anonymous November 27th, 2008 02:42PM  

I believe that this song is about a man who at one time wanted to become an astronaut. Then he is abducted by aliens. "It started with a lowlight/next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed." This is a pretty common description of abductions. The man says he dreamed of leaving this star crossed world. But that all changed when THEY cut me open. He speaks of a ship passing satellites and bombs. The second part speaks of how he is dealing with this event now. In the line about him hearing THEM, it seems he can't get over it.
The star maker and storm maker lines refer to childhood ideas of the world and his new ideas of the world. The spaceman is himself, or who he wanted to be and the spaceman is trying to make him "look down" or ignore these events, because its his dream to become an "spaceman". It also seems that the song refers to society in the fact that the world doesn't care of his adventure because is wasn't broadcasted.

I think the song uses strange circumstances to explain a common moment in a person's life. The moment when their childhood ambitions are questioned and destroyed by an adult experience.

anonymous December 6th, 2008 04:17PM  

I'm not to sure its all as simple as just being abducted.
I think that is perhaps a song about coping with depression.

The first verse is about what caused his depression, and the event itself. He says he was "hoping I could leave this star - crossed world behind" seems to be a reference to suicide although he changed his mind when he was "cut open".

Then he has "gone to far from the floor this time" A reference to having his eye opened perhaps? or how he has gone to far. Then the "zipping white light beams" that disregard "bombs and satellites", a methaphor for us and how fast life can go by while we ignore the things that happen in our lives, both good annd bad.

Then the "turning point . . . one lonely night" is when he learns to cope with it all.

Chorus I am not sure about, the people in them could be a reference to the "voices" he heres later on or perhaps people in his life, or parts of himself, but there do seeem to be conotations with regards to mental health here. Maybe he sees himself as a spaceman, cut off from everyone else?

The next verse in when he's back at home after coming back from hospital, feeling better and looking forward to life but still nervous. In the second part it appears he's giving advice, "stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, you better look it over before ou make that leeap" The person he is talking to can not decide between death "the devil" or life "the deep blue sea (the unknown)".

After this he says he's fine reinforcing the fact things have changed, but he still "hears those voices at night" showing that he still struggles occasionally and goes through bad pathes.

The "public doesn't dwell on [his] transmission, because it wasn't televised" If his transmission was a cry for help (the suicide attempt)then we can say that not many people know about it and a lot of them have tried to move on and forget about it.

His global position systems" let him know where he is, I hinkk is meant in an emotional sense and because they are "vocally addresed" it shows that talking helps. As for saying the "nile used to run from east to west" he is saying that even though things seem as if they will never chang they will eventually.

Well yer that's my interpretation, a little long but I thought I should provide some evidence instead of just disagreeing wih everyone else ;)

anonymous December 7th, 2008 08:28PM  

I believe this song is more about a guy that tried to commit suicide and then he woke up in a hospital with people trying to save him. Then he "changed my mind" and decided that living was better, his "turning point." He goes on and talks about suicide: "You better look it over Before you make that leap."

ERod January 3rd, 2009 12:51AM  

This song is more about ronny (the drummer of the killers)...in an interview the killers admitted that ronny kinda believes in aliens so its just a fantasy story of someone being abducted...ALSO, when he says "The spaceman says everybody look down..." and "you're caught between the devil and the deep blue see.." that's because some believe that "aliens" might live under water too.. i dont know where people got the whole suicide thing from.. THE KILLERS ROCK!

anonymous January 9th, 2009 01:28AM  

Well I think that spaceman could be about the killers (or just flowers) sudden introduction to fame.

References to a spaceman are possibly a link between the killers fame and the feeling of leaving the mundane world behind for loftier things.

"it started with a low light
Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed
And then they took my blood type
That left a strange impression in my head"

This could mean it started with a small amount of recognition, then all of a sudden flowers is being taken from his comfort zone and assesed, weighed and tested by the public. This leaves him feeling confused.

"You know that I was hoping
That I could leave this star crossed world behind
When they cut me open
I guess I changed my mind"

this could mean that flowers was initially eager for fame, leaving his old world behind. But after he was figuratively cut open and examined by the people he was performing for he became hesitant.

“And you know I might
Have just flown too far
From the floor this time
Cause they're calling me by my name”

This could mean that flowers is worried that things are too advanced to slow, and that he can’t go back to his old life. They’re calling me by my name could reference millions of people he has never met calling to him by his name.

And they're zipping white light beams
To street corners, phones and satellites

An obvious reference to the use of the media in his rise to fame.

The star maker said it ain't so bad
The dream makers going to make you mad
The spaceman says, "everybody look down"
Its all in your mind

Star maker could refer to a corporate type who manages famous people. He is reassuring despite flowers distress.
The dream maker is similar to the star maker, but when the dreams don’t reach fruition, he leaves you frustrated.

I think the spaceman is flowers, feeling insecure in his lonely but lofty position. By telling us to look down he is saying be happy with our place in the world, and his position is not always one to be aspired for. Its all in your mind basically means that all that perceived grandeur is false.


Well now I'm back at home
And looking forward to this life I live
You know it's going to haunt me
So hesitation to this life I give

This simply means he is unsure if he can continue living his old life, because the fame may haunt him

You think you might cross over
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
You better look it over
Before you make that leap


A clear warning: even if you're in a bad position, and you’re trying to become famous, you had better be sure before you take the plunge.

And you know I'm fine
But I hear those voices at night
Sometimes that justify my claim
And the public don't dwell on my transmission
Cause it wasn't televised

He is ok with it all, but is still plagued with the old worries. And people didn’t hear about any of flower’s distress because it wasn’t made public


I know that there are probably massive holes in my logic and line of reasoning and I am open to suggestion or even correction, but this is how I interpret spaceman =)

anonymous January 29th, 2009 04:56PM  

Sometimes the interpretation it's just....easy...watch the video too...here we're only talkin' about aliens...

anonymous January 30th, 2009 09:32PM  

okay, you don't have to rate this, but just so people know, it's STAR MAKER, not storm maker, or song maker or whatever.

anonymous March 1st, 2009 07:19PM  

The verses in the song are about a man overdosing and trying to kill himself then changes his mind but sometimes he still wants to leave... The star maker is supposedly God, The dream maker is him/her whoever it was that tried to commit suicide and the spaceman is scientist basically saying everything is in your head

anonymous March 3rd, 2009 09:27AM  

I would go for a literal interpretation of the spaceman, how about a song about people who think they were abducted by aliens?

It started with a low light
Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed

The light levitation thingie you see in lots of sci-fi movies/cartoons

And then they took my blood type

Tests

They left a strange impression in my head

He doesn't know if it was just a dream

You know that I was hoping
That I could leave this star crossed world behind

He hoped they'd show him the universe

When they cut me open

more tests

I guess I changed my mind

And you know I might
Just float too far from the floor this time
Cause they’re calling me by my name

He thinks they are still calling him ( or maybe this was
as they were abducting him )

And they're zipping white light beams
disregarding phones and satellites

Again the light beam, while the normal communications field remain oblivious.

The storm maker says it ain’t so bad
The dream maker’s gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down
It’s all in your mind"

Reactions of people he tells the story to
maybe even consulting parapsychologists like
the rain maker, dream stuff, but in the end
people think he is crazy and it all hapenned
in his mind

Well, now I’m back at home
And I’m looking forward to this life I live
You know it’s gonna haunt me
So hesitation to this life I give

He has to get back to normal

And you know I’m fine
But I hear those voices at night
Sometimes that justify my claim
And the public don’t dwell on my transmission
Cause it wasn’t televised

He still hears voices at night and maybe the
transmission part is about those amateur alien
watch radio stations

They say the Nile used to run from East to West

Again lots of people believe that pyramids were built
by the help of aliens so referring to Nile ( maybe
ho the Nile flow was changed as well in that meaning,
since it runs from north to south )

It’s all in my mind

maybe it was just a dream

claraV March 13th, 2009 03:55PM  

I think it is definitely about someone killing themselves, after possibly suffering from paranoid, and mixing with the wrong set of people after something bad happened to them, eventually turning into someone they didn't recognize.

"It started with a low light"
It all started when something bad happened in my life, possibly a breavement etc.

"Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed"
These people that he never used to like took him from a life that was comfortable in.

"And then they took my blood type,
they left a strange impression in my head"
They took who he really was, and made him start seeing things differently

"You know that I was hoping,
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind"
He started coming to terms with whatever the 'low light' was, and began to relise that these people weren't people he should be friends with,

"But when they cut me open,
I guess I changed my mind"
Once they had got inside him, started controlling his thoughts etc, he changed his mind about them

"And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time,
'cause they calling me by my name!"
The floor being where he belongs, as these people now class him as his friend, and he classes them as his friend.

"And the zipping white light beams
disregarding bombs and satellites"
Suddenly he starts seeing these people for who they are, he's starting to get back onto the right path, 'bombs' are detroying the wrong path, the path which these new friends are trying to take him down, whilst 'satellites', (which could be his old friends, the people he used to be friends with before the 'lowlight') are being put up to help him find his way again.

'That was the turning point;
That was one lonely night!"
He's still upset and disturbed, and he ends up trying to commit sucide, it was a major turning point when he relised he didn't actually want to die, no one was there, he was alone with his thoughts.

"The star maker says, "It ain't so bad" "
The star makers being his parents/family/old friends, who have made him who he is today, they relise the pain he has endured, and are trying to comfort him by telling him it aint so bad.

"The dream maker's gonna make you mad"
The people he befriended who led him in the wrong direction.

"The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!""
The spaceman being the old him, he's starting to turn back into who he really is, and he's relising that all this self-hatred has been inflicted in him, by himself and himself alone.

"Well now I'm back at home and-
I’m looking forward to this life I live;"
He's gone back to who he used to be, he's with his old friends and his family, and he's optimistic about the future.

"You know it's gonna haunt me,
So hesitation to this life I give"
He relises that it's a long road to full recovery, and that's there's always going to be an echo in his head of what happned to him, so he's approaching his old life with caution, and perhaps not going to be as trusting as he used to be.

"You think you might cross over,
You caught between the devil and the deep blue sea;
You better look it over,
Before you make that leap!"
This is his warning to others who went through what he endured, the devil being the horrors that people with mental disorders have to encounter, and the deep blue sea, the naiveity of people around him that don't relise what they're going through. The person is caught between the two as he doesn't want to hurt their friends and family, but they no longer want to live this life. And he urges them to look at their lives and realise that their life isn't so bad.

"And you know I'm fine, but I hear those voices at night
sometimes... They justify my claim"
Sometimes when he's alone he hears the echos of how he use to feel, and he sometimes still thinks about sucide.

"and the public don’t dwell on my transmission
'cause it wasn’t televised..."
The public being everyone apart from his nearest and dearest, as he didn't want everyone to know what happened, he didn't 'televise' it, so they had nothing to 'dwell' on.

"But, it was a turning point,
Oh what a lonely night!

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"
The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!""
same as before!

"My global position systems are vocally addressed;"
He finally has the courage to talk to someone about how he used to feel, it might be a psycharist or just a family member, whilst talking he relises that in his old life he was heading in the wrong direction.

"They say the Nile used to run from east to west,
They say the Nile used to run… from east to west."
He can't quite believe how he used to feel, which is why he is now talking in the third person, because although he is aware he went through it all, he's come so far it now feels like he is telling a story. The Nile is the biggest river in the world, that provides essential water for many african countrys. He is the Nile, he is big and powerful and wants to help people. In the past he was going in the wrong direction, but deep down inside he was always 'the nile'

"I'm fine,
but I hear those voices at night,
sometime..."
Note the voices no longer justify his claim, he remembers how he used to feel, but it no longer upsets him.

anonymous April 4th, 2009 10:55PM  

This is a very personal interpretation, but when I heard this song immediately it made me think of my mother who recently died. I was with her when she died. She was only 51 and it was very unexpected. She went in one day with pneumonia and died 6 days later of sepsis from a gangrenous gall bladder. Anyway, this is a very personal interpretation, but it could apply to anyone who has watched a loved one die in the hospital.

"It started with a low light"
(she started to pass out / go under)

"Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed"
(they moved her from one hospital to another)

"And then they took my blood type,"
(they put all these iv's in her)

"they left a strange impression in my head."
(the ventilator they put on her was secured by a strap that literally left a strange impression in her head)

"You know that I was hoping,
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind"
(she was in such pain she was wishing she could die)

"But when they cut me open,
I guess I changed my mind."
(but when they operated on her and she realized that she might die she knew she didn't want to anymore)

"And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time"
(she deteriorated several times and had to be revived; the last time she realizes that she is too far gone, above herself)

"'cause they calling me by my name!"
(as she was dying I went into the room to be with her and I talked to her and called her "mom")

"And the zipping white light beams
disregarding bombs and satellites!"
(she begins the death experience going toward the light, in a feeling of peace)

"That was the turning point;"
(that was when she knew she had died and was not coming back)

"That was one lonely night!"
(she felt alone in the new state)

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
(the universe reassures her that being dead is ok and natural)

The dream maker's gonna make you mad
(there is anger over the dream of a fantasy heaven)

The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"
("god" tells her to look down and remember her life and family, the memories are still all in her mind)

"Well now I'm back at home and-
I’m looking forward to this life I live;"
(she is dead but now at peace with that, at home with the universe and looking forward to her new state)

"You know it's gonna haunt me,
So hesitation to this life I give."
(she is still haunted by the memories of life and hesitant about what is happening)

"You think you might cross over,
You caught between the devil and the deep blue sea;
You better look it over,
Before you make that leap!"
(she is giving advice to anyone who might have thought or wished to die to realize how much of a change it is)

"And you know I'm fine, but I hear those voices at night
sometimes... They justify my claim"
(she is ok in death but still haunted by voices from life and regretting her death but sometimes the pain of life justifies her)

"and the public don’t dwell on my transmission
'cause it wasn’t televised..."
(her death was not a public event)

But, it was a turning point,
(but it was the biggest change for her)

Oh what a lonely night!
(and she had to do it alone)

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"

"My global position systems are vocally addressed;"
They say the Nile used to run from east to west,
They say the Nile used to run… from east to west.
(she wonders if she can ever go back to life; if the transition can be reversed from its normal course)

I'm fine,
but I hear those voices at night,
sometimes...
(she is ok but still haunted by memories of life)

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down!
Its all in your mind!"

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad;
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down...
Its all in your mind!"

anonymous April 25th, 2009 05:42PM  

I think the song has something to do with being abuducted by aliens. "It started with a low light" the alien's saucer then the next few lines are the aliens disecting him (taking his blood type, cuting him open) "zipping white light beams" are the high tech lasers they are using" the spaceman is an alien as for the reference to the nile, people say "how can the ancient egyptians have such knowledge to big these huge pyramids that still stand today?" well others who answer them say "the aliens helped them!"

anonymous May 5th, 2009 09:22PM  

No, no, no.....this song is not about suicide at all, or even death, although I liked the comment about her mom dying, it did make a lot of sense and relate. Anyway, the song to me is about a man and the clashing of his views, both scientific and religious, star maker referring to god, dream maker to his own imagination, and spaceman to scientists and the modern world view.In the beginning he is meshing dreams together, taking his blood type and taking him from his bed referring to a scientific dream, while star crossed world, meaning the universe other than earth, since star crossed is an astrological term, saying the earth is doomed when judgement day comes, since everyone is favoring science over god these days. flown too far from the floor is him saying he had a dream in which both science and religion were both present, but religion was dominant, sipping white lights, associated with angels and heaven, disregarded the bombs and satellites, modern day scientific things. The star maker is telling him having these dreams isn't bad since it means something, while science is telling him to look down from space and see earth, and that he's imagining things, which is making the dream maker, his imagination or mind, go crazy trying to pick a side. He says how he's back at home and the dreams have stopped, even though he remembers wat they said and that he is still stuck between the 2 sides. He says you betetr look it over before you make that leap, saying kno both sides before you choose one. The voices, of angels or god or the religious element, r telling him his dreams were right, but since modern day tv didn't cover his story and made nothing of it, he thinks he is crazy and has noone to turn to, "oh wat a lonely night". The nile line is referring to the power science has in todays world, and that they can discovered even things like a river having a different course in the past. Having viewed both sides, he still hears voices but they r less discreet, and he winds up siding with science to fit in with the rest of the world, "its all in my mind" he is denying god's presence in his dreams and saying science was right about his experiences.
Thats my take at least, I wanted to make it original yet still have it make sense, if you disagreed please post your views on y I am wrong.

Heldiney May 19th, 2009 05:18AM  

I think you should back up your point some more... I see where you are coming from with your idea, but the suicide definition is more credible.

goodgal May 22nd, 2009 11:21PM  

Well first Brandon said himself once again in interviews that Ronnie(the drummer) is fascinated with aliens and now theirs Spaceman!

raleelee88 June 9th, 2009 01:57PM  

Brandon Flowers is a modern philospher to me. His lyrics in this song and most of his songs have a much bigger meaning than just word for word. You have to listen to the whole thing for it to make sense, and in turn, all of his songs. I believe with Spaceman, he tries to explain his self awareness. It was his turning point and also lonely because so many people don't understand it, or even care to (it wasn't televised). He expresses his feelings sooo beautifully in every song he writes. More than anything, his songs are about life.

anonymous July 14th, 2009 01:27AM  

Well, simply put, I think this could be a clever metaphor used to describe a person being introduced to the real world, but with a viewpoint that is finding our culture to be outlandish and/or otherworldly, like aliens.With this explanation in mind, watch the music video, and listen to the lyrics.I just thought that I would provide a different possibility than Suicide.

Thank you.

anonymous July 16th, 2009 09:26AM  

"They say the Nile used to run from east to West"

The only sense I can make out of that was that THEY (aliens) were informing him of a time when the poles were shifted (as has happened before) in which the north pole was somewhere like Russia making east to west what is currently south to north

anonymous July 16th, 2009 05:02PM  

I believe this song is about a drug "trip." Anyone who has experienced hallucinogens like shrooms or LSD should understand why.

"It started with a lowlight" when you are tripping, your pupils constantly dilate and then shrink back down at a very fast pace, this is what causes some of hallucinations. A common thing that people experience on shrooms as they are "taking of" are the lights growing dimmer and then brighter.

"Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed" and "it left a strange impression in my head" he has finished escalating and has reached a plateau in the drug high a strange feeling indeed as if traveling into a new dimension.

"You know that I was hoping that I could leave this starcrossed world behind, but when they cut me open I guess I changed my mind" Hes doing drugs because he wants to escape from this reality and into a new one so as to forget his problems or expand his thoughts. But apparently this reality was a little to overwhelming for him, maybe the trip was too intense (high doses) or he is having a "bad trip."

"And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time" again the trip is too intense, he probably took more than he should've and has immersed too deep into this new world which an be extremely hard to manage.

"and the zippy white light beams" = hallucinations

"that was the turning point, that was one lonely night" drugs tend to change people, induce a different state of consciousness make them realize things and can be a changing experience for some.

Now the chorus is what sold it to me: "the starmaker says it aint so bad" the trip, you can control it its not so bad. "the dreammakers gonna make you mad" drugs make you hallucinate, dream, hence dreammaker and they are powerful enough to leave you mad for life. "Spaceman says everybody look down, its all in your mind" Spaceman= you're high, high up in space or another dimension but you can come down. The whole drug trip is inside your own head its all in your mind so long as you are in control of your mind you can come back down to reality or look down.

Well, now I'm back at home
And I'm looking forward to this life I live
You know it's going to haunt me
So hesitation to this life I give
You think you might cross over
You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
You better look it over
Before you make that leap

hes back from the experienced and has returned to reality, refreshed and good as new ready to keep on living his life. The trip is gonna haunt him, flashbacks and thoughts from the occasion can arise any time. He feels he might cross over at any time, possibly into insanity but "you better look it over before you make that leap" its no joke be careful.

again: "I'm fine,
But I hear those voices at night sometimes"

I know its a little too far but I hope you can understand my logic. It could really be about an alien abduction but that just sounds stupid to me. Anyone who hasn't experienced these psychedelics will have a hard time seeing where I'm going with this, but enjoy! btw has anyone seen the video? it's crazyyy

anonymous August 10th, 2009 04:11AM  

It's like the remake of Starman by David Bowie.