Musical depictions of Superman

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There are many references to Superman in popular music:

Superman as the subject

Works containing references to Superman

  • "Jam On It" by Newcleus
  • "Superman" by Down By Law from their album All Scratched Up.
  • "Superman" by Lazlo Bane is the theme song for the television series Scrubs.
  • "Super, Superman" by Miguel Bosé.
  • "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" by Jim Croce contains the line, "you don't tug on Superman's cape," in the chorus.
  • References to Superman appear in the lyrics of more than one song by Die Ärzte, including "Paul" ("Seht euch den Paul mal beim Springen an! Er scheint zu fliegen, genau so wie Supermann" – "Just look at Paul while he jumps! He seems to fly, exactly like Superman") and "Ich bin reich" ("Ich bin Dracula und Casanova! Ich bin Supermann und Batman und Spinne und Hulk!" – "I'm Dracula and Casanova! I'm Superman and Batman and Spider[-Man] and Hulk!").
  • "Sunshine Superman" (1965) by Donovan boasts that "Superman and Green Lantern got nothing on me'.
  • "Superman's Big Sister" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads includes complaints about a superior woman, "You know she's Superman's big sister, her X-ray eyes see through my silly ways".
  • "Superman", a 2003 single by Eminem from his album The Eminem Show.
  • "So Long, Superman", by Firewater contains repeated references to Superman.
  • "Land of Confusion" by Genesis mentions Superman: "Ooh Superman, where are you now / when everything's going wrong somehow? / The men of steel, the men of power / are losing control by the hour." The song has also been covered several times, most notably by Disturbed.
  • "Contenders" by Heaven 17: "Superman, if you are listening / Help us out / You're on the team."
  • "Man In The Street" from the album Big World by Joe Jackson contains the line: "And if you put your faith in God above, or if you watch the skies for Superman, there's always times you can when you can see the answers."
  • "Starchild" by Jamiroquai, from the album Dynamite contains the lines, "Somewhere in the world tonight / There's a fire blazing light / Keeping warm the Superman / Sent to us to save the land."
  • "Clap Your Hand" by LL Cool J mentions Clark Kent and Superman.
  • Before adopting his school boy attire, AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young dressed up as a parody of Superman called Super-Ang.
  • La Compagnie Creole's song "Bal masque" mentions Superman as one of a number of historical and fictional characters as which guests at a masked ball might disguise themselves.
  • "I'll Be Superman (You Can Be Lois Lane)" by Kenny Meeks from the Tell My Angel album (2000)
  • "Superman" by Lazlo Bane on the Scrubs Original Television Soundtrack, 2007 is a song that rationalizes everyday problems with the refrain, 'I'm No Superman'
  • "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" by The Spin Doctors is a song written from the reference point of Jimmy Olsen, who is in competition with Superman for love of Lois Lane. The song appears on the 1991 album Pocket Full of Kryptonite. The song is frequently and incorrectly believed to be named "Pocket Full of Kryptonite" because the song repeats the phrase throughout the chorus.

Other references

  • Brian McKnight's song "Superhero" makes mention of Kryptonite, and refers to "Kal-El, son of Jor-El", among several other references
  • Don McLean sings of Superman and actor George Reeves in "Superman's Ghost".
  • Our Lady Peace has had two songs which refer to Superman, "Superman's Dead" and "Made of Steel", which mention the listener wanting a "hero" and that the speaker isn't "made of steel", alluding to Superman's nickname, the "Man of Steel".
  • Ozzy Osbourne mentions Superman in the song "No Easy Way Out". "Read the daily fiction / Superman is dead / Crushing coins of silver / And the tainting lead"
  • "Original Superman" by Christian band Pillar makes reference to how Jesus is superior to Superman ("Kryptonite can't slow him down. Nothing can at all.")
  • "Please Sir", a song on British rock/industrial band Pitchshifter's album "www.pitchshifter.com" contains the lines "Please sir tell me why theres no black Superman? / KKK kryptonite? / God only makes caucasian superheroes?".
  • The song "Broken Handed" by SR-71 contains the lines "I'm a Broken Handed Superman" and "You're a Krypto-Nightingale Snow White"
  • "Superman" is a 2005 song by the band Stereophonics. This song appears on the second soundtrack to the television program Smallville.
  • Barbra Streisand's 1976 album Streisand Superman, which features Streisand coyly posing on the cover in a t-shirt with the Superman logo on it.
  • Sugarhill Gang's old school classic "Rapper's Delight" features an encounter between Big Bank Hank and Lois Lane in which Hank disses Superman ("I said he's a fairy I do suppose/flyin' through the air in pantyhose/he may be very sexy or even cute/but he looks like a sucker in a blue and red suit").
  • "Aloha, Lois," a 1991 song by Kurt Swinghammer uses the Superman/Lois Lane relationship to address the situation of being attracted to someone who does not reciprocate.
  • Luther Vandross' 1983 R&B love ballad "Make Me a Believer" begins with the first verse: Superman can fly high way up in the clouds. 'Cause we believe he can.
  • Superman is mentioned in "No More Lonely Nights" by The Heads with Malin Anneteg.
  • Travis Tritt performed a song called "Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof", which compared being drunk to feeling like the Man of Steel. The song also mentioned that when he picks a fight, he tends to "find that my opponent's / holding kryptonite."
  • American pop-punk band Trusty sings from the point of view of a washed-up, powerless Superman in "Kal-El".
  • The Farin Urlaub song "Wo ist das Problem?" ("Where is the problem?") appeared on his 2001 single "Glücklich" ("Lucky"). Farin sings: "Du wärst gern Supermann, weil den jeder leiden kann" ("You'd like to be Superman because everyone likes him").
  • "Ako si Superman" (English translation: "I am Superman"), written by Rey Valera
  • Good Charlotte's song "Superman can't walk" is an homage to Christopher Reeve.
  • Velvet Revolver's 2004 album Contraband features a track titled "Superhuman" which opens with the lyrics: "I'm a superman / I wanna be your superman". Additionally, Stone Temple Pilots' 1994 album Purple features a track named "Silvergun Superman". Both songs were penned by Scott Weiland.
  • "Superman" by the band Bush mentions Superman in the title and in the lyrics.
  • XTC's "That's Really Super, Supergirl," from the 1986 album Skylarking, includes references to flying, X-ray eyes, Kryptonite, and the Fortress of Solitude (rhymed with "Don't mean to be rude").
  • XTC's alter ego band, The Dukes of Stratosphear, included a song called "Brainiac's Daughter" on their 1987 album Psonic Psunspot. The song includes a reference to the Daily Planet and songwriter Andy Partridge has said he thought Brainiac would "be a wonderful psychedelic subject to write about, and his potential daughter: I don't think he had one but if he had she would have been, well, colourful, mauve and purple.”
  • Xavier López "Chabelo", a popular children TV-showman from Mexico, has a song called "Adiós Superman" (Goodbye Superman). From the 1980s.
  • The Refrescos, a Spanish rock group, recorded a song, in 1989, called "Superman III"
  • Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois contains the song "The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", and contains numerous references to a "Man of Steel." The song is also named after Metropolis, Illinois, the self-proclaimed official home of Superman.
  • Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians included a song called "Superman" on their 1989 Album Queen Elvis. Lyrically, the song seems to have nothing to do with the man from Krypton.
  • Toy-Box, a Danish pop group formed in the 1990s, include on their debut album Fantastic a song named Super-Duper-Man, a not-so-serious take on Superman.
  • In Will Smith's album Lost & Found he says "I must have an S on my chest" in the song, "I Wish I Would've Made That/I Got That Swagger Back." This is apparently a reference to the S that Superman wears on his costume.
  • Kenny Rogers's 2006 album Water & Bridges includes "The Last Ten Years (Superman)", a melancholy reflection on the last decade with the repeated refrain "We even lost Superman". This line probably refers to the death of Superman film actor Christopher Reeve on October 10, 2004.
  • The Randy Rogers Band, a country group from San Marcos, Texas, had a song titled "Superman" on their independent album Live At Cheatham Street. The song includes the words, "I just want to be your Superman/save you everyday".
  • SJD from New Zealand wrote a song called "Superman you're crying" which was included on their album Southern Lights.
  • "Superman" is also a 2006 bilingual rap song by hip-hop artist Brown Boy, about the Man of Steel saving his lady from an abusive ex-boyfriend.
  • "Le Fils De Superman" (French for "The Son of Superman" or "Superman's Son") is a song performed by Céline Dion on her french language album Dion Chante Plamondon. The song is about Jean-Pierre, a young boy who idolizes Superman. For his birthday, Jean-Pierre's parents take him to visit New York, "La ville de Superman" (Superman's town) and buy him a Superman costume. Jean-Pierre wears it to bed as pajamas, and after his parents go to sleep, opens a window to the city and tries fly like Superman. The song's end reveals that he died and was buried on his 8th birthday.

Other songs, which seem to have a subtle Superman connection, may or may not be directly about the comic hero:

  • Laurie Anderson wrote "O Superman" in 1981.
  • Radiohead's 1995 album The Bends includes the song "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was." In another song on the album, singer Thom Yorke proclaims, "I used to fly," but unfortunately, for the purpose at hand, it is "like Peter Pan," not the hero under discussion.
  • "I Remember California" by R.E.M. was inspired in part by a scene from "Superman: The Movie" in which Lex Luthor fires a missile at the San Andreas Fault killing Lois Lane and causing the California coast to sink into the ocean.
  • "Hero" is the name of a song by Chad Kroeger. The opening line, "I'm so high, I can hear heaven" may refer to Superman's ability to fly. The remainder of the song, however, seems to speaks more generally about heroes. Since the song is played in the film, Spider-Man, many assume the lyrics pertain to that specific character. This song was written as the theme for Smallville, but was rejected by the producers in favor of "Save Me" by Remy Zero.
  • "Ordinary", by Greg Jones, includes a chorus in which the speaker sings "I'm much too strange for this ordinary world" after a verse saying "just focus on clouds, and blue sky", possibly a reference to Superman's ability to fly.
  • "Walk the Sky," by Fuel, refers in very general terms to Superman with lyrics including "My skin is my shield", "wings that are kryptonite", and "I'm thinking of trying to fly...I'll walk the sky."
  • Another Fuel song, "Falls on Me", seems to be spoken from the perspective of a hero who finds himself isolated, declaring "I might change your life / I might save my world / would you save me?"
  • "Walk Into The Sun" by Dirty Vegas also may have a tenuous Superman connection. The singer seems to sympathize with someone like the Man of Steel, saying "lately I've been feeling different / like I've come from outer space," and that they "walk into the sun" (possibly a connection to the source of Superman's power) as well as making a passing reference to "breaking chains," of which Superman being in the process of is one of the most iconic images of the hero.
  • The band Love has a song called "The Daily Planet" on their 1967 album Forever Changes. The phrase "Daily Planet" is never actually mentioned in the song, and none of the lyrics make reference to Superman.
  • Certain artists seem to have a great degree of adulation for Superman. 3 Doors Down is one of the most prominent (they have confessed their regard for the character on multiple occasions); besides the aforementioned "Kryptonite"
    • their song "When I'm Gone" may refer to him as well, seemingly referring to his feelings for Lois Lane.
    • Their song "Let Me Go" may be an expression of young Clark Kent's feelings towards Lana Lang; the line "You love me but you don't know who I am" might refer to her feelings for him not being based on knowing his superpowers or alien heritage, "I'm torn between the life I lead and where I stand" could refer to his being unable to decide between going into the world and using his powers for good and staying in Smallville with Lana, and "this world falls on me" may refer to his belief that he needs to use his powers to protect and save the world, foreshadowing his future. In addition, the line "when all the pieces fall apart you will be the only one who knows" could refer to his decision to tell Lana Lang his secret before leaving Smallville; other than his parents, she was one of the few people who knew about his powers.

The song "I'm da man" by Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Young Joc mentions Superman. In a line by Young Joc the rapper says "I'm da man, What's my name call me young Joc, call me Superman." Rapper Chamillionare also makes reference to the hero in the song "Rain". In it he says "You'd have to be Superman just to lift as much as me partner."

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