What do you see when you cast a glance skyward? The answer may depend on whether you
- lean creative (e.g., poets, artists)
- need to make accurate predictions (e.g., meteorologists and astronomers)
- rely on the skies for your livelihood (e.g., pilots and farmers) and/or
- how preoccupied you are by your internal thoughts (e.g., lovers, daydreamers, and mourners).
Whereas one person may perceive big lumpy pillows of shapeshifting cotton dotting Earth’s azure blanket, the next could take a more scientific approach. Perhaps they see nothing more than water and ice droplets suspended in the atmosphere. Clouds and the sky have our long captured human attention.
“Get Off of My Cloud” is a song by the English band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for a single to follow the successful “Satisfaction”. Recorded in Hollywood, California, in early September 1965, the song was released in September in the United States and October in the United Kingdom. It topped the charts in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany and reached number two in several other countries.
“Both Sides, Now” is one of the best-known songs of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell’s album Clouds (which was named after a lyric from the song). It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Frank Sinatra and Mitchell herself who re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Both Sides, Now” at number 170 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
“Cloud Nine” is a 1968 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Motown label. It was the first of their singles to feature Dennis Edwards instead of David Ruffin in the lineup, was the first of producer Norman Whitfield’s psychedelic soul tracks, and won Motown its first Grammy Award. The song was written by Whitfield and former Motown artist Barrett Strong.
“Cloudbusting” is a song written, produced and performed by Kate Bush. It was the second single released from her number-one album Hounds of Love (1985). “Cloudbusting” peaked at No. 20 in the UK. Taking inspiration from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir A Book of Dreams, which Bush read and found deeply moving, the song is about the very close relationship between psychiatrist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and his young son, Peter, told from the point of view of the mature Peter. It describes the boy’s memories of his life with Reich on their family farm, called Orgonon, where the two spent time “cloudbusting”, a rain-making process which involved using a machine designed and built by Reich – a machine called a cloudbuster – to point at the sky. The lyrics further describes the elder Reich’s abrupt arrest and imprisonment, the pain of loss the young Peter felt, and his helplessness at being unable to protect his father. The music video was conceived by Terry Gilliam and Kate Bush as a short film. The video features Donald Sutherland playing the role of Wilhelm Reich, and Bush in the role of his young son, Peter.
“Little Fluffy Clouds” is a single released by the British ambient house group The Orb. It was originally released in November 1990 on the Big Life label and peaked at #87 in the UK. The Orb also included it on their 1991 double album. “Little Fluffy Clouds” was re-released several times with different b-sides, with its 1993 re-release reaching #10 in the UK. It ranked number 275 in NME‘s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Pitchfork Media ranked it at number 40 on their list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s
“Clouds” is a song by American singer-songwriter Zach Sobiech. It was his debut and only single released as a solo artist, released digitally in December 2012, and later included on his debut EP, Fix Me Up (released under his band name, A Firm Handshake). Proceeds from the sale of “Clouds” go to the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, which is a branch of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. In the United States, “Clouds” sold 25,000 units before Sobiech’s passing, and an additional 30,000 units on his death date. In total, he had sold 156,000 copies of “Clouds” upon his Hot 100 entry, and has since accumulated 20 million views on YouTube. The single charted in the US, the UK, Canada, France and Belgium.
“Cloud 9” is a song recorded by American rock band Beach Bunny. It was released in January 2020 as the third single from their debut studio album Honeymoon. The song went viral on TikTok in March 2021, which made it enter the charts in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A remix featuring Canadian duo Tegan and Sara was released in April 2021.
