The Lonesome Friends of Science

Album: The Tree of Forgiveness (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song has two inspirations: the Vulcan, which is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and the demotion of Pluto to a minor planet. John Prine explained to The Sun: "I've always been kind of fascinated by the Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama, and have tried to write a song about it for years. When I heard about how Pluto was demoted from a planet to a star (sic) I knew I wanted to write about it. I think the two stories compliment each other."

    The Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world, reflecting the iron and steel industry. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular namesake for iron foundries during the Industrial Revolution.

    Pluto was originally considered to be the ninth planet from the Sun, but the International Astronomical Union came up with a new definition for planets in 2006 that excluded Pluto after many other similar icy objects were found, including Chiron and Eris.
  • The colorful, animated video contains scenes relating to Prine's lyrics. The clip was created by Tiago Majuelos, who is a Barcelona-based graphic designer.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Intentionally Atrocious

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

Church Lyrics

Church LyricsMusic Quiz

Here is the church, here is the steeple - see if you can identify these lyrics that reference church.

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

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."

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.