History.
Naked Eyes was formed by two college friends from Bath, England. The band features Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. The two had formerly played in a band called Neon, which also featured future members of Tears for Fears. Naked Eyes was one of the first bands to make significant use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer on a recording.
The debut album Burning Bridges was produced by Tony Mansfield, along with the follow-up album Fuel for the Fire, which also featured two titles produced by Arthur Baker. Their second and third singles, "Promises, Promises" (the 12" mix of which features vocals from Madonna) and "When the Lights Go Out," were also hit singles in the United States.
Following the release of the band's second album, Byrne moved to California and performed session work. He performed on Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover," sang backgrounds with Rita Coolidge and Princess Stephanie, and wrote and produced for the Olsen twins. Fisher also explored other projects, doing sessions in London and forming Climie Fisher with Simon Climie.
The group never toured due to the technical difficulties of recreating their studio sound in concert. Rob Fisher died on 25 August 1999, aged 42, following surgery for bowel cancer. Byrne released a solo album The Real Illusion in 2001, which featured some of the last tracks he wrote with Fisher for a proposed third Naked Eyes album. In 2005, Byrne put a band together to play some Naked Eyes shows and has been touring regularly since. In 2007, Naked Eyes released Fumbling with the Covers, an acoustic album which consisted of covers of Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Elvis Costello, among others, along with the Naked Eyes hits.
In the summer of 2008, Naked Eyes completed a US tour along with Belinda Carlisle, ABC and The Human League. In the summer of 2014, Naked Eyes did a US tour with The Go-Go's, Scandal and The Motels.
Rocket Man
Naked Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Zero hour, nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high
As a kite by then
I miss the earth so much
I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Ah, no no no
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man
Burnin' out his fuse
Up here alone
Mars ain't the kind of place
To raise your kids
In fact, it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them
If you did
And all this science
I don't understand
It's just my job
Five days a week
A rocket man
Rocket Man
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Ah, no no no
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Ah, no no no...
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man
Burnin' out his fuse
Up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
Long, long, time
Long, long, time
Ah, no, no, no...
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
The song Rocket Man by Naked Eyes is essentially a story about a lonely astronaut who misses his wife and the Earth while on a mission to a far-off planet. The astronaut prepares for his journey at "zero hour," and imagines himself getting high as a kite before he's even left the ground. He's not just high on drugs, but also on the excitement and fear of the trip ahead. However, as he journeys further from Earth, his loneliness begins to set in. He misses his wife and longs for the comforts of home. The astronaut sings about how he's not the same person people back home think he is. He's a rocket man, trying to survive in the cold, dark, frightening world of space.
The song then takes on a melancholic tone when the astronaut talks about how Mars is not a place to raise children. The planet is inhospitable and cold, and there's no one there to take care of anyone who did want to live there. In the final verses, the astronaut expresses his frustration with science, admitting that there are aspects of space travel that he cannot understand. Still, despite the difficulties, he is committed to his job as a rocket man and continues to fly through space alone.
Line by Line Meaning
She packed my bags last night, preflight
My wife helped me pack my things the night before the rocket launch
Zero hour, nine a.m.
The launch will take place at 9 AM
And I'm gonna be high
As a kite by then
I will be feeling euphoric and excited during the launch
I miss the earth so much
I miss my wife
I am feeling homesick and missing my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
Space travel can be quite isolating and the journey feels infinite
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time
'Til touchdown brings me 'round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Ah, no no no
It will be a while before I return to Earth where people have expectations of me that I may not live up to
I'm a rocket man
Rocket man
Burnin' out his fuse
Up here alone
I am a space traveler burning through my resources, and feeling lonely up here
Mars ain't the kind of place
To raise your kids
In fact, it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them
If you did
Mars is not a suitable place to settle down and raise a family due to its harsh environment and lack of infrastructure
And all this science
I don't understand
It's just my job
Five days a week
A rocket man
Rocket Man
I do not necessarily comprehend all the scientific aspects of this job; it's just something I do five days a week as a rocket man
Ah, no no no...
I do not agree with the expectations others have of me at home
And I think it's gonna be a long, long, time...
I believe it will be a lengthy duration before I return home
Long, long, time
Long, long, time
A figurative representation of a great length of time
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
A phrase expressing frustration or exasperation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind