Spirit in the Sky

Composed by Norman Greenbaum, at the end of the 60s, Spirit in the Sky got well-known all around the world by lyrics, tune and cultural impact as well. The writer of Spirit in the Sky was inspired after listening to a gospel song on TV, and he place the lyrics down in fifteen minutes. It speaks about the afterlife and the essence of Christ’s sacrifice. Despite Greenbaum’s Jewish origins, the Christian dimension of the song did not remain hidden even if the author claimed that he had no religious intention to pour in the song.

Greenbaum had the intention of reaching broader audiences when he referred to sin in Spirit in the Sky, particularly since the concept of evil doing is found in all cultures and religions, and it is far from being limited or regulated by Christianity only. In terms of sound print, the guitar is the dominant note in the rhythm of the song. It seems that the producers used a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz box so as to make the sound guitar preponderant.

The characteristics of Spirit in the Sky are incredible by the innovation in the sound: psychedelic rock music mixes with gospel distorted guitar playing, tambourines, drums and hand clapping. Though Spirit in the Sky became a hit, its beginnings were pretty hard as the record company showed was skeptical about its success because of the uncommon lyrics and original style. Spirit in the Sky saved the album it was part of, since it followed two other single releases that had very small public success. In a sort of way, the producing company felt compelled to try and save the boat, but even so they were far from anticipating the success of the song.

John Lennon rated Spirit in the Sky as a fantastic song, while the Rolling Stones gave it only a 333rd place in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Even so, the song hit in the charts in Australia, Canada, USA and United Kingdom, and it had an impact for the foundation stone of glam rock development and the application of electronics in modern music making. Due to its message and sound uniqueness, Spirit in the Sky applied to the necessities of film making too, being performed in more than twenty films.

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