Rocket Man

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Lore & Background

The song was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story "The Rocket Man" in The Illustrated Man, about a professional astronaut whose work keeps him away from his anguished family for months at a time. It echoes the theme of David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity" (both recordings were produced by Gus Dudgeon). Taupin has denied that the Bowie song was an inspiration, but has acknowledged borrowing from Pearls Before Swine's 1970 "Rocket Man", written by Tom Rapp, which was also influenced by the Bradbury story. According to an account in Elizabeth Rosenthal's book His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, the song was inspired by Taupin's sighting of either a shooting star or a distant aeroplane. The first stanza of "Rocket Man" was thought of by Bernie Taupin while he was on the motorway heading to his parents' home; he had to "repeat it to himself for two hours", which was "unfortunate", but in later interviews he said that since it gave him a hit, it was all worthwhile.

In Their Own Story

The song describes a Mars-bound astronaut's mixed feelings at leaving Earth to do his job. Rosenthal's account goes on to relate that the notion of astronauts no longer being perceived as heroes, but in fact as an "everyday occupation", led Taupin to the song's opening lines: "She packed my bags last night, pre-flight. Zero hour: 9 a.m. And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then." Musically, the song is a highly arranged classical rock ballad anchored by piano, with atmospheric texture added by synthesizer (played on the recording by engineer Dave Hentschel) and slide guitar. It is also known for being the first song in John's catalogue to feature what would become the signature backing vocal combination of his band at the time, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone.

Reader's Guide

Originally released on 31 March 1972 in the US as the lead single to John's album Honky Château, the song first charted in the UK on 22 April, rising to No. 2 in the UK singles chart and No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100. On 5 June 2026, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of 2,400,000 digital downloads and streaming equivalent sales. With sales of five million in the US, the song was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rolling Stone lists it at No. 149 of its 500 greatest songs of all time. On 6 January 2024, Rocket Man surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. The song has been covered by many artists, most notably by Kate Bush in 1991, and by Portuguese singer David Fonseca in 2007. John himself, alongside producer Pnau and singer Dua Lipa, included the song in his 2021 mashup single "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)". William Shatner's spoken-word version from 1978 has been widely parodied.

Did You Know?

• The song was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story 'The Rocket Man' from The Illustrated Man.
• Bernie Taupin thought of the first stanza while on the motorway heading to his parents' home and had to repeat it to himself for two hours.
• On the cover of the UK 7-inch single, John wears a Nudie Cohn-made suit originally made for John Christopher Ethridge of The Flying Burrito Brothers, which was later recovered and placed on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
• Elton John performed 'Rocket Man' at the launch site of Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.
• In 2021, the song was sampled in Elton John and Dua Lipa's collaborative song 'Cold Heart'.