Spaceman (Harry Nilsson song)
song performed by Harry Nilsson
"Spaceman" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released on his 1972 album Son of Schmilsson.
One of the highlights on Son of Schmilsson, with its dramatic opening fanfare and a cross between folk with a heavy R&B rhythm, the song explains the desire and downfall of the narrator, who wished to be a spaceman and now wants to go back to Earth but is stuck in space. The song was released between the final two Apollo moon missions, 16 and 17, and is indicative of the general public attitudes towards the end of the Moon missions. The singer is expressing disappointment at his accomplishments; becoming an astronaut, and is emotionally ready to give it up and "return safely to the sea."
The song was one of the three Nilsson's songs that became a hit of the year, the other two being "Remember (Christmas)" and "You're Breaking My Heart".
Arranger Paul Buckmaster said that he asked Nilsson if he could put a string section on the song, and Nilsson agreed. Buckmaster brought more than strings: He included the medieval instruments shawm and sackbut. He said that someone named Moxie, "the genius of the harmonica in London at the time," played bass harmonica in a "chugging" rhythm style, part of the rhythm section.
"Spaceman" featured prominently in a trailer for the HBO comedy series Avenue 5 (2020), and in the first and final episodes of first season for the 2020 Netflix comedy series Space Force.
The song was covered by the American band the Roches on the 1995 tribute album For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson.
The public source identifies “Spaceman (Harry Nilsson song)” as song performed by Harry Nilsson. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Spaceman, Harry and Nilsson.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q22043198. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972, 2020 and 1995.
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This entry incorporates text from “Spaceman (Harry Nilsson song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.