The Devastating Short Story That Helped Inspire Elton John’s “Rocket Man”

Elton John’s 1972 hit “Rocket Man” might seem adequately melancholy on its own, but the short story that inspired it is even more devastating. As has always been the case with John, he wrote the lead single off Honky Château with his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin. While John used the generic references to space and rockets as inspiration for his musical arrangement, Taupin used esteemed sci-fi author Ray Bradbury.

Videos by American Songwriter

Knowing how Bradbury described his “Rocket Man” (and how Taupin translated the author’s ideas into a hit pop song) gives the triple-platinum song a whole new meaning that is even sadder than the track itself.

The Short Story That Inspired Elton John’s “Rocket Man”

When Bernie Taupin decided to base a new set of lyrics around a short story from Ray Bradbury’s 1951 collection The Illustrated Man, Elton John wasn’t even aware the song had literary origins, despite Bradbury’s short story and John and Taupin’s song sharing the name “Rocket Man.” And while you might think the song is melancholy on its own, the short story is even bleaker.

Bradbury’s “Rocket Man” follows a family consisting of a wife, a husband, and their only son. The story takes place in the not-so-distant future (the story’s narrator, the son, was a boy in 1997 in this timeline) when an astronaut is as regular of a 9-to-5 job as, say, an accountant. Astronauts would go on regular three-month journeys to various planets and meteors before returning to Earth briefly. The tensions in the family are clear. The mother, in an attempt to reconcile her husband’s continued absence, pretends that her son’s father is dead while he’s in space. When he returns, she moves about the house in a daze. Every so often, she would break her spell, make lavish meals, and plan quality time with the family as if everything were “normal.” Afterward, she would cry and retreat to her room.

The son and father speak briefly about their family dynamic. Although the father implores the son to “never be a Rocket Man,” he admits that working as an astronaut is “the best thing in a lifetime of best things.” The Rocket Man is lonely in space. But he constantly longs for the stars when he’s home. “When you’re out there, you want to be here, and when you’re here, you want to be out there. Don’t start that. Don’t let it get a hold of you.”

Ray Bradbury’s Ending Gives The Song A Whole New Meaning

Some similarities between Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and Ray Bradbury’s “Rocket Man” are obvious. 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. All the science, I don’t understand. It’s just my job five days a week. But the song’s recognizable chorus takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the fate of Bradbury’s Rocket Man. I think it’s gonna be a long, long time ‘till touchdown brings me ‘round again to find. I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh, no, no, no. I’m a rocket man.

In Bradbury’s short story, the Rocket Man goes out on what he said would be his last trip to space. While on his mission, his ship fell into the sun, killing him instantly. The mother and son’s grief was so unbearable that they could no longer look at the sun, opting to go about their “daily” routines in the middle of the night and only venturing outside when it was raining.

As devastating as their fate would be, there’s something bittersweet about the Rocket Man meeting his demise among the stars he loved so much. He’s not the man they think he is at home because, in the Rocket Man’s mind, that’s all he is now. Not a father, not a husband, an explorer of the stars. If we’re to focus on what that means for the song’s main character, suddenly, John’s “Rocket Man” seems less melancholy than one might assume upon first listen.

Photo by David Wolff – Patrick/Redferns