Bernie Taupin is using an extended metaphor, and his ideas of rocket man, space, and Mars should not be taken literally. "She packed my bags last night preflight" indicates a separation between the "rocket man" and his wife, with the wife initiating the separation (otherwise he could have packed his own bags). Being "high as a kite" probably refers to drug or alcohol abuse in response to the depression caused by this separation. In the words "I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife," the earth is a metaphor for home, and the rocket man missing his wife is emphasized (it says nothing about his wife missing him). He is lonely "in space" but she is not lonely "on earth" with the kids. "Timeless flight" clearly indicates that the separation will last "a long long time." When will this separation end? When will the rocket man be able to "touch down"? Answer: When he can prove that he is NOT the man his wife and kids think he is. The implication here is that his wife has a very LOW opinion of him (otherwise why did she pack his bags in the first place?). There is also a strong implication that the rocket man believes that he is a better man than they think--he pleads with them: No no no I'm a "Rocket Man"--a positive image he has of himself to contrast with the "Sewer Man" image they have of him. "Mars aint the kind of place to raise the kids" means he simply cannot be a father to his kids in his separated state. The line "All that science I don't understand, it's just my job five days a week" proves that the rocket man is NOT an astronaut. An astronaut understands science, and his job is NOT just a job, but a job he truly loves. In contrast, the rocket man is ALIENATED from his work: he doesn't understand it and in fact his life has become a dull routine. Only a return to his wife and kids will cure his alienation. This is what the lyrics mean, and any other meanings attributed to this song go beyond the words that Bernie Taupin actually wrote.
First off the wife.
When this was written, it was common for a wife to pack her husband a lunch for work each day. She would also pack his suitcase for him before leaving for a trip, even a business trip.
I feel that this shows she is being supportive and understanding in what he does.
First off the wife.
When this was written, it was common for a wife to pack her husband a lunch for work each day. She would also pack his suitcase for him before leaving for a trip, even a business trip.
I feel that this shows she is being supportive and understanding in what he does.
I have a cousin who works in the oil fields. He is gone for extended periods and his wife always packs his bags before he leaves.
The fact that she does this the night before shows that she wants to make sure he is ready to go when he needs to leave to catch his 9 am liftoff.
I feel that rather than referring to a strained marital separation, it refers to a necessary and agreed upon separation due to work.
Again, my cousin in the oil fields is away from his family for a week or more at a time, but he knows the money he is making is building a better life for them.
He could move them closer to where he works, but it is not a good place for the kids to be, just like in the song.
When then song was written, many people stayed around their family and the grandparents and other relatives helped raise the kids. There is none of that on Mars, no one to raise the kids in the way that will help them become better people.
So he leaves each week, sacrificing the time he could be spending with them so that they can be around their relatives.
I agree that there is a difference between an astronaut and a rocket man, but I think it is more along the lines of how commonplace the job had become.
Rather than have the glory and fame that came with being an astronaut, he is just a Rocket Man.
Like a garbage man rather than a sanitation engineer.
But he wanted to be one. He enjoys his job.
And people don't understand that.
Remember that one definition of the phrase "high as a kite" can be to be really excited about something, rather than just a drug reference.
He really looks forward to going to work, because he loves his job. He will literally be high as a kite (the rocket taking off) and emotionally because he is back at what he loves doing.
I do agree that he is a better man than they think, and that he is frustrated that the people who knew him growing up think he is in a menial, boring job. That he just abandons his family each week, rather than seeing the sacrifices he is making to make things better for his family.
The song "Black Sheep of the Family" by John Anderson does a great job of referencing exactly what I mean. Everyone else looks down on him, but he is doing what he loves, his wife is loving and supportive, and he is happy.
The rocket man hopes that one day he will come back to find that people finally understand what a great thing he is doing, but he knows it will be a long, long time, if ever, before that happens.
A song about a family man doing what he has to do and loving it, despite what others think.
The interpretation offered below doesn't make sense for three reasons. The wife is not packing his lunch, she is packing his bags in order for him to go on a long "vacation" (most wives wouldn't know all the things their husbands need to take for work). The mood, the minor chord and the entire situation indicates a separation, not merely leaving for work or even a long business trip. Moreover, his coming back is NOT determined by whenever he has finished his work week, rather he says "I think it's going to be a long long time...
The interpretation offered below doesn't make sense for three reasons. The wife is not packing his lunch, she is packing his bags in order for him to go on a long "vacation" (most wives wouldn't know all the things their husbands need to take for work). The mood, the minor chord and the entire situation indicates a separation, not merely leaving for work or even a long business trip. Moreover, his coming back is NOT determined by whenever he has finished his work week, rather he says "I think it's going to be a long long time till touchdown brings me round TO FIND I'M NOT THE MAN THEY THINK I AM AT HOME. In other words, his wife has a negative opinion of him, and he can only return when he has made a positive change in his life. Finally, I think that the interpretation of "high as a kite" to mean extremely happy is absurd in light of the fact that the phrase is immediately followed but how much the rocket man misses the earth and his wife.
Bernie Taupin is using an extended metaphor, and his ideas of rocket man, space, and Mars should not be taken literally. "She packed my bags last night preflight" indicates a separation between the "rocket man" and his wife, with the wife initiating the separation (otherwise he could have packed his own bags). Being "high as a kite" probably refers to drug or alcohol abuse in response to the depression caused by this separation. In the words "I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife," the earth is a metaphor for home, and the rocket man missing his wife is emphasized (it says nothing about his wife missing him). He is lonely "in space" but she is not lonely "on earth" with the kids. "Timeless flight" clearly indicates that the separation will last "a long long time." When will this separation end? When will the rocket man be able to "touch down"? Answer: When he can prove that he is NOT the man his wife and kids think he is. The implication here is that his wife has a very LOW opinion of him (otherwise why did she pack his bags in the first place?). There is also a strong implication that the rocket man believes that he is a better man than they think--he pleads with them: No no no I'm a "Rocket Man"--a positive image he has of himself to contrast with the "Sewer Man" image they have of him. "Mars aint the kind of place to raise the kids" means he simply cannot be a father to his kids in his separated state. The line "All that science I don't understand, it's just my job five days a week" proves that the rocket man is NOT an astronaut. An astronaut understands science, and his job is NOT just a job, but a job he truly loves. In contrast, the rocket man is ALIENATED from his work: he doesn't understand it and in fact his life has become a dull routine. Only a return to his wife and kids will cure his alienation. This is what the lyrics mean, and any other meanings attributed to this song go beyond the words that Bernie Taupin actually wrote.
@mark2marie
@mark2marie
Have to disagree about a few things.
Have to disagree about a few things.
First off the wife. When this was written, it was common for a wife to pack her husband a lunch for work each day. She would also pack his suitcase for him before leaving for a trip, even a business trip. I feel that this shows she is being supportive and understanding in what he does.
First off the wife. When this was written, it was common for a wife to pack her husband a lunch for work each day. She would also pack his suitcase for him before leaving for a trip, even a business trip. I feel that this shows she is being supportive and understanding in what he does.
I have a cousin who works in the oil fields. He is gone for extended periods and his wife always packs his bags before he leaves. The fact that she does this the night before shows that she wants to make sure he is ready to go when he needs to leave to catch his 9 am liftoff.
I feel that rather than referring to a strained marital separation, it refers to a necessary and agreed upon separation due to work. Again, my cousin in the oil fields is away from his family for a week or more at a time, but he knows the money he is making is building a better life for them. He could move them closer to where he works, but it is not a good place for the kids to be, just like in the song.
When then song was written, many people stayed around their family and the grandparents and other relatives helped raise the kids. There is none of that on Mars, no one to raise the kids in the way that will help them become better people. So he leaves each week, sacrificing the time he could be spending with them so that they can be around their relatives.
I agree that there is a difference between an astronaut and a rocket man, but I think it is more along the lines of how commonplace the job had become. Rather than have the glory and fame that came with being an astronaut, he is just a Rocket Man. Like a garbage man rather than a sanitation engineer.
But he wanted to be one. He enjoys his job. And people don't understand that.
Remember that one definition of the phrase "high as a kite" can be to be really excited about something, rather than just a drug reference. He really looks forward to going to work, because he loves his job. He will literally be high as a kite (the rocket taking off) and emotionally because he is back at what he loves doing.
I do agree that he is a better man than they think, and that he is frustrated that the people who knew him growing up think he is in a menial, boring job. That he just abandons his family each week, rather than seeing the sacrifices he is making to make things better for his family.
The song "Black Sheep of the Family" by John Anderson does a great job of referencing exactly what I mean. Everyone else looks down on him, but he is doing what he loves, his wife is loving and supportive, and he is happy.
The rocket man hopes that one day he will come back to find that people finally understand what a great thing he is doing, but he knows it will be a long, long time, if ever, before that happens.
A song about a family man doing what he has to do and loving it, despite what others think.
The interpretation offered below doesn't make sense for three reasons. The wife is not packing his lunch, she is packing his bags in order for him to go on a long "vacation" (most wives wouldn't know all the things their husbands need to take for work). The mood, the minor chord and the entire situation indicates a separation, not merely leaving for work or even a long business trip. Moreover, his coming back is NOT determined by whenever he has finished his work week, rather he says "I think it's going to be a long long time...
The interpretation offered below doesn't make sense for three reasons. The wife is not packing his lunch, she is packing his bags in order for him to go on a long "vacation" (most wives wouldn't know all the things their husbands need to take for work). The mood, the minor chord and the entire situation indicates a separation, not merely leaving for work or even a long business trip. Moreover, his coming back is NOT determined by whenever he has finished his work week, rather he says "I think it's going to be a long long time till touchdown brings me round TO FIND I'M NOT THE MAN THEY THINK I AM AT HOME. In other words, his wife has a negative opinion of him, and he can only return when he has made a positive change in his life. Finally, I think that the interpretation of "high as a kite" to mean extremely happy is absurd in light of the fact that the phrase is immediately followed but how much the rocket man misses the earth and his wife.