Bell X1 - Rocky Took A Lover

He said, "I wanna shine in the eye of Orion
But I drove my soul through the Black Hole."
She said, "That's a wonderful way to wake me."

"You weren't so nice last night
You're such an asshole when you're drunk."
He said, "At least I'm okay in the mornings."

He said, "The three wise men came a long way
Following that pin hole in the sky
Yeah that one right there"

She said, "I don't believe in any old Jesus
If there was a God then why is my arse
The perfect height for kicking?"

He said, "I'll shine for you, I'll burn for you."
He said, "I'll shine for you that's what I'll do."

From Rocky Took a Lover, written by Brian Patrick Crosby, Dominic Michael Phillips, Dave Brian Geraghty and Paul Anthony Noonan

The first time I heard "Rocky Took a Lover" by Bell X1, it caught me off guard. I'm not sure what I expected, but what I got was a gorgeous proclamation of love from a pair of less than likely lovers...one a romantic, one a realist...who find a way to connect in spite of everything, set to the simple underpinning of acoustic guitar and piano. What can be a more glorious statement than "I'll burn for you"?

There is a full band version of this song, but I definitely prefer the spare, stripped-down piece. It seems more fitting to the subject at hand.

Named after the first jet plane to break the sound barrier, the Bell X1 (originally called the XS-1) was first tested by Bell Aircraft chief test pilot Jack Woolams in January 1946, who became the first person to fly the XS-1, but that was a "glide flight," or unpowered flight tests intended to confirm the craft's safety and airworthiness. He went on to complete nine more glide flights before his death in August 1946.

He was replaced by Chalmers "Slick" Goodlin, who became the primary Bell Aircraft test pilot for the rocket plane, renamed the X-1-1. He made 26 successful flights in both X-1s from September 1946 through June 1947.

But the man we remember as the one who piloted the next-iteration X-1-2 that became the first aircraft to break the sound barrier was West Virginia native Chuck Yeager, memorialized in both Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff," and then the movie of the same name based on that book, directed by Philip Kaufman (who also wrote the screenplay).

The band Bell X1 is a group from Dublin, Ireland, and I don't believe setting air speed records is among their long-term goals, but "Rocky" is definitely set among the stars. The band has been on the receiving end of numerous comparisons to The Talking Heads (the great Bell X1 song "The Great Defector" comes to mind right away), but it seems that every band and performer gets compared to someone else eventually. Influences are rarely something to be ashamed of, though...but if pressed I probably could name one or two apparent band influences that might be a bit hard to justify.

But music is here for us to enjoy and to appreciate, and Bell X1 has proven themselves with more than a half-dozen releases, numerous accolades and awards and a devoted fan base in their native Ireland.

Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars,
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars,
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl,
So near you are, summer stars,
So near, strumming, strumming,
So lazy and hum-strumming.
Carl Sandburg