This is a list of songs whose lyrics and themes are about close encounters with extraterrestrial aliens.

1950s

*" The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & 2" by Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman *" My Flying Saucer" lyrics by Woodie Guthrie 1950; recorded later by Billy Bragg and Wilco† *" The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley *"Two Little Men In A Flying Saucer" by Ella Fitzgerald * "Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll" by Billy Lee Riley and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

1960s

Let There Be More Light "Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording The song is written by Roger Waters. I ...

" by Pink Floyd *"

Mr. Spaceman "Mr. Spaceman" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds and was the third track on their 1966 album, '' Fifth Dimension''. It was released as the third single from the album in September 1966, reaching number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...

" by The Byrds *"

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and features ...

" by Pink Floyd *"

Voices Green and Purple "Voices Green and Purple" is a song by the Bees, an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Covina, California who were active in the mid-1960s. It has been mentioned as an innovative example of early protopunk and has become highly prize ...

" by The Bees *"

It Came Out of the Sky "It Came Out of the Sky" is a song written by John Fogerty that was included on Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 album ''Willy and the Poor Boys''. It was also released as a single in some countries and has appeared on several of the group's c ...

" Creedence Clearwater Revival *" Have You Seen the Saucers" by Jefferson Airplane

1970s

*" After the Gold Rush" by Neil Young *"

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a power ballad by Canadian rock band Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album '' 3:47 EST''. The song opened night transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year f ...

" by Klaatu (cover by The Carpenters†) * "Childhood's End" by Pink Floyd *" Come Sail Away" by Styx† *"Here Come the Martian Martians" by

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...

*"Horsell Commons and the Heat Ray" by Jeff Wayne (''

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a studio double album by American-born British musician, composer, and record producer Jeff Wayne, released on 9 June 1978 by CBS Records. It is an album musical adapted from the sci ...

'') *" I've Seen the Saucers" by Elton John *"Longer Boats" by

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

*" Martian Boogie" by Brownsville Station *" Mothership Connection" by Parliament *"

Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...

" by David Bowie *" Starship Trooper" by Yes *"Arriving UFO" by Yes *" Waiting for the UFOs" by Graham Parker *" Silver Lights" Sammy Hagar *"UFO" by Johnny Rivers *" Children of the Sun" Billy Thorpe *" Starrider" by Foreigner *"Strange Ships" by Fox

1980s

Fire Of Unknown Origin ''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch. The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's A ...

" by Blue Öyster Cult *" Books about UFOs" by Hüsker Dü *"

Flying Saucers A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

" by Nina Hagen *"

Love Walks In "Love Walks In" is a song by American Rock band Van Halen released as the third single from the band's seventh studio album, '' 5150'' (1986). It was the first song the band wrote with vocalist Sammy Hagar. It peaked at number 4 on the US ''Billb ...

" by Van Halen *"

Loving the Alien "Loving the Alien" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was the opening track to his sixteenth studio album ''Tonight''. One of two tracks on the album written solely by Bowie, an edited version of the song was released as a singl ...

" by David Bowie * "No Doubt About It" by Hot Chocolate *"

Nobody Told Me "Nobody Told Me" is a song by John Lennon. The A-side and B-side, B-side features Yoko Ono's "O' Sanity"; both are on the ''Milk and Honey (album), Milk and Honey'' album. The promo video for the single was made up of clips of footage from Lenn ...

" by John Lennon * "Rapture" by Blondie *" Zero Zero UFO" by The Ramones *"

I Ran (So Far Away) "I Ran (So Far Away)", also released as "I Ran", is a song by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. It was released in 1982 as their third single and it was the second single from their self-titled debut album. It topped the chart in ...

" by A Flock of Seagulls *"

Caught in the Crossfire ''Caught in the Crossfire'' is 2010 American crime drama film directed by Brian A Miller. It stars Adam Rodríguez, 50 Cent, and Richard T. Jones. The film was released direct-to-DVD on July 20, 2010. Plot Two detectives caught in a crossfir ...

" by April Wine

1990s

*" The Alien Song (For Those Who Listen)" by Mila Jovovich *" El Aparato ("The Apparatus")" by Café Tacvba *" Alien (I Am)" by Hawkwind *" Aliens Exist" by Blink-182 *" Alien Visitors" by Man or Astro-man? *"Another Sunday" by

I Mother Earth I Mother Earth, or IME, is a Canadians, Canadian rock band. The band formed in 1990 and reached its peak in popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. After an eight-year hiatus, the band reunited in 2012. Between 1996 and 2016, I Mother Earth was among ...

*" Fell in Love with an Alien" by the Kelly Family * "Hangar 18" by Megadeth *" Hat Too Flat" by Walter Becker *" I Made Love to a Martian" by Mustard Plug *" Martian Dance Invasion" by Brainiac *" Motorway to Roswell" by Pixies *" Scent of a Mule" by Phish *"Shades of Grey" by Stuart Davis *"Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo *"

Subterranean Homesick Alien ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in Japan on 21 May 1997 and in the UK on 16 June 1997. Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequ ...

" by Radiohead† *" The Happening" by Pixies *"Who's There?" by

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depar ...

*" Spaceman" by Bif Naked

2000s to present

* "The Aliens Are Here" by The Hippos, 2000 *"And You Thought the Doctor's Probe Hurt" by

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

, 2002 *"Jaadoo, Jaadoo" by Rajesh Roshan (on '' Koi... Mil Gaya'' soundtrack), 2003 *"Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois" by

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

on ''

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

'', 2005 *"

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

" by Doctor Octagon, 2006 * "UFO"† by Sneaky Sound System, 2006 *"Rosetta Stoned", by

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

on '' 10,000 Days'', 2006 *"We're Not Alone" by Nas on ''

Untitled Nas album The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to eponymously as ''Nas'', or simply ''Untitled,'' was released on July 15, 2008 by The Jones Experience and Def Jam Recordings. Its original title ''Nigger'' was omitted ...

'', 2008 *"Spaceman" by The Killers, 2008 *"Venus Ambassador" by Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears, 2009 *"

E.T. ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...

" by Katy Perry, featuring Kanye West, 2010 *"Zopilotes" ("Black Vultures") by

Café Tacuba Café Tacvba (Pronounced ''kaˈfe taˈkuβa'') is a band from Ciudad Satélite, Mexico. The group gained popularity in the early 1990s. They were founded in 1989, before they had the current lineup of Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega (lead vocals, ...

on ''

El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco ''El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco'' is the seventh studio album released by Mexican band, Café Tacuba, on October 22, 2012. In this album, the band has once again collaborated with award-winning Argentine music producer Gustavo Santaolalla. The al ...

'', 2012 *"Ancient Aliens" by

Lemon Demon Lemon Demon is a musical project and band created by American comedian and musician Neil Cicierega in 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts. Most Lemon Demon music is performed solely by Cicierega, who is the project's sole official member, but a fu ...

on ''

Spirit Phone ''Spirit Phone'' is the seventh album by Lemon Demon, a musical project created by American musician Neil Cicierega. Released in 2016, the album was Lemon Demon's first full-length album in eight years. The album was released digitally through ...

'', 2016 *"Hey Aliens" by The Bouncing Souls on '' Simplicity'', 2016 *" Spaceship" by Kesha, 2017 *"Herd Culling" by Porcupine Tree on '' CLOSURE/CONTINUATION'', 2022 *"Silver Circles" by

Upchurch Upchurch is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. It is situated just off the A2 road, between Rainham and Sittingbourne. History Upchurch lay on a pre-Roman trackway; the many linking roads are the result of Ro ...

, 2023 *"End of the World" by Tom MacDonald, 2023

Notes

† Bumper music on '' StarTalk'' UFO episodeExtended Classic: UFO Remix
StarTalk Season 8, episode 4, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s to present

Notes

References

Further reading