"Sleeping Satellite" as written by John Robert Beck, Tasmin Archer and John Hughes....
I blame you for the moonlit sky
and the dream that died with the eagles' flight.
I blame you for the moonlit nights when
I wonder why are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite.
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 oh.
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.
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 oh.
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.
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 oh.
and the dream that died with the eagles' flight.
I blame you for the moonlit nights when
I wonder why are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite.
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 oh.
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.
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 oh.
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.
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 oh.
Lyrics submitted by alexandra_, edited by vaguely
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"....Sleeping Satellite is about mans adventures to the moon and was written in the summer of 1989 at the time of 20th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. The song is intended as a comment on how in the 20 years since the first landing little progress appeared to have been made in space travel/exploration. It's not intended as anti space travel, it's just the opposite and it bemoans the fact that at the time of the anniversary the initiative had not been progressed from the original achievement. Hope this helps. Love and peace, Tasmin...."
Sorry if this sounds depressing, but I grew up during the space race and Ms Archer has captured the feel of that time with her wonderful song with its synths and on the mark lyrics. We did peak to soon, and we have lost our sense of adventure. She ought to consider re-releasing it as an anthem for a new decade, a rallying sound for those of us who would like to see humanity's spark of adventure re-kindled.
Really like your post.
I always thought "I blame you sleeping satellite" meant, whimsically, "I blame you Moon for inspiring mankind to reach to stars, only to have mankind then stop short by just going to the moon." I guess I was pretty much on target all these years. Archer seemed disappointed with the lack of progress with the space program following the moon landing. This is reinforced again and again in the song with the lines "Did we fly to the moon to soon? Did we squander the chance?", "Have we got what it takes to advance? Have we peaked to soon?" and "Have we got what it takes to carry the weight of this concept? Or pass it by?" Seems likes she's saying we lost our motivation to "shoot for the stars" after the moon landing, in part, because we lost that desire for "man's greatest adventure."
@fleetman I see you get it and I agree completely with you and Ms Archer. To me everything else concerning the meaning of this song and its potential metaphors is just pure supposition. But I guess that's what this forum is all about.
Really liked your post and I think you're bang on.
When the man wakes up to this truth he realises that he is nothing but a satellite going round the lady. She is really the centre of his attraction to her! Hence the ''Sleeping Satellite'\
"..the dream that died with the eagles flight" If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say that by "eagles" here she is referring to some astronauts, maybe failing their mission? That would explain "the dream that died" part. The Apollo 10 mission comes to mind..
"when i wonder why are the seas still dry" The dry-seas (mare area of the moon).. If I recall correctly, in the Apollo 10 mission, one of the first descriptions of the moon from the astronauts was actually about the dry-seas area... well, it's also possible that I have far too much sense of imagination. I'd be happy to hear someone else's comments about the meaning of rthis song.