Outer Space

Joe Stroffolino Selection

One Way Ticket To Mars

Just a little ditty about potential travels to Mars...
Lyric Video :
https://youtu.be/0QXekcjejeY?si=sz3qXMLLrZqDAnn5

Hope On A Starship

A song about growing older and looking back and asking myself: Were the good old days really that great.

Rose Colored Glasses

A slightly twisted tail of a boy who wanted a pet dog but instead his dad bought him a cabbage plant￼.

Link to music video 
https://youtu.be/Tdib-_Y1qJo?si=oQjdQmqB_0Q6zTN-

The Cabbage Song

I suspect that the worst place on earth is better than the best place on Mars.

One Way Ticket to Mars

Copyright 2024 Joe Stroffolino

The universe is big, it makes you feel small.   
So many stars you can’t count them all

The signals came from outer space
Signs of an alien intelligence
We reacted with joy and mounted a mission
To investigate their presence

The messages were old and somewhat primitive
But surely by now they’d matured
We rejoiced that we were no longer alone
In the cold sterile universe

We packed our ships and traveled there
On a mission of friendship and peace
But all we found was the empty shell 
Of a world that lost its lease

A desert world no sign of life, craters scar the land
All evidence has been swept away by the cruel and shifting sand
I wonder what happened, they really screwed up
I’m glad I wasn’t there when their world blew up
I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, I’m sure it wasn’t fun.
I wonder if they even realized what they’d done

The air is cold, the sky is harsh, no trees to shade the sun
For those survived the initial blast, there was no place left to run

We realized that we were still alone in the cold sterile universe
Not enough love and too much hate, they ended up in a sorry state

A desert world no sign of life, craters scar the land
All evidence has been swept away by the cruel and shifting sand
I wonder what happened, they really screwed up
I’m glad I wasn’t there when their world blew up
I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, I’m sure it wasn’t fun.
I wonder if they even realized what they’d done

We traveled home, again alone, with news of their demise
And once again, there was no one left to see that old sunrise

The Signals Came From Outer Space

This song was written in 2007 and is another of my space videos with a ghostly twist. I wrote it as a kind of Halloween ghost in space thing. Charlie sang it very well and I tried to play a very melodic Bass on it, like Chris Squire from Yes. This is a favorite of my wife, she really loves it and I like it a lot as well. I made the video just before I left for vacation about 3 weeks ago. The video turned out really good and I threw in plenty of space eye-candy for everyone to enjoy. Watch the video for the full irony of it all! It's a twisted irony to be a ghost in the machine! This is my #2 video for Halloween 2024 and not very creepy at all. Basically it'a about an astronaut that misses the earth, his wife, his kids, and is stranded on another planet where he dies but his ghost is still floating around lost forever in space, kind of a revamped Space Oddity from David Bowie! Thanks for listening and have a Happy Halloween everybody!😱😱😱

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/ee7wRFbt844

“GHOST IN THE MACHINE”

SUN-SWEPT, LOST AMID THE CLOUDS,     
FLOATING, A FACE AMONG THE CROWD,     
YOUR SHORELINE BECKONS THROUGH THE MIST,     
I CAN HEAR IT CALLING ME,
          
DRIFTING, SHIFTING LIKE THE SANDS,     
TIME IS, SLIPPING THROUGH MY HANDS,     
DREAMS OF BATHING IN YOUR KISS,     
FOREVER HAUNTING ME,
              
A GHOST IN THE MACHINE,          
A GHOST IN THE MACHINE,          
A TWISTED IRONY,            
JUST A GHOST IN THE MACHINE, 
         
SILENCE, I MISS YOUR VOICE TODAY,     
LONELY, A MILLION MILES AWAY,     
COOL WATER SATISFIES MY THIRST,     
GREEN FIELDS WHISPERING TO ME,

DARKNESS, NO DAY TO CHASE THE NIGHT,     
HEAVEN, A DIM TWINKLING BLUE LIGHT,     
A CHILD WITHOUT GOOD MOTHER EARTH,     
A DISTANT MEMORY,

A GHOST IN THE MACHINE,          
A GHOST IN THE MACHINE,          
A TWISTED IRONY,            
JUST A GHOST IN THE MACHINE!    

BY JIM VALDES © 2007

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

"GHOST IN THE MACHINE" [Video - https://youtu.be/ee7wRFbt844]

There was a scientist, he invented a time machine
he was looking to go back to those days wen life was not nearly so complex
He got inside, he pushed the button but his calculations were wrong
He ended up in the Juriasic era and was eaten by a T-Rex

Sometimes things don't turn out quite the way you expected
Sometmes you just gotta jump before all the dots are connected

Sometimes the answer's right in front of your snout
Sometimes you just gotta let those bottled feelings come out
Sometimes the truth is there but you just don't want to see it
Sometimes you gotta open up your mind and make a decision to free it

There was a prince who had royal blood and he was destined to become king and he wasn't very interested in taking on that job
One day he just got on his horse and he rode away and he never came back
he assumed a new identity and became a working class slob

Sometimes things don't turn out quite the way you expected
Sometmes you just gotta jump before all the dots are connected

Sometimes the answer's right in front of your snout
Sometimes you just gotta let those bottled feelings come out
Sometimes the truth is there but you just don't want to see it
Sometimes you gotta open up your mind and make a decision to free it

Sometimes you gotta step out of the box and see which way the wind is blowing. Head in the opposite direction and convince yourself to get going
Sometimes you gotta march to a brand new beat. Sometimes you gotta make a U-turn and head down a different street

Sometimes the answer's right in front of your snout
Sometimes you just gotta let those bottled feelings come out
Sometimes the truth is there but you just don't want to see it
Sometimes you gotta open up your mind and make a decision to free it

Snout

Copyright 2025 Joe Stroffolino
Guitar strumming tracks and picking tracks Taylor 114ce: Joe Stroffolino
Vocals & Backup Vocals:  Joe Stroffolino
Drums:  EZ Drummer 3
Bass:  PG music Real track

Hey sugar, hope you’re doing alright. I’ve been thinking about you.
Hey sugar hope you’re doing okay. Wonder what you’ve been up to.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your face, and you had me under your spell.
We’ve both taken a quite a few trips around the sun. Hope time has treated you well.
As for me, I’m a little worse for wear, I’ve gained some weight and lost some hair
But I try to watch my diet and exercise and take care of myself. 
You’re just a memory, it would probably ruin my fantasy, if we were to meet up one day and try to rekindle that old chemistry.
Cause chemicals have an expiration date and it’s probably too late to put ourselves in
 a test tube and get that reaction going again.
Hey, sugar I’ve been thinking about you.  Do you ever think about me too.
Time passes and my memory fades and you become more beautiful
I feel like a boxer who’s past his prime and I’m looking for one last fight
Sometimes I wake up and I think about you in the dark and lonely night
Time keeps on passing and there’s not much you can do
It’s easy to look back and regret those options you didn’t pursue
You can spend your days waxing nostalgic, you can cling to your fantasy
Or you can jump in that water under the bridge and take a chance on reality
You’re just a memory, it would probably ruin my fantasy, if we were to meet up one day and try to rekindle that old chemistry.  
Cause chemicals have an expiration date and it’s probably too late to put ourselves in
 a test tube and get that reaction going again.
You’re just a memory, it would probably ruin my fantasy, but it sure would be nice to rekindle that chemistry.

Just a Memory

There are people who believe you should love your neighbor as yourself
There are people who believe you should share some of your wealth
There are people who believe that only the fittest should survive
And if you’re poor and you’re weak it’s up to you to stay alive
There are people who believe you should teach a man to fish
Instead of giving him all his food in an already cooked dish
There are people who have an empathy deficit
They see people suffering and they don’t care one bit
They wear religion on their sleeves but if you’re in the wrong denomination.  They look at you like you’re an abomination.
People who treat politics the same as a religion and if presented with a new set of facts they don’t even budge a little smidgeon
Billionaires who have enough money where they could end world hunger in one day
Do they see people starving and think it is okay. We’re stronger together than if we are apart
If we could see ourselves as passengers on the same boat that would be a good start
We all share this this tiny rock as it floats through outer space
This planet is the lifeboat for the entire human race
Billionaires who what to create a colony on Mars. Let’s fix things here on earth before we travel to the stars
The world used to be full of undiscovered places but now humans have put footprints everywhere.
The continents touch the same oceans, and we all breathe the same air We live on one planet that we have to share
We’re stronger together than if we are apart
If we could see ourselves as passengers on the same boat that would be a good start
We all share this this tiny rock as it floats through outer space
This planet is the lifeboat for the entire human race. Billionaires who what to create a colony on Mars.   Let’s fix things here on earth before we travel to the stars

Empathy

A Very Important Question ~~
Lyric Video :
https://youtu.be/oZEhkRr11po?si=yxviwZR-67UThEkU

CAN I BRING MY PIANO TO MARS

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.