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Interpretations:Destination Moon

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I've always thought that the song was about how somethin or someone who starts out unimportant can become something great. DarkSideOfTheSchwartz

I;ve always felt that it's about a guy on morphine in the hospital, oblivious to why he's there instead of in space. He also proceeds to think that everyone else (including the janitor) knows he's alright, and that no matter how crippled he may be,he's determined to go to the moon. By the last chorus, though, he seems to realise that he's ill, or at the least feeling the effects of it, though he doesn't seem all that deterred.

I've always felt this song was about the process of endeavor, going for something big and different in your life. Whenever someone tries for something creative and glorious in this life--like flying to the moon--there are others who a) don't get it, and b) tell them it can't be done, that they're crazy or unwell to even consider it. What the narrator is saying is, "don't bother to call this room, there's nobody here who can pick up or has stuff they need to talk about", in other words, I'm not available for discussion about why my life plans are foolish--don't bother. And then the narrator explains how one achieves one's dreams: one step at a time, one little action to the next. They work backwards from the rocket: the plane, the cab, walking to the cab, and at first simply getting out of bed. This is a metaphor for all the little actions we must take, often humble actions, which lead to the big glorious events of our lives. The bit about the card with the cartoon nurse (which nicely captures the cheesy lowbrow mindset which would reject the glorious dreams of the narrator) represents yet another attempt for a friend or family member who doesn't get it, trying to undermine the dream by suggesting the person is "sick" (metaphor for misguided). "But you see, there's nothing wrong with me" is the answer. And then the person denies that and the narrator "blows them away by rocket to the moon". Lastly, the verse about the crawling to the rocket, limping, coughing, etc., represents the person continuing to live his/her life in this gutsy manner to the very end, even if it means getting older and having to "crawl to the rocket" (struggle to be the person he or she wants, to achieve). It is heroic. It is a great song.

This song is about a crippled person, who is in complete denial about his situation. It describes a person saying " don't bother to call this room, there's nobody here who can pick up" Which means, of corse, that he is far to injured to pick up the phone. Then he says he will be checking out to fly a rocket to the moon. He is saying that no-matter what anybody says about his condition, he is going to take a rocket to the moon to prove this. He says "thank you for the card with the cartoon nurse but ,you see, there's nothing wrong with me, you think,'That's what you think, That's what they all say,' Before I blow you away, by rocket to the moon, by airplane to the rocket, by taxi to the airport, by front door to the taxi, by throwing off the blanket hanging down the legs Soon the man who sweeps the room brings a secret telegram 'comence oficial interplanitary exploration' What he is saying here is everybody says that he is crippled, but he just stubornly replys " no I'm not. Ill take a rocket to the moon to prove it too." Then he says the janitor is going to bring him a secret telegram telling him its time to go to the moon. Then the final verse says- By rocket to the moon: Crawl to the rocket, By coughing at the airport, By limping to the taxi, By throwing back the blanket, hanging down the withered leg. Thats it. Unlike many TMBG songs, I don't think you can find any way to linking this song with religion or any of that nonsense- drworm818- visit me on IM sometime.

The first verse describes a man who is leaving a "room," and that he has a flight to catch. It says he's "checking out" which could suggest a hotel, a hospital, or could suggest death. Then the chorus for the first time, which breaks down traveling to the moon into a very simple process. Simply throw back the blanket, get up, go out the front door, get in a taxi, go to the airport, get plane to a launch pad, get in the rocket, and go to the moon. Pretty simple, anyone should be able to do it! The second verse suggests that the person is in a hospital, as someone gives a Get Well Soon card with a cartoon nurse on it, but he says "There's nothing wrong with me." This strongly hints at a mental hospital, because people who are mentally ill often do not understand or deny that they are sick. But the man understands that no one believes him when he says he's not ill, but that he'll prove them wrong when he will "Blow you away," when he takes off for the moon. We then get the bridge, which confirms that the guy is crazy as he expects the janitor to bring him a "secret telegram" that reads "COMMENCE OFFICIAL INTERPLANETARY EXPLORATION." So to sum up, this is the story of a mental case who has planned a trip to the moon.

This song is about the procrastination of an insane man. He clearly states what he needs to do to get to the moon, yet he doesn't do it. Later on in the song, it describes "throwing down the witherd legs," "coughing to the rocket," ect. This indicates that he finally waited too long to acomplish his dreams, and is now old. - Mr. Nuclear

I have always taken this song to mean specifically an elderly person in a hospital &/or rest home who is suffering from senility; "withered leg" and the blanket upon it... either elderly or unable to walk for years and years. The song is the dream the person has about throwing off their shackles and (re)claiming the world that has been lost to them. Crankysysadmin

The narrator actually is an alien. His legs are withered and he is crawling and coughing because he hasn't adapted to the Earth's gravity and atmosphere. He is unable to physically pick up the phone due to the weakness of his muscles, but he doesn't know anyone on Earth to speak to anyway. In the line, "Thank you for the card with the cartoon, nurse," he is addressing the nurse--the card has a cartoon on it. You would expect someone in a hospital to have cards from their family and friends, but since the narrator doesn't know anyone, the nurse has given him one out of pity. He says there's nothing wrong with him because there really is nothing wrong with him, other than the fact that he's an alien.

Alternatively, the narrator is a mentally and/or physically sick person with no family or friends who's having a delusion about the alien scenario. I guess it depends whether you want to view the song as whimsical and fantastical or grim and realistic. incandenza

I always believed that the song was about an ex-astronaut. Clearly, the peak of his life was stepping foot on the moon. Now he's become a cripple in his old age. He is in denial about his condition, and insists that one day he'll be able to escape his miserable life in the hospital and visit the moon once more. Of course, this attitude has earned him the reputation of being somewhat of a nut, and all the doctors are very condescending to him, giving him things like cartoony get well soon cards. The only one who really respects him any more is the janitor, who does his best to make the old man feel like he's eventually going to achieve his goal, doing things like giving him fake orders from his superiors. Think of the narrator sort of like a patient in the movie "Patch Adams."

This last guy has it - this narrator isn't crazy, he is playing a little mental game with himself because he's crippled and angry about it. Aging or even just injured astronaut is a good interpretation; he knows that there really is something wrong with him, because he tells us at the end the of the song about his withered leg and how he would really look getting to the rocket - the limping, the crawling - he's not delusional, he just doesn't like being disabled. --Christina Miller, June 2005

I always pictured a sick kid, not an adult. I find the closing line, where reality disrupts the poor kid's imaginary moon shot, very sad.

Oh, very interesting to read other's interpretations... Like CM, I don't think the singer is insane at all; I know the coughing at the end suggests illness, but I still always imagine he's been in an accident and is badly injured, perhaps partially paralysed so that he can no longer walk well, if at all. He's tired of sympathy and pity and would prefer optimism, so responds that he'll eventually be well again – well enough to even go to the moon. At the end of the song it's a bit of reality stepping in and we see more of what the best the singer could possibly hope for. --zytka

I always thought that this song was literal: A crippled person gives a big FU to everyone who pities him (gives him cards with cartoon nurses on them) and flies to the moon even though they doubt he can do it. -- Max Ace

I agree in principle with the previous entry. I've read people thinking this is literally about an astronaut, or that he literally believes the janitor hands him orders, but I think these are just crazy TMBG metaphors. A rocket to the moon is just a general metaphor for going places in life - which the singer who is sick or crippled or injured or whatever still believes he can do. I think the reference to the janitor may either be just a bit of metaphor silliness but it may refer to an unexpected figure in the person's life giving him the encouragement that he needs. I do agree with the general assessment about the last chorus which shows him still aiming for the moon while acknowledging his current obstacles. This is an awesome song and if I'm ever crippled I want this to be my theme song!

I disagree. I think the song is about an ugly break-up. She sends him a 'get well' card even though he isn't sick. It's the same kind of witty nastiness the girl in I'll Sink Manhattan dispenses -- "He's my lower half". --Nehushtan 21:24, 6 Mar 2006 (CST)

this could be anyone who's sick, crippled, depressed, or unstable. the most striking thing is the chorus describes a journey (probably a metaphor) in reverse. this is either the narrator thinking through how he'll accomplish his goal or thinking back in time to before his affliction got him stuck in the room (thus his journey is fantasy). the janitor talks to him one day and encourages him, he makes his effort, fails and, in the final chorus, thinks his plan/fantasy through one more time with a (sadly) more realistic outlook. --kreplock 3.31.200

I don't think this is an unhappy song at all. Someone is sick or injured, but doesn't let that stop him from going to the moon--from adventuring and being alive. The person's friends try to make him feel better about his sickness or cripplehood, but he doesn't need that. The janitor is someone who doesn't know him, doesn't have a preconceived idea of what he is capable of, and who encourages him to shoot for the moon if that's what he wants to do. The person rejects the pity and does his thing despite his limitations. Basically I agree with Max Ace and the person below him. --Friend!

I bet he's actually going to get to the moon. Shii

"By coughing at the airport" may be a subtle environmental reference. Jnelson09

This is one of the happiest TMBG songs, I think. A guy succeeding in spite of incredible odds, either really going to the moon, or doing something so great that the metaphor is warranted. - ElbridgeGerry 22:17, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Good GOD! Didn't anybody ever see the documentary about TMBG - "Gigantic"? In that documentary, some guy who was an NYC TV talk show host mentions that he once challenged the boys to write a song about some space germ invading the earth. They wrote a really boring obvious one you can hear on "They Got Lost". But it's pretty clear to me that they were dissatisfied with it and kept on writing, eventually producing THIS song as their final answer to his challenge. The song is primarily from the point of view of the virus/bacteria/germ, but like many of their songs the point of view changes back and forth, often within one sentence. The chorus is written as a backwards timeline to disguise the narrative and make you think about it. It's about a germ or virus from space. The janitor's message is the activation of the germ itself, spread by the act of attempting to clean the hospital room or perhaps the inside of the rocket. The rest of the song is about the disease spreading via the astronauts. It's not about a breakup with a girl who has a nasty sense of humor. And it's BACKWARDS! Trunkmonkey8 13:22, 26 August 2007

Now there's an interesting thought. ~Christina
Well, aside from the fact that John Henry had already been out for around five years before the Johns started working on the Brave New World material. -VoVat

People who think this song is "happy" obviously aren't listening to the lyrics, particularly the end, where the narrator finally comes to reality and realizes the hopelessness of his situation. Any other interpretation would just kind of ruin the song now, wouldn't it? -- pants_catalog

I can't tell if the above interps are supposed to be jokes or not, but they are pretty out there. This is an early example of Linnell's recurring "unreliable narrator" theme, about a guy who is delusional or paranoid. He's sick in the hospital, so we can assume he's not flying to the moon anytime soon. His friends are even trying to discourage his babblings- "That's what they all say." Another sign of his delusions is the quasi-futuristic sci-fi manner in which he envisions the rocket taking off; he's probaby seen too many Buck ROgers movies in his youth.

Linnell has revisited this theme billions upon billions of times, to wonderful effect in songs like Till My Head Falls Off, Montana, I'm Your Boyfriend Now, Bastard Wants To Hit Me, and The Cap'm.

I actually hate these interpretations pages because so many people fill them with psychotic ramblings but I must admit this was kind of fun. --Oddjob 13:18, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

After listening to this song a few times, I believe it is about an old man (or a very sick one) stuck in a hospital or nursing home, with delusions of escaping his prison, and going to the moon. Though it's most likely a delusion (believing the janitor is leaving him secret messages is somewhat delusional), I still find the story to be optimistic (dreaming of getting to the rocket, even after acknowledging his ailments) --24.91.77.17 06:44, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Here's what I think. I think this is a song not about one specific person, but the rather the nature of dreams, and how often it is simply the most mundane of details that keep us from accomplishing them (indeed, the very nature of time suggest that we will never accomplish anything--see Xeno's Paradox). The song seems to me to be fairly Kafkaesque, indeed it reminds me greatly of the short story "A message from the emperor", which I highly recommend.

Reading many of these interpretations, but I think they fail occam's razor--too complicated, and requiring too many assumptions that aren't actually part of the song. For my part, I think it's simply about a man in the hospital who has learned that he is dying, and is in denial (the first stage of grief) about it. --The Cowch

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