Songs about surprising things: Tasmin Archer, "Sleeping Satellite"

Tasmin Archer, "Sleeping Satellite":

I blame you for the moonlit sky
and the dream that died
with the Eagle's flight

I blame you for the moonlit nights
when I wonder why
are the Seas still dry?

The lyrics to this song aren't exactly subtle. But most people hear it as a song of a romance gone wrong - not as a criticism of the abandonment of the manned lunar exploration program. Which is what it is.

Did we fly to the Moon too soon?
Did we squander the chance?
In the rush of the race
the reason we chase is lost in romance?
And still we try
to justify the waste for a taste of man's
greatest adventure...

I mean, really. But it was not until years after this song had been off the charts that my sister pointed out to me what was being said here.

Have we lost what it takes to advance?
Have we peaked too soon?
If the world is so green
then why does it scream under a blue Moon?
We wonder why
if the Earth's sacrificed for the price of its
greatest treasure?

So what possessed Tasmin Archer to put these thoughts to music? Most people don't realize that the point of the space race wasn't about space, or putting dogs or monkeys or people in space, or even landing on the Moon. It was about us showing them damned Russkies that we could launch a missile and put a payload any damn place we pleased - even on the goddamn Moon! Take that, Ivan! Maybe the next one will be right in the middle of yer commie Red Square!

And when we shoot for the stars
- what a giant step! -
have we got what it takes
to carry the weight of this concept?
Or pass it by?
Like a shot in the dark miss the mark with a
sense of adventure?

And once we showed 'em it could be done, it was pretty much all over. Oh, sure, we did it again and again, but in the end the final Apollo missions generated about as much interest as a rerun of a third-rate movie of the week. Been there, done that, got the moon rocks and the jar of Tang.

I blame you for the moonlit sky
and the dream that died
with the Eagle's flight

I blame you for the moonlit nights
when I wonder why
are the Seas still dry?

So what happens next? We hear a lot of talk about new missions to the Moon, and Mars, and beyond. But what's driving that? Who is the current officeholder trying to impress with all that? And will there be any follow-through in the years to come?

Who knows? We'll see.

Don't blame this sleeping satellite...