Space Travel Is Boring
Modest Mouse Lyrics
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It was second class but what's to lose
And looking out her window she could more than assume
That you can't see air or time
She's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place
They gave her a mirror so she could talk to a face
She still got plenty lonely but that's just the case
With time, time, time
Started hearing voices sometime in June
She knew she could go crazy but didn't think that soon
Now she doesn't feel lonely but she'd just as soon
Try, try, try try
Man shot to the moon
I read a paperback and want to come home soon
I'm shot to the moon
Been there a half an hour, I want to come home soon
The song Space Travel Is Boring by Modest Mouse tells the story of a woman who has won a pass to travel to the moon. Although she is traveling in second class, she has nothing to lose and while glancing through her window, she realizes that time or air cannot be seen. The woman, being the only rocketeer on the moon, is provided with a mirror to reflect off a face that she can talk to. However, she still feels immense loneliness, which is a natural reaction given how lonely the experience must be. With each passing moment, time seems to become a more significant concept for her.
As she spent time on the moon, she started to hear voices in June. She is aware of the risk of going crazy but didn't expect it to happen so soon. Hearing voices initially left her feeling lonely, but now she isn't, and is willing to try and overcome her current state of mind. The song ends with a man who has traveled to the moon and wants to go back home soon, even though he has only been there for half an hour.
The song draws heavily on themes of loneliness and isolation as the woman on the moon seeks something more significant than just being there. The lines "she's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place" and "she still got plenty lonely" point directly to the lonely feeling that must come with traveling so far from Earth. The song also alludes to the idea that the experience of space travel is not as exciting or glamorous as it may seem.
Line by Line Meaning
Won herself a pass to some far off moon
She obtained a ticket to travel to an alien moon
It was second class but what's to lose
Although her ticket was not first class, she still traveled regardless of the cost
And looking out her window she could more than assume
By peering out her window, she inferred that time and space were invisible concepts on this moon
That you can't see air or time
In this location air and time are imperceptible to the naked eye
She's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place
She is the sole space traveler among that entire location
They gave her a mirror so she could talk to a face
To ease the loneliness, they gifted her a mirror to converse with her own reflection
She still got plenty lonely but that's just the case
Though the mirror offered some relief in companionship, she remains deeply affected by loneliness
With time, time, time
Time drags on agonizingly, making her feel worse day by day
Started hearing voices sometime in June
In June, her mental state began to decline as she began hearing voices
She knew she could go crazy but didn't think that soon
She was aware that the environment could drive her insane, but she didn't expect it to occur so soon
Now she doesn't feel lonely but she'd just as soon
Though she no longer grapples with loneliness, she would rather seek ways to escape this place
Try, try, try try
She will do whatever it takes to survive and make it out of here
Man shot to the moon
A person was thrown into orbit
I read a paperback and want to come home soon
As I read a book, I long for the time I can go back home
I'm shot to the moon
I am propelled out of the earth's atmosphere
Been there a half an hour, I want to come home soon
Although I have been here only thirty minutes, I eagerly look forward to leaving soon
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIC JUDY, ISAAC BROCK, JEREMIAH GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
klashr13
Won herself a pass to some far off moon
It was second class but what's to lose?
And looking out her window she could more than assume
That you can't see air or time
She's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place
They gave her a mirror so she could talk to a face
She still got plenty lonely but that's just the case
With time, time, time
Started hearing voices sometime in June
She knew she could go crazy but didn't think that soon
Now she doesn't feel lonely but she'd just as soon
Try, try, try, try
Man shot to the moon
I bought a paperback and wanna go real soon
I'm shot to the moon
Been there a half an hour, I wanna come home soon
Space Travel is Boring by Modest Mouse
Lyrics source: Genius
klashr13
Won herself a pass to some far off moon
It was second class but what's to lose?
And looking out her window she could more than assume
That you can't see air or time
She's the only rocketeer in the whole damn place
They gave her a mirror so she could talk to a face
She still got plenty lonely but that's just the case
With time, time, time
Started hearing voices sometime in June
She knew she could go crazy but didn't think that soon
Now she doesn't feel lonely but she'd just as soon
Try, try, try, try
Man shot to the moon
I bought a paperback and wanna go real soon
I'm shot to the moon
Been there a half an hour, I wanna come home soon
Space Travel is Boring by Modest Mouse
Lyrics source: Genius
Fuzzy Dunlop
Man this baby is underrated. This is like the closest MM comes to sounding like the Beatles.
Avarisce
This comment section is a dust collector but i just wanna say i think comparing this to the skm cover is unfair. For one, they about doubled the length of the song, as well as changed the overall instrumental tone drastically and i think they basically just took the lyrics and parts of the melody and ran with their own idea for a song. I feel like skm wanted to make a whole song out of something mm intended to be an outro song, which was mostly built as a farewell to the listener.
j4ke
i feel u on this hard
Kevin Waite
SKM produced an entire cover album of MM songs called Tiny Cities. The whole point of the album was to re-imagine those songs, so I think what you are hearing was the intention of SKM... Kozelek wasn't trying to create to create a cover in the traditional sense of a cover.
Geran Wales
man shit like this makes me so fucking tired
Canela beats
And still the MoMo version is insanely better and have a lot more emotion than skm version
Avarisce
@Canela beats Honestly I have always found the delivery of this one more interesting regarding the lyrics, and it's kinda grown on me since i wrote the original comment even though i always liked it as an outro, especially those last few seconds dwelling on the airy white noise
Sillyz
This is my favorite song of all time, time, time.
Hans
Weird theory about this song I’ve always had. It’s connected to dramamine. How? Because the song leaves with the same static noise, and then Dramamine immediately talks about some of the same issues that were highlighted in this song. Not only that, but in lonesome crowded west, the last song and first song also talked about each other.