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Kate Bush — Rocket Man
Album: Two Rooms
Avg rating:
4.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 253









Released: 1991
Length: 4:44
Plays (last 30 days): 0
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
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
On such a timeless flight

And I think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down 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
Rocket man burning 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, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...
Comments (84)add comment
 ottovonb wrote:
This is a sin.

 
There should be laws to prevent such self-indulgent behaviour.  Like me going into the office with no trousers on.

Bizarrely, the Observer rated this the number one greatest cover of all time.  "Detached and coquettish, ukulele clutched just so, she transforms the soft rock of the original into a funereal, starry-eyed ska tune that sounds, magically, like no one else but her."  

Her fingers don't even move on the frets while she strums the thing.

see https://observer.theguardian.com/omm/ttremastered/story/0,,2166706,00.html for more of this oddness. 

Wow - can't believe the reaction here. I've always loved this cover and prefer it to the original. Can't quite see what there is to really hate about it. I suppose that's just the curious nature of taste...
Wait, what ?!?

No go, Kate. 
 ottovonb wrote:
I'd rather hear Shatner do Kate Bush covers.

 
"Stepping - out - of - the - page - into - the - sensual - world..."
I love Kate Bush but...
 
 eroz wrote:

Kate is totally gorgeous in her video for this song. A must see! {#Laughing}



 
Maybe I'll mute the audio and check it out.
 clwguy wrote:
even the greatest artists come across like cruise acts when attempting covers.

 
love the cruise acts moniker {#Cheesygrin}
 scott_bruce wrote:

There are some really funny comments on this song!

Out of 170 voters so far, 43 are Sucko-Barfo — that's got to be some kind of RP record for a new low??



 
2 words: Yoko Ono.
even the greatest artists come across like cruise ship acts when attempting covers.
I'd rather hear Shatner do Kate Bush covers.
CRAP SONG ALERT! Make it stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1.o

There are some really funny comments on this song!

Out of 170 voters so far, 43 are Sucko-Barfo — that's got to be some kind of RP record for a new low??


Kate is totally gorgeous in her video for this song. A must see! {#Laughing}


Bill help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What are you doing to us?? Natalie Merchant "Space Oddity" 4.8 followed by Kate Bush "Rocket Man" 4.2

 


This is a sin.
Would love to here Maynard James Keenan's cover of this song instead of this one. It's WAAAAAAY better. Bordering on awesome.
Nice set of "space" music. You're on a roll.
It's simply impossible for Kate Bush to be or sing awful{#Naughty}
Forgot about this album.  Didn't mind it when it came out.  Covers are always interesting at some level.

Its not that bad.  It just Kate doing what she does.

6 for now. 
Despite the swirl on the comments I do enjoy this version..... solid "6"
You know, I was kind of okay with the Natalie Merchant cover. But this is awful.
That's a darn cool cover.  Never caught this before.  Your have great ears, dude.
Multiple covers are a specific curse of American music industry, since the majors (TW, Sony, et al) get the lion's share of the copyrights on the song and lyrics, have the original singer on leash (contract), along with a bunch of second hand singers that are able - or not - to produce the said cover. Stir it up and get a ton of money, money! This is called recycling in other parts of the blue planet.
song started playing, I wasn't paying much attention... well into it, I thought, "damn, this sounds like Kate Bush", because, well, you know, chipmunk breathing helium and mainlining speed.  Looked at the "what's playing list", and it said Easy Star All-Stars....mental disconnect.  guess the who's playing updated way before the music changed....
And before you think I don't like Kate Bush, you would be wrong.  I'd give my third nut, if I had one, to see her play live.  She is one of the artists I fell in love with a loooong time ago, and have not fallen out of love yet....

The comments below are classic....  {#Lol}{#Roflol}




How about a comment from some of the fans who sold out her 22 concerts in London in 15 minutes - it would be interesting to hear your views{#Wave}
Did Bill call in sick today?
 
That's funny it looks like the last time this was played was 11 years ago
the comments haven't gotten any better {#Roflol} 
Okay, I'll say it: this is great!

A cover song that puts an original spin on the tune and really lets you hear and appreciate the lyrics in a unique way. I LOVE that she adds a "reggae" beat and really makes it her own. It's a whole new song. And the ending is fab.

This after Natalie Merchant's version of Space Oddity is very refreshing. Natalie just pretty much regurgitated Bowie (a rather dull cover) but this has some sass. 

It's an 8 for me. Followed today by...Toots & The Maytals! Happy day!

 
Totally unnecessary. Sucko barfo!
 
I'm giving it a 2 only because the actual song is great. This interpretation of it is not. What was she thinking?

And, I don't think I've ever seen a song on RP rated a 4. This is a first. 
Hey, don't be haters.  It's nice.....
 akdavey wrote:
Nooooo!!!! from Nat Merchant to this.

where is the suicide emoji?

 
Probably the most surreal set of three songs I've heard played on RP.
I like the arrangement, Kate's voice is in the wrong key and just grating for this.  

Generally like Kate but not this.
this is just plain torturous.
Nooooo!!!! from Nat Merchant to this.

where is the suicide emoji?
Dangerously close to earning the first cumulative "3" rating I've ever seen on RP.
It's not easy to insult 3 or more musical genres at once but…here you go.

 
Dear God, prefer Shatner to this.
I've been a Kate Bush fan for a long time, but if this was the first thing I've ever heard her do, I would have avoided her for years. That said, could be worse, so I'll give it a 2. At least it's not Basement Jaxx.
 n4ku wrote:
I love Kate Bush, but she deserves a spanking for this one.

Bad girl! :(
 
Me. Me.  I'll do it!  She certainly has been naughty here.


Is the chipmunks version of Rocket Man next?
Originally Posted by justlistening: Kate is just so weird - which is not necessarily a bad thing - but this kinda is. Don't care at all about it being a cover. Taken by itself it's just not wonderful. Oh well, got a kick out of listening to it for the first time.
UNBELIEVEABLE but for the first time i agree with every comment on this thread, except for the one who gave a 10 someone referred to, but i can't find that so i think they have begged RP to remove their entry (i sure would, or i'd say "oh! ten is GOOD!?!? i meant, ya know, it SUCKS!!!) Then again, this is only my first 24 hours on RP ever, so maybe there is an occasional harmony... About the song tho, i have the Two Rooms Elton John remix album which i LOVE, and yet Kate Bush's entry, is well, distracting and a shame. Fundamentally Kate went wrong when she tried to blend Reggae with her delightfully incongruent malifluence. Oy, now i gotta go rinse...
I love Kate Bush, but she deserves a spanking for this one. Bad girl! :(
Umm...please stop this before it kills somebody. Please...
Originally Posted by jbwiv: Oh man. Thanks for ruining this great song, RP. This is just awwwwwwwfuuul...
Oh man. Thanks for ruining this great song, RP. This is just awwwwwwwfuuul...
Originally Posted by nitro: Everything kate bush does scares me...this is no exception
You're not scared by her until you see this video. I've never seen such a small person move her hips so far and in such an unattactive way. It's the visual equivalent of the annoying tune you can't get out of your head...
Originally Posted by ejr: This is up there with William Shatner's rendition years ago - leave it alone!
Shhhhhh, someone may play it!!!!!!!
Here I was, all excited: a new Kate Bush album I don\'t have...then I heard this track....zeesh!
Kate is just so weird - which is not necessarily a bad thing - but this kinda is. Don\'t care at all about it being a cover. Taken by itself it\'s just not wonderful. Oh well, got a kick out of listening to it for the first time.
This is up there with William Shatner\'s rendition years ago - leave it alone!
I like kate. I like this. Where on earth do you people hear Tori Amos enough to compare
One of the great mistakes of pop music history. and by "great" I mean "big," not, you know, like, "cool." i'll admit its grown on me, though--as a kind of novelty, like a weird al yankovich song or something.
yuck. no - double yuck.
I love you Kate and you can have my kids any time but you\'ll have to give them back if you sing this again. :p
OK, the dates of the comments tell me this is at least the 8th time this piece of dreck has been played in the last few months. Please Bill, enough is enough!
blechhh
Originally Posted by MiataDJ: I really don't know what to think about this. Elton's still the MASTER...no matter what. Kate's just doing her interpretation...and it scares me.
elton is the master of what? oh yeah, irrelevance. without the coat and glasses he is the same as my mom
Okay, I\'ve officially lowered my rating on this from a 2 to a 1. So sad to see a great song so mistreated.
Originally Posted by Nobunaga: Never been much of an Elton John fan. This song is much better than the original.
I agree with you, despite everybody opinion.
This is the audio equivalent of a striped jacket with checkered pants and a paisley tie. It just hurts my head.
I\'m sorry...I try to keep an open mind, particularly about artists interpreting other artists music.....but this just plain blows.
Love Kate Bush, but this is painful. Toss this please.
This is simply AWFUL.
je pense que NON!
She doesn\'t miss often but when she does it\'s awful. It sounds like she tried a moody/ambient interpretation, then a slow ballad, some techno, reggae, pop, a Celtic fiddle thing, and who knows what else, then just gave up and mixed the tracks together so everybody could go home.
Is someone poking her with a sharp stick?
never have been a KB fan, and this doesn\'t help.
I really don\'t know what to think about this. Elton\'s still the MASTER...no matter what. Kate\'s just doing her interpretation...and it scares me.
No good.
Never been much of an Elton John fan. This song is much better than the original.
Unbelievable! RP keeps surprising me. Last heard this song on a backpacking-trip in Guatemala about ten years ago and it brings up some neat memories. Kate Bush seems to have some non-friends around here, but I enjoy most of her stuff (as long as it\'s not \"Running up that hill\" again or whatever the name of that song is).
My usual rating for Ms. Bush: :) This cover: Please, find some of her own cuts to play. Really, please.
Oh my. I\'m afraid I can\'t stand this. I love Elton and Kate, but this song has the stupidest lyrics of any song between the two of them. Somehow I could forgive Elton the first time - he had to sing what Bernie gave him - but Kate doesn\'t get the same slack.