When Elton John’s “Rocket Man” came out in 1972, space exploration was a big thing and, in fact, the release of the song was close to the realization of the Apollo 16 mission.

While a lot has been said, written, and speculated about the meaning of the lyrics of this song, what actually inspired Bernie Taupin to write it was a short story by Ray Bradbury, “The Rocket Man”.

In the story in question, the topic of space travel is discussed, only this time through the eyes of a child whose father is an astronaut.

So, indeed, the most realistic approach to what Rocket Man lyrics mean is that it talks about a man leaving his family to travel in space – as he is an astronaut himself.

The original song is slow and melancholic, and, until a few years ago, nobody had thought it could be country or bluegrass material.

But bluegrass band Iron Horse thought differently and they recorded a cover of the song.

They even filmed a video to go with it, which they then uploaded on YouTube.

Bluegrass music is a genre that developed in the 40s and it has its roots in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish ballads, while it also has African-American blues and jazz influences.

Bluegrass features acoustic string instruments and it is known for its high-energy tones.

Iron Horse, the band that performs the rendition of Rocket Man in the video below, was formed in 2000 in Alabama.

There have been many changes to the original formation of the group, mingling with several other groups, but the latest formation of the band consists of four members; Tony Robertson, Vance Henry, Ricky Rogers, and Anthony Richardson.

In 2003 they recorded a tribute album to Metallica and, since then, they have recorded tribute albums to Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourn, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Guns & Roses, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hank Williams, Black Label Society and more.

Yeah…they’re pretty badass.

In the video below, the group is singing the famous song by Elton John and the result is awesome.

Unlike the original sound, the one in their cover involves more upbeat, high-energy sound with the stringed instruments giving the whole song a completely different meaning.

Of course, the band carefully handled the song so that, although they changed most of the elements, it was made sure that the most important thing, the message of the song, remained untouched.

Two completely different versions of the song, yet both beautiful!

This cover has gone viral on YouTube with almost 8 million views and about 80k likes.

The YouTube community has loved it so much that they didn’t fail to leave their comments below the video, expressing their amazement.

“Can we all please just take a second and consider how hard this banjo player just CRUSHED this song?!” someone wrote, while someone else commented: “Quite possibly the greatest cover of any song I’ve ever heard!!! This is absolutely superb”.

This lovely cover captured our hearts, too, and we are sure you will be impressed as well.

To hear this entirely unique rendition of the old favorite, watch the video below.

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Source: iDIMi, Wikipedia, Song Facts, Iron Horse Bluegrass