We’ve been fascinated by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” since the first time we heard it. The tale of Major Tom blasting into space and disappearing struck a deep chord in our hearts. The song was released on the Space Oddity album in 1969, the same year as the first lunar landing by Apollo 11. The prescient “Space Oddity” almost anticipates the near tragic events of the Apollo 13 lunar mission when the crew was almost lost in space due to an explosion caused by an oxygen tank the following year, 1970. We could write paragraphs trying to rely all the beauty we hear in “Space Oddity,” but David sings it so well we thought we’d just leave it to him.
“Space Oddity”
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So Major Tom blasts into space and is lost: the end, right? But it’s not. The question “What happened to Major Tom?” begs for an answer. And many people have answered it in song.
David Bowie provided the first answer on his 1980 album, Scary Monsters. In “Ashes to Ashes” Major Tom sends a message to Ground Control that he has been happily gallivanting around space high as a rocketship.
“Ashes to Ashes”
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Released in 1982, Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)” is a controversial chapter in the Major Tom saga. Everyone pretty much agrees that Major Tom attempts to return to earth. But something happens during re-entry. Major Tom either fakes his death or dies. Regardless, his last words are “Send my wife my love.”
“Major Tom (Coming Home)”
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Grandaddy released The Sophtware Slump in 2000 which included “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot.” The song doesn’t explicitly mention Major Tom by name, but the implication is pretty strong. If the protagonist is Major Tom, he returns to earth alive after being lost.
“He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot”
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K. I. A. released “Mrs. Major Tom” in 2002 which describes the Major Tom saga from the point of the astronaut’s wife left waiting for him.
“Mrs. Major Tom”
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Finally, “Rocket Man” by Elton John may allude to Major Tom.
“Rocket Man”
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Or, you know, Major Tom could be a references to drugs and drug trips. But that’s so “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
