Out of the Silent Planet

Album: Brave New World (2000)
Charted: 20
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was primarily influenced by the 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Ryan - Bethany, OK

Comments: 3

  • Michael Kelley from Hickory Withe, TnI see so many similarities in the lyrics of this song to C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy, especially the third book, "That Hideous Strength." The first of series bears the same name as the song, "Out of the Silent Planet." The Silent Planet is Earth (Thulcandra) because it doesn't participate in the music of the spheres and is in rebellion against God. The lyric in the song, "Nations cry underneath decaying skies above" especially reminds me of the trilogy with the "heavenly" imagery, looking upward out at the unfallen creation beyond the orbit of Luna, realizing the situation we're in as the sump pump of the universe, having fallen as low as one can fall.
  • Caitlin from Colmesneil, TxI think this song could be interpretted as being about man's destruction of the enviroment. "The Silent Planet" could refer to earth, in much the same way as in the book "Silent Spring", the earth will be silent when we poison it and kill off all the life, and that's exactly what we're headed towards.
  • Fay from Seattle, WaOut of the Silent Planet is the name of a science fiction book by C.S. Lewis. The silent planet refers to Earth, which has isolated itself from God and the rest of the universe, making it a desolate place.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Motley Crue

Motley CrueFact or Fiction

Was Dr. Feelgood a dentist? Did the "Crüecifixion" really happen?

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Kip Winger

Kip WingerSongwriter Interviews

The Winger frontman reveals the Led Zeppelin song he cribbed for "Seventeen," and explains how his passion for orchestra music informs his songwriting.

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

Todd Rundgren

Todd RundgrenSongwriter Interviews

Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.