"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 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.[1]
"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.
