The 10 Best Songs about UFOs
Less than 10% of our galaxy has been explored, so it’s only natural people believe there is something else out there. Some think they have been taken aboard alien crafts and others wish they had. When someone says that there are little green men out there in the universe waiting to invade our planet, many people laugh or roll their eyes. Aliens have appeared in numerous films because there are conflicting views about who they are and what meeting them would mean for our planet, both good and bad. According to NPR, people are fascinated by aliens because they mirror our own culture. We can look at them from multiple standpoints seeing the best and worst parts of people. Moreover, we use them much the same way people in the Middle Ages used gods and demons to put our fears about the infinite universe. Thinking about aliens gives us hope that there is something greater than ourselves and allows imaginations to run wild. As adults, we have abandoned many myths, including Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny, so believing in aliens may be a way to hang onto our childhood. Or, maybe there are more intelligent lifeforms out there waiting to study us and use our intelligence for our greater good. Whatever theory you believe, many artists have created songs based on their impressions of aliens and UFOs; some are cheesy pop songs, some are deeper and more philosophical. However, they all share one thing, their about the possibility we are not alone in the universe. These are the ten best songs about UFOs.
10. Flying Saucers – Nina Hagan
Nina Hagen’s voice and over-stylized 80s music created a song for believers to dance around basements. Even some of the lyrics might sound scary without the heavy overdubs; it comes across well with various accents that make you feel like a part of a group that knows that aliens really exist.
9. Strange Ships – Fox
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAFYEdmLuDw
Noosha Fox’s sultry vocals and 70s drum licks and guitar create a light-hearted alien encounter with folk overlay. Even though some people fear alien encounters, this song is about how much fun they can be. The character in the song seems to be asking for aliens to come and take a group of friends away so they can have a cosmic adventure.
8. Arriving UFO – Yes
The late 70s shine through on this song which is also someone telling a friend about a close encounter. It’s fun to listen to and makes you think of some of the most oddball encounters people have recalled. The galactical background music with Jon Anderson’s voice takes you through the Disney World of space encounters.
7. Silver Lights – Sammy Hagar
Hagar sings for those who believe traveling on UFOs is serious and scary. Even though many of the songs on this list add a novelty feel to the idea of being abducted by an alien, Hagar’s hard rock song makes it sound closer to the encounters we all dread. The guitar is vintage 1970s throughout the music, and the drums add heaviness and possibly the gravity of being abducted by an alien.
6. Have You Seen The Saucers – Jefferson Airplane
Grace Slick sounds more melodic on this song than on another psychedelic trip the group took chasing Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit. The overall tone of the song brings the listeners along on a space adventure. The lyrics are minimal, but Jefferson Airplane’s sound lends itself nicely to a close encounter with visitors on a UFO.
5. Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun – Pink Floyd
The opening of this song sounds like you are flying towards outer space. The music sounds like a sinister encounter with a creature from outer space. The combination of synthesized music, Roger Water’s voice, and the eerie lyrics are everything you’d expect from an encounter with aliens and a UFO. Although there are few lyrics in the song, every instrumental portion is carefully crafted to feel like you are on board a UFO. According to NME, Pink Floyd’s music inspired Douglas Adams during his writing of The Restaurant At The End of The Universe.
4. Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer – Ella Fitzgerald
According to Sun-Sentinel, in 2008, Universal Music Family released six music CDs for kids, including Miss Ella’s Playhouse. Ella Fitzgerald’s CD was designed to make jazz more accessible to younger children. One of the songs from the album is all about UFOs and aliens, allowing kids to believe earlier in life. Ella Fitzgerald’s soulful jazz voice shines on this humourous song about two aliens who come to Earth only to find out it’s not a great place and head home.
3. After The Goldrush – Neil Young
Young’s psychedelic homage to alien encounters is intertwined with a dystopian plot and social commentary. The overall is simple with only his voice and guitar, so it feels like a bedtime story, albeit a creepy one. Nonetheless, Young’s encounter is one of the few that don’t use synthesized music and sound effects.
2. The Flying Saucer Pt 1 & 2 – Bill Buchannan and Dickie Goodman
This campy novelty song is all that’s right about alien encounters. It is a mashup of many different songs from the 50s with “news footage” overdubbed. The song makes no sense, much like I’m sure what people who see aliens think. As the song progresses, they add happily ever music when the aliens return on their UFO and go back to outer space.
1. Scent of a Mule – Phish
This song sounds like every alien encounter south of the Mason Dixon line. Likewise, it sounds like a cheesy western movie got dubbed into a science fiction movie creating an alien encounter song you want to sing along to and laugh harder each time you do. Some alien encounter songs can sound scary when done by hard rock or metal bands. Yet, Phish delivers a folksy romp for people who have had close encounters or wish they did.
