Three years after becoming the newest branch of the US Armed Forces, the Space Force has an official song. Titled “Semper Supra” (or “Always Above,” if you’re not a fan of Latin), the tune made its debut Tuesday at the 2022 Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. Now, before I say any more about it, I think you better listen to the song for yourself.
If you ask me, it’s more upbeat than I expected, particularly for a song that’s supposed to embody a 21st century military branch. According to Chief of Space Operations John Raymond, the Space Force wanted a song that “spoke to our Guardians” and, no, he’s not talking about Destiny 2 players
The eight lines of lyrics you hear were the result of “years of research and revisions.” Former US Air Force Band and service member James Teacheror wrote “Semper Supra” with the help of General Raymond. “The song was a long work in progress because I wanted it to encompass all the capabilities that the Space Force offers and its vision,” Teacherenor said. Once the two had settled on the lyrics for the song, they enlisted Sean Nelson of the US Coast Guard Band to create an arrangement, with the USCG Band providing the instrumentation.
If you ask us, the end product sounds too similar to other Armed Forces tunes like “The army is rolling.” Personally, I think Space Force should have taken a progressive rock route and made the song sound like, you know, space.
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