Scoping Out Country Music's Cosmic Qualities
In honor of Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to walk on the moon 41 years ago today, I thought I would recognize some of country music's more cosmic tunes. There's more than a plethora of songs regarding stars, planets and Earth, so I thought I'd share a few that were top of mind for me. Though I realize some of these may be a bit out there, please feel free to add your own below.
Joe Diffie, "Third Rock From the Sun" -- Here's a blast from the past as Diffie sings of the strange occurrences of our planet, like a waitress calling the cops saying she saw an alien at the mall.
Melonie Cannon featuring Willie Nelson, "Back to Earth" -- Their love plunges from a blessing to a curse as these two songbirds' hearts slowly come back to reality. (Nelson also played the UFO Festival in Roswell, N.M. alongside Merle Haggard in 2004.)
Jewel, "Jupiter (Swallow the Moon)" -- In her sultry video for this tune, the singer-songwriter pours out her heart regarding the celestial desire to travel the length of her lover's body. She also cleverly throws a shout-out to the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty, Venus de Milo.
Big & Rich, "Comin' to Your City" -- The video has the two flying around in some sort of strange spaceship where they sing of stopping in Cincinnati for some Skyline chili and putting the bang in your ying yang (whatever that's supposed to mean). It all seems like a terrible nightmare to me.
Reba McEntire, "Is There Life Out There" -- OK, this may not technically be about extra terrestrials, but wouldn't it be fun to think it was? Perhaps the woman in this song has a true desire to study astronomy and become an astronaut. "Is there life out there? So much she hasn't done, Is there life beyond her family and her home?"
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joe says:
actually I am from cincinnati and i love big and rich mentioned our chili, which is unique and different.
We put our chili on top of spaghetti, and make it with chocolate lol.
Ryan Roberts says:
Love Joe Diffie’s Third Rock From The Sun !
chris says:
That would be an interesting take on Reba’s clasic, wouldn’t it?! Love to see a video for that!
sunkie says:
Whitney, you forgot one great song about travels etc. It is a song that was sung by one of my favorites, Clint Black. Within the song he educates the listener by explaining the speed of light, the Earth’s orbit and distances from the sun. In fact, I have used this in my work to explain different aspects of the earth. Cute blog….makes me think back so many years ago of watching with bated breath for the first moon walk.