Supersonic Rocket Ship (1972)

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Supersonic Rocket Ship is a single recorded by British rock band The Kinks, written by Ray Davies. It was released on 5 May 1972, in the UK, and in September of that year for its US release. 'Supersonic Rocket Ship' was also included as a track on the double LP Everybody's in Show-Biz, which was released on 25 August 1972, in the US and on 1 September in the UK. Everybody's in Show-Biz also yielded the song 'Celluloid Heroes', which, although not a hit, has become one of The Kinks' most popular songs.[1]

Key Lyrics

On my supersonic rocket ship

Nobody has to be hip

Nobody needs to be out of sight. Out of sight.

Nobody's gonna travel second class

There'll be equality

And no suppression of minorities. Well alright.

We'll take this planet, shake it round

And turn it upside down.

My supersonic rocket ship.

Interpretation

In the song, the singer talks about his "supersonic rocket ship", which contains a kind of paradise or refuge from all the troubles in the world, where "nobody has to be hip", "nobody's gonna travel second class", and "there'll be equality, and no suppression of minorities". It fits in the groove of other Ray Davies songs like 'Apeman', that express a desire to go back to a simpler life or escape from all life's woes to a better world (a desert island, the rocket ship, etc.)

Music critic Johnny Rogan interprets the song as Ray Davies' "attack on rock star hipness," since his fantasy rocket ship will "serve as a refuge for misfits and other suppressed minorities."[2]

In Popular Culture

The song was featured in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame serving as a transition between the scene where the Hulk gives Ant-Man tacos and the scene where Rocket Raccoon and the Hulk travel to visit Thor in New Asgard.[3]

Reference

  1. Supersonic Rocket Ship. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  2. J. Rogan. The Complete Guide to the Music of the Kinks. 1998. Omnibus Press. p. 93. ISBN 0711963142. Retrieved from Wikipedia, February 5, 2021.
  3. Richard Roeper. "'Avengers: Endgame': 22 little moments that added up to greatness". 30 April 2019. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 5, 2021.