual feel that reflects the intensity of the cosmic forces at play.
“No dawn, no day / I'm always in this twilight / In the shadow of your heart,” the chorus repeats, emphasizing the state of uncertainty that such overwhelming love has placed their speaker in. Both the song’s lyrics and its music carry with them an aching, almost haunted quality, perfect for late night moonlit drives or late night library sessions, as the case may be.
“Moon River” by Frank Ocean
This timeless classic, best known for its fire-escape original performance by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” tells a tale as old as time — that of the human quest for connection and fulfillment. “Moon River” has been covered by countless artists over the years, each bringing their own emotional resonance to the song, but Frank Ocean’s 2018 rendition is particularly beautiful in its simplicity.
Ocean’s voice is the main draw of the track, which lacks substantial backing beyond straightforward piano chords, a choice that amplifies the song’s slow and aching melody. The song’s lyrics are few, but significant — its opening line of “Moon river, wider than a mile” sets the stage perfectly, suggesting the existence of something ethereal, expansive and elusive to the mere individual.
“Two drifters off to see the world,” Ocean sings, the usage of “drifter” suggesting a lack of tethering to or from any particular restraint or reality. The following line is initially sung as “there’s such a crazy world to see,” a broader statement about a desire to experience life to its fullest, however, when the stanza is repeated for a second time, the lyrics are changed ever so slightly. “It’s such a crazy world you’ll see,” Ocean sings to his subject, compelling them directly to take on this journey — after all, “life’s just around the bend, my friend.”
“Starman” by David Bowie
No list of songs about space is complete without a feature from David Bowie, to whose discography elements of space and science fiction are critical, if not crucial. Aptly characterized within its lyrics as a “hazy cosmic jive,” “Starman” plays a key part in the mythos of Ziggy Stardust, the alter ego created by Bowie and after whom his 1972 album is titled. Its arrangement features many characteristics of Bowie’s style, including layered textures – most notably, a rhythmic acoustic guitar base and a riffing electric guitar chorus – that give the song a warm and otherworldly feel.
The song is centered around its titular Starman, an extraterrestrial being who communicates with Earth to bring hope and inspiration to a new generation. Bowie’s vocal delivery shifts from an intimate verse to a catchy chorus, contrasting the grounded concerns of the children on whom the song is focused with the fantastical vision of the Starman addressing them.
Through lush orchestrations and effortless melodies, Bowie makes his lofty story feel incredibly accessible — the outro of “la la la,” in particular, almost necessitates a sing-along. The chorus repeats several times, allowing listeners to hone in on Bowie’s ultimate message of freedom and inspiration to “let all the children boogie.”
Space, both physical and emotional, can feel impenetrable in the vast unknown it manufactures. Yet music can serve as a medium to find solace within this separation – to “sail across the sun,” to meet the “Starman waiting in the sky,” to travel to new places in the mind and take in the marvel and mystery of the universe. And as the Northern Lights dance along the skyline, so, too, should University students dance along to these songs about space.
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