The song's legendary chorus riff, although different, slightly resembles that of the song "Red the Sign Post", released in 1968 by the band Fifty Foot Hose on their album Cauldron.
The intro was featured on the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati on the episode "The Airplane Show" (later issues of the episode replaced this track with generic music).
When it was first performed live, the band appended an instrumental that was originally part of the song "Mandrake Root" on their first album but gradually evolved into a showcase for Jon Lord's Hammond organ and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solos. This usually took the length of the overall song to over twenty minutes, and was always performed as the last number of the main set. A good example of this arrangement can be found on the Made in Japan album, wherein Blackmore also quotes "Fools" of Fireball "cello" solo.
Jon Lord played his solo through a ring modulator or played some of it on an ARP synthesizer. Meanwhile, Ritchie Blackmore usually split the guitar solo into two halves, a quiet section with just drums, then a loud section with the full band. The second half was often when Ritchie would smash his guitar, play it with his feet or throw it into the air. One of the most infamous incidents where this happened was at the California Jam festival in 1974, where he dropped one guitar over the edge of the stage, smashed a second against a TV camera, then set his amplifier on fire which subsequently exploded.
When Deep Purple reformed in 1984, this extended arrangement was reworked, and later included snippets of other songs.
During the Rapture of the Deep Tour, the final part of the song, which originally featured much high pitched screaming by Gillan (now 63) - featured high pitched guitar in the same key as his original vocals.
Space Truckin'
Deep Purple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We always had a ball on Mars
We're meeting all the groovy people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with Borealis
We're space trucking 'round the the stars
Come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on
Space truckin'
Remember when we did the moonshot?
And pony trekker led the way
We'd move to the Canaveral moonstop
And every 'naut would dance and sway
We got music in our solar system
We're space truckin' 'round the stars
Come on, come on, come on
Let's go space truckin'
Come on, come on, come on
Space truckin'
The fireball that we rode was moving
But now we've got a new machine
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah the freaks said
Man those cats can really swing
They've got music in their solar system
They've rocked around the Milky Way
They dance around the Borealis
They're space truckin' everyday
Come on, come on, come on
Let's go space truckin'
Come on, come on, come on
Space truckin'
Come on, come on, come on
Let's go space truckin'
Come on, come on, come on
Space truckin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, space truckin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, space truckin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, space truckin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, space truckin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah
The song "Space Truckin'" by Deep Purple is a classic rock song that tells the story of a band that has traveled throughout the galaxy, performing and having fun. The lyrics describe their experiences on different planets, including Venus and Mars, and how they met interesting people and danced with them. The song celebrates the freedom and excitement of space travel and the joy of music.
The lyrics also reference historical events such as the moonshot and the Canaveral moonstop, suggesting that the band might be from Earth. The repetition of the phrase "space truckin'" emphasizes their love of space travel and their desire to explore and experience new things.
Overall, the lyrics of "Space Truckin'" are about living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment, even in the vastness of space.
Line by Line Meaning
We had a lot of luck on Venus
We were lucky to have a great time on Venus
We always had a ball on Mars
We had a fun time on Mars
Meeting all the groovey people
We met some cool people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We've had a lot of adventures throughout the galaxy
We danced around with Borealice
We had a dance party with Borealice
We're space truckin' round the the stars
We're traveling through space
Come on let's go Space Truckin'
Let's keep exploring space
Remember when we did the moonshot
Do you remember when we landed on the moon?
And Pony Trekker led the way
Pony Trekker was the leader of the mission
We'd move to the Canaveral moonstop
We traveled to the Canaveral moon base
And everynaut would dance and sway
Everyone at the base was dancing and having a good time
We got music in our solar system
We have cool music wherever we go
We're space truckin' round the stars
We're continuing to explore
Come on let's go Space Truckin'
Let's keep exploring space
The fireball that we rode was moving
The spacecraft we were on was traveling quickly
But now we've got a new machine
We've upgraded to a better spacecraft
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah the freaks said
The people we met were excited about our new spacecraft
Man those cats can really swing
They thought we were cool
They got music in their solar system
They have cool music too
They've rocked around the Milky Way
They've had a lot of adventures too
They dance around the Borealice
They had a dance party with Borealice too
They're Space Truckin' everyday
They're continuing to explore space everyday
Come on
Let's go
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind