NCT 127 fans, for instance, are probably familiar with the group entertainingly trying to explain the lyrics to their song “Highway to Heaven.” The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.K-Pop fans are familiar with idols’ unique explanations to try and explain some of their song’s more suggestive lyrics. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. ![]() Stephen, I salute you.Ĭopyright © 2022 NPR. SHAPIRO: Stephen Thompson is one of the hosts of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. A lot of your iconography does evoke so much pop culture. But also, at the same time, you're called the Space Force. ![]() So I don't know what I was expecting in terms of, like, this song is stodgy and old-fashioned. SHAPIRO: Like, '90s hair rock or something. My immediate thought went to "Team America: World Police." You know that movie? THOMPSON: I mean, it depends on what you're going for, right? Like, I looked at, like, OK, there's a new song for the Space Force. Do you think they should have tried for something more contemporary or more spacey? You know, like, pew-pew, like, laser sounds or something. The whole vibe of the song is more John Philip Sousa than Jean-Luc Picard. I was hoping we would be like visiting the Pleiades, but I guess as Space Force veterans, we won't have actually been to space. The job of most Space Force enlistees is to, like, fix and launch and take care of satellites. And that even that from on high is just very, very grandiose. There's no limit to our sky, standing guard both night and day. SHAPIRO: Can we review some of these lyrics? We're the mighty watchful eye, Guardians beyond the blue, the invisible front line, warfighters brave and true, boldly reaching into space. I did find, as somebody who is concerned about the surveillance state, I'm not sure I'm super keen on a branch of military where the first line of their march is we're the mighty watchful eye. I think where it doesn't work as well for me is lyrically. And in that regard, it certainly fits the brief. You hear so many movies in which military marches are invoked. THOMPSON: My first reaction is that it's a pastiche of so much pop culture, right? Like, you hear the marches, like, kind of news on the march from, like, '40s newsreels. SHAPIRO: Your first reaction, Stephen Thompson? The invisible front line, warfighters brave and true. UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #4: (Singing) We're the mighty watchful eye, Guardians beyond the blue. We put our hands over our hearts, and we hear this. And at the start of our gathering, we stand up. Let's imagine that decades from now, you and I are veterans, grizzled old men, reuniting with the Space Force Guardians who we served with way back when. SHAPIRO: I have actually not heard the song yet, so. Stephen Thompson of NPR Music is here to lend it his critical ear. And Space Force released its song yesterday. Those were the official songs for some of the other branches of the military. UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #3: (Singing) Off we go into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the sun. ![]() UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #2: (Singing, inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS #1: (Singing) March along, sing our song with the Army of the free. And there's one more thing that all the other branches have. It's even got a logo, which looks a lot like the "Star Trek" logo. There is a motto - semper, supra - means always above because, you know, spaces up there. It's got uniforms - dark blue to evoke space. And the Space Force has checked off a lot of them since it launched nearly three years ago. If you want to be a branch of the military, there are certain things you have to have.
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