The astronauts feel lost in space, both metaphorically and literally, feeling more and more useless and unimportant.Įlton’s intended meaning, inspired by the Bradbury tale, does align pretty well with the picture that his words formed in my head. These astronauts’ families are stuck in the past, romanticizing their now common, basic jobs, instead of realizing that these boring, everyday occupations they hold are very mundane and ordinary. The chorus, “I’m not the man they think I am at home”, is meant to outline the life of this future astronaut, also known as an “intergalactic truck driver”. The song “Rocket Man” is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, written in 1951, telling the tale of a future where being an astronaut becomes a taxing, stressful, lonely everyday job for an average man (or woman). Broken dreams and cigarettes again and again Reelin in my inner thoughts again and again I just need a head rush again and again I just need something thats not the same old thing And in my presence, I cant get enough An urgent message, I need a head rush And in my presence, I cant get enough An urgent message, I need a head rush Oh, would. My interpretation may be different than yours, and according to, my interpretation is also not the story that Elton intended to tell through his song. He expresses the disconnect her feels from the “earth” and missing his family, the same disconnect that many full-time working spouses and/or parents feel. To me, Elton is trying to describe the stress, loneliness, and burden of a full-time job. Through these lyrics, I have come to my own conclusions on the meaning.
Many other lines from the song completely derail this interpretation: “I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife”, and “it’s just my job five days a week”. Society has a tendency to associate sexuality with one’s entire identity and life when one isn’t heterosexual, which I believe is what happened here. This interpretation is understandable but seems a bit oppressive and presumptuous. There is a common, wide-spread misconception that Elton’s lyrics are using the imagery of the rocket as a phallic symbol, presenting the loneliness that haunted homosexual men in the twentieth century: “I’m a rocket man… Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone”. With the rise is familiarity with this classic, I became more and more curious about the speculated meaning of the lyrics.Īnytime I have heard “Rocket Man” and the meaning of the lyrics being discussed, Elton’s sexuality as a gay man is always brought up. In addition to the never-fading popularity of the song that keeps Elton’s almost fifty-year-old lyrics swirling in our eighteen-year-old heads, the recent release “Rocket Man,” the biopic focused on the life and development of Elton John, pushed Elton back into the spotlight (as if he had ever left it). I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that you’ve all heard this timeless classic, as it’s popularity has never dipped since its release in 1972. Welcome back to Sara’s Seventies Playlist! For this week’s tune, I have chosen “Rocket Man,” by Elton John.
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