The United States Space Force officially introduced its branch anthem on Tuesday. It prompted social media users to comment it sounds like a parody.
Each United States military branch has their own anthem: "The Army Goes Rolling Along" for the Army, "Anchors Aweigh" for the Navy, "The Marine's Hymn" for the Marine Corps and "Wild Blue Yonder" for the Air Force. While the Coast Guard is funded under the Department of Homeland Security and not the Department of Defense, the USCG also has an anthem, "Semper Paratus" or "Always Ready" in Latin.
The Space Force song—titled “Semper Supra" which is Latin for "Always Above"—was officially presented during the 2022 Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on Tuesday, September 20.
In an official statement, the Space Force said the song was created "to capture the esprit de corps of both current and future Guardians, and intends to bring together service members by giving them a sense of pride."
You can hear how the song was created and hear it in the video below.
In an official press release, the agency said two service members collaborated to compose the song, "a process that took years of research and revisions to make sure the song was ready for release."
The lyrics to the song are:
"We're the mighty watchful eye,
Guardians beyond the blue,
The invisible front line,
Warfighters brave and true."
"Boldly reaching into space,
There's no limit to our sky.
Standing guard both night and day,
We're the Space Force from on high."
Social media users were less than impressed however.
Most said the song sounded more like a parody than an official anthem.
\u201cWhat in the name of the #Illuminati did I just watch? #WednesdayThoughts #SpaceForce #Propaganda\u201d— Elle Latham (@Elle Latham) 1663779418
\u201cyou know you guys are just the Air Force but with a star trek logo right?\u201d— Joey D'Anna (@Joey D'Anna) 1663706806
\u201cNever again complain about the lyrics written to the Star Trek theme tune, okay? \ud83d\ude09\u201d— David Hutchison (@David Hutchison) 1663710235
\u201cI can't decide if this Jews in Space or Men in Tights but y'all gotta stop stealing things from pop culture \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Tammi Gaw (@Tammi Gaw) 1663710710
\u201cThis isn\u2019t Blue Swede\u2019s Hooked on a Feeling\u2026#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy #Guardians\u201d— Leif Ericson (@Leif Ericson) 1663716123
\u201cOh my god, this is a real thing. I repeat, this is not a parody, it is real!\n\n#SpaceForce\u201d— Monkey Island (@Monkey Island) 1663766012
\u201cI feel so sorry for all the Space Cadets who will have to learn this. Taking cringe where no one has gone before.\u201d— Chris Carnahan (@Chris Carnahan) 1663699023
\u201cCartoon music. \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— ConstantCarol (@ConstantCarol) 1663702120
\u201c1) If you designed a song to both start a dangerous arms race in space AND convince others you will lose it, this is it. "We're the mighty watchful eye... Warfighters brave and true/ boldly reaching into space." The only part that I believe from this songwriter is "from on high."\u201d— Joel Stein (@Joel Stein) 1663702526
The Space Force has been the target of mockery from the moment it was created by former Republican President Donald Trump as a new branch of the military in December 2019 which may account for some of the mockery of the anthem.
While it isn't appealing to modern musical tastes, it is very similar to the anthems of its fellow DoD service branches. The USMC anthem is the oldest, dating back to 1867, followed by the Navy's anthem in 1906 and the Army in 1917.
When the Air Force was created from the Army Air Corps after WWII, a song similar in cadence to the other military anthems from 1938 was chosen. The Space Force anthem appears to follow this same tradition.
Space Force is a new service branch Trump reorganized when he signed the United States Space Force Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. His critics viewed it as little more than a Trump branding project or an attempt to forcibly create a legacy.
Prior to Trump’s expensive reorganization, the majority of Space Force duties fell under other branches of the military with most under the Air Force, NASA and NOAA.
The logistics of creating the infrastructure for the new service branch—while not creating any new military functionality—was budgeted at over $15 billion by the Trump administration.
The agency was featured in numerous conspiracy theories disseminated by Trump's supporters and QAnon adherents, who suggested the agency can confirm Trump's lie the 2020 presidential was stolen and will ultimately work with Trump to overturn the results by handing down indictments to those believed to have participated in the unsubstantiated plot against Trump.
