Major tom is the astronaut. Ground control is space org headquarters in communication with major tom. Most of the song is written like its radio communication between astronaut and ground control. With that in mind it might be easier to grasp what's happening.
Actually, although that is how the song is set out structurally, think Asia has a good take on the actual context as well. Remember Major Tom returns in Ashes to Ashes and it turns out he is indeed on a bad trip.
@@Muckylittleme I had a pretty conventional straight forward take on this song for years: Major Tom intentionally disconnected his communication with ground control, and allowed himself to just float off into space. (He asks ground control to give a message to his wife.) After "Ashes to Ashes", I'm not really sure what it means anymore...
@@jonathanlocke6404 Well no reason it shouldn't be taken on face value either until Ashes to Ashes and who knows if Bowie just decided to evolve the Character after Space Oddity? Maybe he is talking about himself playing the persona in 3rd person and his won drug addiction? A lot of his songs either have very profound lyrics with double meanings while others are deliberately nonsensical so he is always hard to decipher.
David Bowie was one of the greatest musical savants and a chameleon. Myself, I love his stuff from this early era. I love his Ziggy Stardust era output with the incredible Mick Ronson on lead guitar. That was glam rock at its best, with a touch of psychedelia, punk, Prog and hard rock sprinkled in. Try Moon Age Daydream, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragate City and Width of a Circle. This band was at its best live in 1973, that show will send you to outer space! 🎵
Yep. I agree with all the above! I saw Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour several yrs later, and he was living and performing the dissolute mood theme of that lp, which was somewhat unsettling (as it was meant to be IMO!) to him, the band, and the audience. Wish I'd seen him/them a few yrs earlier!!!
@@joelhoulette3244 Yep, all modern fans who like Bowie need to see the Ziggy Stardust live concert video, he is in absolute peak form as is Mick, he is a monster that night! 🎸
David Bowie was a genius. He constantly changed his sound, reinventing himself many times. That's why he remained relevant to music for so many decades. He was a true artist and yet accessible as well. In interviews he usually seemed to be having great fun, a down to earth likeable guy. When it came to his music though he seemed driven to create something timeless and memorable and he often succeeded.
Great to see you both doing much better health wise. Believe it or not, David Bowie was watching the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Oddysey high as a kite when ideas came to him about this song 😂. Major Tom is a fictional character. BJ I think you hit the nail on the head saying Major Tom is your own alter-ego, and the space oddity is your own mind where you are present, but not present. And yes Asia, your conscience and sub-conscience. Great opinions, thoughts and reaction ❤️
Not to be argumentative but I think this song is about the Apollo 13 incident. When it happened the whole world in shock. I think Rocket Man by Elton John was also influenced by it
@@michaelwhite6740 in an interview David Bowie said everyone thought this song had to do with the Apollo Missions and the landing on the moon but it had nothing to do with them at all.
Hi. I actually wonder if the last appearance of Major Tom is in Bowie's video for the song "Blackstar". For me the dead astronaut in the video could be him. Just my interpretation.
I like that, after they say "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.........?" he doesn't reply to them, instead going inward with his thoughts about "here am I sitting in a tin can............." and pondering his fate. It leaves you thinking. 🙄
David Bowie (BOW-ee) is telling a story in this song. He plays the part of both ground control ("This is ground control to Major Tom" and Major Tom ("This is Major Tom to ground control"). They are communicating with each other.
Caught him live twice. Once with The Polyphonic Spree where he literally stopped mid song when he noticed someone waving a program from the play "The Elephant Man" which he had starred in when it toured through my town some decades before. He told the story, signed the program and then went back on with the song... ever the performer. The other time was when he toured with NIN. Both performed separately then played together at the encore.... unbelievable. 5 decades of incredible music from a singular talent; never to be duplicated again.
I'm not sure about this song but many times everything you hear was done by Bowie. All the instruments, all the multi-voice chorus. He was sooo talented. As always y'all review / react great.
"Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows" major Tom knows something is wrong and the ship is starting to careen out of its' path. He knows there is nothing he can do to get back to earth, the very last part the music is going out of control and he is lost, conveying the emotions of early space flights where many things can and did go very wrong.
My goodness. I have no idea how you managed not to understand this song. There is nothing complicated. It’s a littl science fiction story. Two people. Ground control and an asrptronaut. What on earth is the problem?
David Bowie was one of the first androgynous performer. People speculated this was about drugs, and the connection to them. Listen to something from Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Kind of shocking at the time but pretty tame now.
Don't over think it. He's like the narrator, taking both parts of Major Tom and Ground Control. This was his first major hit in 1969, the same year man landed on the moon. Major Tom appears again in two other songs by Bowie, but many years apart ("Ashes to Ashes" and his last album "Blackstar").
Every album Bowie made was a different trip that he took you on. It always took a little time to catch up with him. Bowie made albums for down the road a bit, he seemed to have understood what you would need later on. For me it started with a song called Oh You Pretty Things and down the rabbit hole I went. Hunky Dory became the beginning of a lifetime of Bowie music.
bowie was one of those rare and special artists years and years ahead of there time he could change his persona and style and reinvent himself many times over throughout his career , even lying and singing in his own coffin just before his death in his final album Black Star, he was iconic the world over
Don't overthink it too much. Bowie is just telling the story like reading a book. " Major Tom said" ..then Ground control said ..etc...It is not based on a real person , it, like most music from that era is a commentary on humankind , and the perils and beauty's of our curious nature etc..
I still get a tear in my eyes because of his passing. He was like no other, ALWAYS ahead of the curve. Bowie was a trendsetter, changing with the times and he always came out on TOP. Rest In Peace David, we all miss you.
David Bowie was an English singer-songwriter & actor. He constantly reinvented himself to stay current over nearly 5 decades. His first big hit was "Space Oddity" in 1969. He has had a lot of great songs including "Starman", "Ziggy Stardust", "Rebel Rebel", "Young Americans", "Changes", "Fame", "Golden Years", "Ashes To Ashes", "Under Pressure", Let's Dance", "Modern Love", "China Girl", "Heroes" etc.
Bough-ee ( like a tree bough). Bow-ie ( like bow and arrow) is also acceptable. WHERE the heck do Americans get boo-ey from? How have you never heard his name said before?
Bowie is a real name of a famous American historical figure, and hunting/military knives are called Bowie knives as a result. But it is not David Bowie's real name, so he doesn't know how to pronounce it.
@@MegaTenser I am acutely aware of that. The historical guy wasn't pronounced ''boo-ey'' either, and it doesn't explain why SO many American reactors pronounce it ''boo-ey'', and/or stumble over it, and have apparently never heard his name pronounced before.
This is a radio conversation between the astronaut Major Tom in his space ship (tin can), and ground control. How was that too difficult to understand? LOL
Check Nick Roeg's Sci Fi film The Man Who Fell to Earth with Bowie playing a humanoid Alien visitor from a doomed planet who becomes disillusioned and corrupted by what he finds on Planet Earth . .filmed in Texas . .is disturbingly weird and very wonderful
You are right . . While being a song about outer space . . It's a song about inner space . . The artist is the Astronaut and psychic explorer probing and lost and a casualty in being a psychic explorer
Please check out the most touching song he ever made imo - Heroes! And if you want to taste how diverse check out his collaboration with Trent from NIN on "I'm afraid of Americans"
This came out in 69' during the space race before the moon landing. It was stunning then and it's still epic. It has been performed on the international space station by astronaut Chris Hadfield. Played this during a symphony rock show with a cover band and it is a great chart.
David Bowie is a great singer, and happens to be married to one of the most beautiful women in the world. I say happens because she said she'd never re-marry.
We finally got to see him in '74 on his Diamond Dogs tour. He wrote a lot of truly great songs and he was a pretty good actor too. He starred in The Elephant Man on Broadway and was hilarious on Extras with Ricky Gervias. Gone way too soon.
He is Major Tom talking to Ground Control. PLEASE can you guys react to Bowie Heroes live 2002 or Where are we now which is so beautiful and especially after his death. Love the channel and reactions of you both. Thanks!
This album is one of the best. I would strongly recommend trying anything from it but I personally think Cygnet Committee, Janine, and Memory of a Free Festival are maybe my favorites. Really there is nothing bad on this album and it has a different vibe than almost anything Bowie, or nearly anyone else has done. A diamond.
David Bowie actually had stage characters...Glad you've met Ziggy Stardust whom David " killed " a few years later AANND some fans actually believed a dude from space named Ziggy actually died!!! LOL Ya know rocker from space comes to earth brings awesome music gets involved with drugs and the whole scene and spirals out of control and pretty much drugs do him in! Wait for that to die down got himself ( Bowie ) out of a creative slump and came back as the Great White Duke! Que China Girl , Modern Love, Hero's.....
Major Tom is a persona of David Bowie's, mentioned in songs "Space Oddity", "Ashes to Ashes", "Hallo Spaceboy", “Major Tom”, and "Blackstar" In Blackstar I am certain he is not mentioned but is a Major {haha} part of the official video which is a absolute must see -- Only after you have a lot more Bowie under your belts tho --- The digital pinging noise in this is also at the end of Blackstar --- There are a lot of hidden treasures and easter eggs in the official video to Blackstar and the physical album -- there are videos of people who have discovered some of them -- also there is messages if you play Blackstar backwards -- The funniest thing is it still sounds like a Bowie song --- RIP David and thank you
Really enjoyed this one! And I'd just recommend that you really try to cast your minds back to when this song came out, 50 yrs ago. This was the time of the first moon landings, quantum mechanics and new cosmic theories so this song really spoke to current ideas. In other words, it of course didn't sound "old" or even particularly psychedelic in the 70s. And Bowie was pretty much always right on the edge of experimental music and pop. I think you'd enjoy "Golden Years" or "Suffragette City". Thanks for upload! (note Bowie pretty much said this song is about drugs but I think its way more than that.)
David Blake wrote this song in 1969 after he was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's groundbreaking movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey" hence the play on words "Space Oddity." Anyone who lived at this time knows that the "space race" was a major cultural event to see which country was going to be the first to land on the moon & our space advancements were constantly on TV. Bowie said in interviews that he was "stoned out of his gourd" when he saw the movie & was trying to capture his feelings of alienation. Major Tom was left floating in space & the question has always been was this an accident or intentional. Bowie has always left ambiguity in his lyrics because he wants people to interpret them as they will, as any true artist does. He revisits Major Tom in 1980's song "Ashes to Ashes" as being a junkie, which is after Bowie's own struggle with cocaine addiction (NOT heroin), and again in subsequent years with "Hallo Spaceboy" and again in his swansong video for "Blackstar." I also heard him say in a later interview that space was an outer manifestation of an internal space. Many people interpret that as drug related, and that analogy fits as well as other interpretations. My own personal opinion is that it is more of an existential crisis of sorts - but then again this is why the song has a broader appeal that spans over generations. I still mourn his passing. RIP David Robert Jones, you are sorely missed!
you need to listen to Heroes or Putting out the Fire with Gasoline. This man changed over time from the early days of Ziggy Stardust to later days of Young Americans. so much creativity and he never stayed the same.
Not a lyric song, you can’t experience the magnificence reading the words. So glad you’re listening to Bowie though! He’s a genius - Heroes, Changes, Suffragette City, Rebel Rebel, Fashion. He’s brilliant. ❤️❤️❤️😁
His last name is Bow-E … Bow as in bow and arrow. It seems like every album, every decade it’s a different Bowie; he was the master of reinvention of himself and his music, so it’s even hard to compare himself with himself. He came out during the early 70s when hard rock like Led Zeppelin was king, so this album was very different then what was going on at the time. For us rockers, as we got old we became more appreciative of his music.
Honestly don't think it even matters how people pronounce his last name, after all it's not his real name. He only picked it so he didn't get confused with Davey Jones from the Monkees.
That's interesting because I'm British and I have always pronounced it 'Bow, like the front of a ship or taking a bow + ee.' I don't recall anyone ever saying 'Bow' your way. I used to know someone whose surname was Bowie and it was definitely 'take a bow'. I know what people are saying about it not really mattering, but I think if possible a person's name should be pronounced the way the person pronounces it. EDIT: i just consulted the fount of all knowledge, Google, and a polite lady told me BOW-ee, with 'Bow' pronounced like a bow and arrow. I have lived my whole life in a misapprehension. Still, it wasn't BOO-ee.
@@markharris1125 " I think if possible a person's name should be pronounced the way the person pronounces it." Very True Mark. You certainly are not talking out of your Harris :)
@@markharris1125 Even David himself seemed not to be too sure on the pronunciation, I've seen interviews where he said as much. His real name was David Jones, but adopted the stage name so as not be confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees.
CHECK OUT PART 2 TO THIS INCREDIBLY GREAT SONG OF OVER 50 YEARS AGO NOW YOU GUYS! :) ( ASHES TO ASHES ) AND A BIGGGGGG R.I.P. TO DAVID :( SO SAD :( BUT HIS MUSIC LIVES ON :)
I love storytelling songs and for me, this one stands as one of the very best. We get the full journey experience in just a few concise minutes. Every line carries so much weight. To deliver the lyrics a in a way that reflects Ground control communicating with the astronaut, and Major Toim reporting back...the "countdown" in the opening lines, Ground Control already reporting of this man's heroics - the papers want to know who's shirt you wear". The line "i am floating in a most peculiar way" - totally sums up the experience of being in space, this mass expanse you cannot even fully grasp". "Tell my wide I love her very much....she knows" - that one just gets me in the feels. And then, tragedy. "your circuit's dead, there's something wrong, can you hear me Major Tom? x3" all with the backdrop of amazing instrumentation that makes you feel this journey into space. And to think that this was released just days before the 1969 moon landing. Just everything put into context - this song is absolute genius. Everything works and it never gets old. "Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can do."
Do you remember a guy that's been In such an early song? I've heard a rumor from Ground Control Oh no, don't say it's true... We know Major Tom's a junkie Strung out in heaven's high Hitting an all-time low its all a metaphor right?
At that time many people were asking about what would happen if one of the "Moon Shots" missed and carried on outwards. NASA had no answer to that particular question apart from "Phuq all". Bowie soon came out with this track. Since then there have been many who have tagged on much more meaning to it and Bowie with his sense of humour played up to that.
Seeing you so introspective while reacting is great - this was Bowie's intention This song was written and released just after 2001: A Space Odyssey - some of the lyrics are based on scenes from the movie "the stars look different today" etc Not long after, Apollo 11 launched - the excitement about the intended landing was also a motivator for the song
Impressing you got the feeling he's talking to himself (even though it plays out like a dialog between ground controll back on earth and the astronaut Major Tom, on a surface level)! Bowie is using the then very current "space craze" (cold war and the space race) as theme, and the space journey that goes wrong as a metaphor for a drug addict that goes too far, beyond the point of return and loses touch with reality
im actually surprised how many comments there are in this comment section and so far you are one of 2 people i have seen who actually sees the song like this, which to me just seems like a really obvious conclusion that its a metaphor for his own experiences. who actually writes a literal fictional song about a space man? i find it very weird so many people think this song is literal, esp when ashes to ashes basically spells it out for anyone who missed it first time around.
DAVID BOWIE, "SPACE ODDITY". THIS SONG WAS MADE DURING SPACE RACE. HE IS MAJOR TOM, IN CONVERSATION WITH GROUND CONTROL. THEN LOSES CONTACT CATAPULTING INTO THE UNKNOWN, OUTERSPACE...Major Tom was Fictional Character. He wrote this after seeing the Movie "2001 SPACE ODYSSEY" 1968 MOVIE..
He's talking to GROUND CONTROL and GROUND CONTROL IS TALKING TO HIM. Did you go to some kind of special school? Did you drop out at age 12? Like what's the deal here.
This 🎀 is a Bow Not a 👻 Booo David Bowie! How can you not get this? I am baffled! Edit: I was just 15 when I first heard this and it was so very self evident! It didn't need to be taken out of the box, interpreted in a different way! From the countdown and the Engines on, to you being so famous that the Papers want to know what brand of shirts you wear, to ground control talking to Major Tom in his Spaceship that knows which way to go. May God keep you safe. Ok, time to go for a Space Walk.Major Tom talking to ground control, he's going out of his capsule. How do you know planet earth is blue, when you are out in Space! And then you lost it when you paused, talked, lost all track and didnt go back to digest the Lyric......
It's only Major Tom the astronaut going further and further into space, talking with ground control. Then, something goes wrong and Major Tom never comes back. R.I.P. David Bowie (pronounced BO-EE). Thanks guys!
I'm 70 and I can't believe people here talking about this as if it's about an actual Astronaut on a Space Mission! .... It's about a completely different kind of Trip! .... Seriously!
