"Semper Supra" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Always Above") is the official march of the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

, composed in 2022 by James Teachenor and Sean Nelson.

Etymology

"Semper Supra" is named after the U.S. Space Force's official

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

, ''Semper Supra''.Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, "Space Force reveals official song: "Semper Supra"," ''Space Force News'', September 20, 2022 Accessed 22 September 2022
/ref> After the creation of the U.S. Space Force on December 20, 2019,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Senior Airman Daniel Sanchez – who researched the mottos of other military branches and chose "''Semper Supra''" because of both its ease of pronunciation and the

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

of both the Latin phrase and its English translation "Always Above" — proposed the motto, and the U.S. Space Force officially adopted it on July 22, 2020.

History

Semper Supra US Air Force Band National Harbor 20 Sep 2022

Singer-songwriter James Teachenor, a former member of the

United States Air Force Band The United States Air Force Band is a U.S. military band consisting of 184 active-duty members of the United States Air Force. It is the Air Force's premier musical organization and is based at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.. Within t ...

at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

, wrote the lyrics and composed the melody for ''Semper Supra''.Kaufman, Ellie, "Space Force releases official song 'Semper Supra'," cnn.com, September 20, 2022 Accessed 22 September 2022
/ref> Upon the creation of the Space Force in December 2019, he began working with the

Chief of Space Operations The chief of space operations (CSO) is the service chief of the United States Space Force. The CSO is the principal military adviser to the secretary of the Air Force for Space Force operations and, as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a mi ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

John W. "Jay" Raymond, to start the process of writing the song. He explained, "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." Teachenor sent the melody and lyrics to various U.S.

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

s for them to suggest

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s and finishing touches, and the bands submitted 12 different arrangements for consideration. Teachenor then collaborated with

Chief Musician Musician (abbreviated as MU) is a United States Navy occupational rating. Musicians perform on one or more designated instruments to provide musical services on board ships and at Armed Forces bases to inspire patriotism, elevate esprit de corps, ...

Sean Nelson, a

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and staff arranger with the

United States Coast Guard Band The United States Coast Guard Band is the premier band representing the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. Established in 1925, the Coast Guard Band is stationed at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Co ...

. Nelson completed the song with

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

, adding more than 30 instrumental parts. "I became familiar with the other branches' songs, but I wanted this one to have its own modern spin to reflect what the Space Force is — modern, new, and very advanced," Nelson said. The U.S. Coast Guard Band recorded Nelson's arrangement of the song for review by the Space Force. After months of coordination between the Space Force and Coast Guard Band to further develop and revise the song and variations of it, the Space Force chose the final version of "Semper Supra." The song was unveiled in a public performance by members of the U.S. Air Force Band and a guest singer on September 20, 2022, during a speech Raymond gave at the 2022

Air & Space Forces Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...

Air, Space and Cyber Conference at

National Harbor National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront deve ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. In announcing the Space Force's adoption of the song as its service anthem, Raymond explained, "We wanted a song that spoke to our guardians he Space Force's term for its personnel that brought to life our motto, ''Semper Supra''. And it all comes together into something that I hope guardians around the world will be proud of." Raymond added, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a Space Force song that will be part of our culture and heritage for years to come. Our traditions are part of the fabric that weave us all together as we execute our missions side-by-side; I will be proud to sing 'Semper Supra' alongside my fellow guardians." In announcing the selection of the song, the

United States Department of the Air Force The United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on Sept ...

stated, "It was created to capture the ''

esprit de corps Morale, also known as esprit de corps (), is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value ...

'' of both current and future Guardians, and intends to bring together service members by giving them a sense of pride."

Lyrics

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.

Copyright

Teachenor and Nelson gifted "Semper Supra" and the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

to its music and lyrics to the U.S. Department of the Air Force, which is the exclusive owner of the copyright.

Critical reviews

Immediate media reaction to the song was mixed. On September 22, 2022, Stephen Thompson on ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

commented, "My immediate thought went to '' Team America: World Police''. (...) Or like something out of, like, a ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

'' cartoon." A ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' article on September 21, 2022, commented that while trying to "shoot for the stars," the musical number leaves something to be desired.

Notes

Citations

External links

Webpage for the Official Song of the United States Space Force (performances, lyrics, copyright and licensing information)Video: "U.S. Space Force reveals official song"
{{List of official United States national symbols 2022 songs American military marches United States Space Force American patriotic songs