A Song About a Dog in Space: "Laika" By Matt Board

This is well worth a listen.

https://soundcloud.com/mattboardcomposer/laika-071121

So I've had this song going round and round in my head for a while and, when that happens, I like to work out why. And I think it's because the song is actually saying something quite profound.

As far as I can tell, this isn't from a musical but it is from a musical songwriter. And it shows. It's a story song but, more than that, it's a song with a great sense of drama.

Laika was the dog that the Russians launched into orbit back in the 1950s, before the first manned space flights, and as part of the technology race with the Americans.

The song starts by framing the story from the singer's perspective ("Sometimes I think...), so we know it's not merely a narrative. There's going to be something here to ponder.

"Sometimes I think

Of a dog on the cold streets of Moscow

Sleeping rough and

Getting by on the scraps of the garbage"

And with those lines, we're immediately on the dog's side. Then the scientists get hold of her:

"Hey, girl, would you like to see space?

And her fur was all curled

She was such a good girl"

That line, "she was such a good girl", which gets repeated later, not only accurately reflects the way that people talk to dogs, it also reminds us of Laika's cheerfully obedient nature. That's significant.

Then the language starts getting a bit colder, more technical:

"Kept her, trained her

Sent her round and round in a centrifuge

Put her in an ever-smaller succession of cabins..."

At this point, the music is still rippling chords and a gentle, lilting melody. So the contrasting language is stark. This is where the drama builds.

Dramatically-speaking, one of the ways to make something more interesting is to let the audience know something that the character doesn't. And this, I think, is what makes this song work so well. You see, increasingly, we realise that we know something that the dog doesn't. It's explicitly stated in the brief bridge section:

"They kissed her nose and closed the hatch

They knew she wasn't coming back"

Turns out those rippling chords and that gentle, lilting melody are far more than a nice bit of music. That's Laika that we're hearing, all playful innocence and charm as she gets strapped into a rocket and thrust above the earth, completely unaware of what's happening to her.

Now, this makes for a great bit of drama in song. But, if I were to get all philosophical and above my pay grade, I'd also say that this expresses a profound truth about the human condition. It's the truth that separates man from dog, even the smartest ones like Laika. It is, perhaps, the defining truth about being human: we know that we're going to die.

But, hey, who needs philosophy?

All you really need is a song about a dog in space.