Space Princess
When Lonnie Liston Smith made the transition from sideman to leader in 1973… Read Full Bio ↴When Lonnie Liston Smith made the transition from sideman to leader in 1973, it was the beginning of a fusion/crossover/post-bop band he dubbed Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes. The acoustic pianist/electric keyboardist, who was born in Richmond, VA, on December 28, 1940, should not be confused with soul-jazz/hard bop organist Lonnie Smith. This Smith would have had an impressive resumé even if he had never formed a band of his own. In the '60s or early '70s, he had been a sidemen for, among others, Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gato Barbieri, singer Betty Carter, and trumpeter Miles Davis. In fact, Smith was still in Davis' employ when he signed with producer Bob Thiele's RCA-distributed Flying Dutchman label and recorded his first album as a leader, Astral Traveling (which Thiele produced). Nonetheless, the Cosmic Echoes were a major step forward for Smith -- the improviser had a lot more time to devote to his own compositions and he was free to concentrate on a very spiritual type of fusion that had a variety of influences. The post-bop of model explorers like Coltrane, Sanders, Kirk, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner, and Charles Lloyd was a heavy influence on Smith's composing since all of those artists shared the Cosmic Echoes' spiritual concerns. But the Cosmic Echoes were hardly jazz purists. Their instrumental fusion combined those post-bop influences with funk, pop, and rock, and some of their best-known vocal numbers (which include 1979's "Space Princess" and 1983's "Never Too Late") were outright R&B. It was on April 24, 1973, that Smith recorded Astral Traveling and led his first Cosmic Echoes lineup, which included George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), Cecil McBee (bass), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Astral Traveling was entirely instrumental, but it wasn't long before Smith added a vocalist to the Cosmic Echoes: his brother Donald Smith. Although Donald Smith had helped his brother put together the Cosmic Echoes' first lineup, he isn't actually employed on Astral Traveling -- 1974's Thiele-produced Cosmic Funk was the first Cosmic Echoes album that featured him on vocals. From 1974 on, the Cosmic Echoes' albums were typically about 80 percent instrumental, but included a few vocal offerings. Subsequent Cosmic Echoes projects included 1975's Expansions, 1975's Visions of a New World, 1976's Reflections of a Golden Dream, and 1977's Renaissance, all of which were on either Flying Dutchman or RCA proper. Along the way, the Cosmic Echoes had more than their share of personnel changes. When the group recorded a live album for RCA in 1977, the lineup included Smith on piano and keyboards, his brother Donald on vocals, Dave Hubbard on tenor and soprano sax, Al Anderson on electric bass, Ronald Miller on electric guitar, and Hollywood Barker on drums -- a lineup that, except for Lonnie Liston Smith himself, is totally different from the Cosmic Echoes lineup heard on 1973's Astral Traveling. It was in 1978 that Smith and his Cosmic Echoes left RCA and moved to Columbia to record Loveland, which was a respectable seller (at least by jazz standards) and fared well among fusion, crossover, and quiet storm fans. Smith's next Columbia album, Exotic Mysteries, gave us the single, "Space Princess," which featured Donald on lead vocals and became a minor hit. Although Exotic Mysteries was primarily an instrumental fusion album, "Space Princess" wasn't jazz at all -- the tune is funk-disco but still has that mystic Cosmic Echoes vibe. Some people felt that when Smith and his Cosmic Echoes were recording for Columbia in the late '70s and early '80s, they became too slick and commercial -- nonetheless, the group still had integrity and was still enjoyable and interesting during its Columbia period. Donald Smith temporarily left the Cosmic Echoes after Exotic Mysteries and on 1979's Song for the Children, he was replaced by singer James "Crabbe" Robinson (who is also employed on 1980s Love Is the Answer). And Robinson wasn't the only person who passed through the Cosmic Echoes in the late '70s or early '80s. Others who came on board during Smith's Columbia period included guitarist Abdul Wali, bassist Pee Wee Ford, drummer Lino Reyes, and percussionist Lawrence Killian -- like Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes could be a revolving door. Donald Smith ended up returning to the fold in the early '80s, which is also when the Cosmic Echoes were reunited with Thiele (who signed Smith to his new Doctor Jazz label). One of songs that Smith's Cosmic Echoes recorded for Doctor Jazz was the urban/quiet storm vocal number "Never Too Late," which was released as a single and became a minor hit. In the mid-'80s, the Cosmic Echoes unofficially called it quits and Smith moved on to other things. But the pianist/keyboardist (who turned 60 in 2000) returned to a Cosmic Echoes-minded approach in 1998, when he was reunited with his brother Donald and featured him on the album Transformation (which came out on Smith's own label Loveland Records). In 2002, Sony's reissue-oriented Legacy Recordings looked back on the Cosmic Echoes' late '70s and early '80s output with a two-CD retrospective titled Explorations: The Columbia Years.

Space Princess
Lonnie Liston Smith Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Space princess where can we meet
And fly away just you and me
Space princess when can we meet
And fly away just you and me

You're the princess of my dream
Another you I've never find you see
Although I've never met you
I still love you
I can see you're floating just beyond my fingertips
Inviting me to a love that I don't want to miss
You're my space princess
I've got to have you (I've got to have you)
I can't stand to be alone
When we can share our soul
Then I reach out my arms into space
To hold you tight
Want to share your love with me
Let's spin together

Although you're just my dream
I can see your beautiful features clearly
Space princess where can we meet
And fly just like a human being

I can't stand to be alone
When we can share our soul
Then I reach out my arms into space
To hold you tight
Want to share your love with me
(Got to have you)
Want to share your love with me
(Space princess)




Want to share your love...
((Marcus Miller)

Overall Meaning

Lonnie Liston Smith's "Space Princess" is a song about a dream-like yearning for a connection with someone beyond the reach of the physical world. The singer speaks to a "space princess," a figure who seemingly represents an ideal partner, with whom he longs to fly away and find true love. While he has never met her, he can sense her presence, and as she floats just out of his grasp, he is drawn to her. The singer describes feeling incomplete without his space princess and reaching out to her with open arms, hoping to share a deep soulful connection that transcends physical boundaries.


The lyrics suggest a longing for human connection and a belief in the power of love to overcome distance and time. The space princess might be interpreted as a metaphor for an unattainable ideal, a perfect partner who exists only in the singer's mind, or even an otherworldly encounter. Regardless of the interpretation, the song's theme speaks to the universal human desire for a deep, meaningful connection with another person, even when that person may seem out of reach.


Line by Line Meaning

Space princess where can we meet
The singer is yearning to know where they can meet the space princess.


And fly away just you and me
The singer wants to fly away with the space princess, leaving everything else behind.


Space princess when can we meet
The singer is eagerly asking when they can meet the space princess.


You're the princess of my dream
The artist is expressing how the space princess in their dream holds a special place in their heart.


Another you I've never find you see
The artist has never found anyone like the space princess and doesn't think they ever will.


Although I've never met you
The singer hasn't met the space princess in reality, only in their dreams.


I still love you
Despite not meeting the space princess in real life, the singer still loves them.


I can see you're floating just beyond my fingertips
The artist can visualize the space princess just out of reach, in their dreams.


Inviting me to a love that I don't want to miss
The space princess and the love they could experience together is too wonderful to pass up.


You're my space princess
The artist has claimed the space princess as theirs, in their dreams.


I've got to have you (I've got to have you)
The singer desperately wants to have a relationship with the space princess.


I can't stand to be alone
Without the space princess, the artist feels incomplete and alone.


When we can share our soul
The singer envisions a deep, spiritual connection when they meet the space princess.


Then I reach out my arms into space
The singer longs to reach out and physically touch the space princess in their dreams.


To hold you tight
The singer wants to embrace the space princess in their dreams.


Want to share your love with me
The artist wants the space princess to share their love with them.


Let's spin together
The artist wants to share an exhilarating, joyful experience with the space princess.


Although you're just my dream
The singer acknowledges that the space princess only exists in their dreams.


I can see your beautiful features clearly
The singer can imagine the stunning appearance of the space princess in their dreams.


And fly just like a human being
The artist wants to fly away with the space princess like they are regular people.




Writer(s): M. MILLER

Contributed by Jordyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@andreynovox5605

Help to correct the lyrics? Please....
Space princess, when can we meet
And fly away just you and me
Space princess, when can we meet
And fly away just you and me
Space princess, when can we meet
And fly away just you and me

You're the princess of my dream
Another you I'll never find you see,
Although I never met you
I still love you
I can see you're floating just beyond my fingertips
Inviting me to your love that I don't want to miss
You're my space princess (you're my space princess)
I've got to have you (I've got to have you)

I can stand with you alone
When we can share our souls
Then I reach out my arms into space
To hold you tight
Want to share your love with me
Let's spin together

Although you're just my dream
I can see your beautiful features clearly
Space princess, when can we meet
And fly just you and me

I can stand with you alone
When we can share our souls
Then I reach out my arms into space
To hold you tight
Want to share your love with me
Got to have you
Want to share your love with me
Space princess
Got to have you
Got to share your love
Want to share your love...
(Marcus Miller)



All comments from YouTube:

@theaurashow

I looked for the song everywhere and here it is on youtube! i use to date Don Smith, Lonnnie Liston Smith's brother and yeah I hung out with them a lot. We all met in Urbana, Illinois at the University of Illinois! I'm talking about the late 60's early 70's! there was also Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Bridgewater brothers, Cecil and his younger brother!II use to dance with the Uhuru dancers back then, doing african dance! My how time goes by, i am in my 60's, but I can still remember the love!!

@Thuumii37

@Sean Gunn I'm intrigued how this went. Did she call?

@adewilliams8

Happy memories, thank you

@TheDodge1011

Great story, thank you x

@robertgreaves2585

I wish it was the 70's again !!!!!!!!!!

@patmackie3499

Killer tune ...1luv 😎....

@rickjt62

Surely one of THE greatest dance tracks of all time

@dippadaws

Lonnie Liston Smith=King of jazz funk!

@kabelomatthews6608

This was my first encounter with this genius way back. But the man's music has always had an effect on me. The best

@keith9482

https://youtu.be/or8U-0aUBJ0 Kabelo, I so agree👍👍I stumbled upon this interesting character who dissects and reacts to great music 😊he has an eclectic taste you might enjoy!!

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