The story tells of an astronaut father who is torn about leaving his family in order to do his job. While the song came out during the peak of the ‘70s stoner culture, Taupin has said that his inspiration for the lyrics came from Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Rocket Man”. The most prominent inference of the double entendre meaning comes from the song’s line, “and I’m gonna be high as a kite by then.” The phrase “high as a kite” is often used as an idiom describing the excessive use of drugs.
The endless flights and touring, and the admiration of total strangers would result from having a career as an astronaut, but also from being a rock star. The lyrics, “till touchdown brings me ‘round again to find/ I’m not the man they think I am at home” follows the narrative of an astronaut, but also ironically produces a metaphor for Elton John’s following career. There has been significant evidence of astronaut’s succumbing to alcoholism caused by the dissonance between the public’s adoration and their own self-image as ordinary people. The irony lays in Elton John’s subsequent drug abuse and distance in following years, which can be partially attributed to this song’s success. The lyric, “it’s just my job five days a week” states the need to clock out and go home at the end of a day. When the song was initially released, it became a hit landing in the top charts at number two in the UK and number six in the US.Īt this point, Elton John wasn’t so interested in the spotlight or drug use of the music industry essentially seeing his work as a nine to five job. Despite its vague implications, the song is listed at number 245 on the Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Most recently, “Rocket Man” was recertified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 400,00 digital downloads, in October of 2018. This was his biggest hit until this point, giving him the confidence to know that he could sustain his career in music, hurling him into stardom. The song that launched Elton John’s career, is one forewarning the consequences of a career that results in loneliness and distance.
While “Rocket Man” may not seem to have any greater significance than the double entendre it is suggestive of, I argue that the following success of the song highlights an unanticipated ironic message. The song was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin in 1972, ironically long before Elton John’s subsequent drug abuse issues. The ‘70s saw a resurgence of space and science fiction, most likely correlated with the first manned mission to the moon in 1969. Elton John’s “Rocket Man” is suggestively a double entendre meaning of the loneliness of an astronaut in space, but also that of a rising star in the music world surrounded by drugs and world tours away from home.
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