Hear Brian May’s New Space-Inspired Song ‘Floating in Heaven’
Brian May has teamed with 10cc co-founder Graham Gouldman on a new song inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope. "There is nothing more exciting in a world of exploration than going to a place about which you know nothing,” May, a lifelong space fanatic, declared in a press release. “The sky's the limit for what we could find out."
Launched in December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful one ever sent into space. The device became operational this week; the release of “Floating in Heaven” was timed to coincide with the first images being sent to Earth.
Gouldman handled songwriting duties on “Floating in Heaven,” while May provided guitar and vocals. The song features plenty of descriptive, astronomical lyrics, such as this opening verse that leads into the chorus: “It’s time for me to say goodbye and search for past is new / Our future lies above the clouds, above the sky so blue / I’ve never seen the moon so white / I’ve never seen the sun so bright / I’m floating in heaven / I’m so high”
You can listen to “Floating in Heaven” below.
This isn’t the first time May, who has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from London’s Imperial College, has fused his love of music and outer space. Queen’s classic 1975 album A Night at the Opera featured the song “39,” which told the fictional tale of a group of astronauts who return to Earth following a year in space, only to discover a century has passed. May also released the solo song “New Horizons” in 2019, with NASA launching the song into space on New Year’s Day.