“I think I have heard this before. Is this David Bowie?” asks sophomore Dylan Goldman.
He and I sit outside CHS one Wednesday lunchtime, listening to Bowie’s hit single “Space Oddity.” Goldman, whose musical taste is varied, isn’t too familiar with Bowie’s work. Still, he recognized the song, partially because of Bowie’s distinctive vocal style.
Released in 1969, the song’s lyrics tell the story of an imaginary astronaut, Major Tom, and his conversation with Ground Control as he travels into space. It ends with the foreboding words:
“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”
The song was used in news coverage as background music for the Apollo 11 moon landing until the BBC realized the dark nature of the lyrics and chose to wait until the astronauts were safely home to play the song. Its lyrics were written partially about Bowie’s feelings of isolation at that time, though they were also inspired by the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Musically, “Space Oddity” starts with an acoustic guitar and, according to ‘David Bowie, All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track’, it features at least nine other instruments, which layer in shortly before the lyrics do. The quality of the song, even to the nonmusical listener, is apparent—it’s been described as ‘haunting’ and ‘poignant’, and it’s widely recognized as one of Bowie’s best pieces.
“I felt kind of calm and pensive during it [the song]. I felt like what I assume an astronaut would feel when they’re up in space and floating around,” Goldman said. “Weird, but peaceful.”
Freshman Zuzu Whitney, a Bowie fan, was thrilled to hear the song again, though they noted the depressing nature of the lyrics.
“I always feel really sad when I listen to that song, because it doesn’t feel like he [Major Tom] is coming back,” Whitney said. “It feels like he’s going into space and he’s never going to come home.”
The song also served as inspiration for later works, including one by Bowie himself. The single “Ashes to Ashes” was written about the character of Major Tom, now ‘strung out in heaven’s high’, and was based on Bowie’s own experiences with drug addiction. Artists such as Peter Schilling, who wrote “Major Tom (Coming Home),” have also explored the characters and themes in “Space Oddity.”
