The Lana Del Rey song inspired by ‘Space Oddity’
The literary and musical world of Lana Del Rey is rich. Too often brushed off as a plain old pop singer, Del Rey has built a thorough and glamorous aesthetic world over her nine albums, drawing inspiration from her favourite books, films, cities and songs, including from the greats like David Bowie.
Lana Del Rey is no stranger to referencing other artists. On her debut album, she coyly sings, “Springsteen is the king, don’t you think?” on ‘American’. On the 2019 track ‘The Greatest’, she sings of “Dennis’ last stop before Kokomo”, in reference to The Beach Boys. Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston get a shout-out on ‘Get Free’, Joni Mitchell is repeatedly mentioned or covered on Chemtrails Over The Country Club, and classic 1950s doo-wop tunes regularly find their way into her work.
Her 2015 album Honeymoon is especially rich with references. In ‘Darkest Day’, she sings “All I hear is Billie Holiday / It’s all that I play.” Elsewhere on the record, there are lyrical easter eggs linking back to Donna Summer, the Eagles, even the Sugarhill Gang. As a music fan, it seems Del Rey can’t help but draw dots connecting her own writing with the songs and artists that inform her pen.
It’s not even just music that influences the songwriter. On the album, the singer calls upon the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald in the song ‘Art Deco,’ or even recites a whole T.S Eliot poem in the ‘Burnt Norton’ interlude.
But the clearest lyrical reference comes in the form of a nod to David Bowie. In an early 2012 interview, Del Rey told NME that she’s a fan of “the masters of every genre”. Bringing up Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, David Bowie is also a favourite artist of the singer.
It’s in the track ‘Terrance Loves You’ that Del Rey nods towards Bowie. One of her most sparse and spectacular songs, the lounge ballad is about grief, mourning the loss of love and the resulting loss of yourself. The song centres around the devastating chorus, “but I lost myself when I lost you,” as the artist sings about using jazz and alcohol as coping mechanisms to survive the heartache.
No one knew of David Bowie’s illness by the time the song was released in August of 2015. But reflecting on the track, years on from his death, there is something haunting in the lyrics and their connection to the artist. Del Rey suddenly breaks into a rendition of ‘Space Oddity’ as she hits the bridge, singing, “Ground control to Major Tom.”
The lyrics preceding this reference, now with the context of his death, sound like a lament for a Bowie fan missing their idol. Lana Del Rey sings: “I put the radio on/ Hold you tight in my mind/ Isn’t strange that/ You’re not here with me/ But I know the light’s on in the television/ Trying to transmit, can you hear me?”
In fact, the song title ‘Terrence Loves You’ might be a reference to David Bowie’s half-brother, Terry Burns, who introduced the singer to a lot of the themes that coloured his discography. With this context, the song could even sound like an ode from one brother to another, like Terry Burns looking up at his globally famous brother and loving him for who he is, singing, “you are who you are / I won’t change you for anything.”
Lana Del Rey is famously mysterious about her lyrics. Rarely giving interviews and never providing information on what her songs might or might not be able to, who knows if the track was written with Bowie in mind as its muse or if the ‘Space Oddity’ lyrics were merely a way to tether the ballad to her own sonic world. Either way, the song is a stunning ballad with a beautiful reference to the Star Man.
