There are more songs about Superman than almost any other topic I can think of, except maybe California, or driving/cars. Some are good, some are terrible, some you can’t help but love. But rather than rank them, I just present them in seriously no particular order except what came into my head as I brainstormed.
Spin Doctors – Jimmy Olsen’s Blues
“>httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrQCro68sRU
I love this song for its interesting and fresh take on this, that Jimmy is pining for Lois and so has a “pocket full of kryptonite” to keep Superman away. Also, a little funky, a little poppy. Spin Doctors!
3 Doors Down – Kryptonite
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPU8OAjjS4k
A song about obsession, maybe being a little overbearing and overprotective, but all wrapped up in a Superman metaphor.
Donovan – Sunshine Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge5Gv7kJGUw
A “classic” if you’re into mid-60’s pop. Me? Not so much. But it’s hard to ignore a song that is an actual, legitimate hit song instead of some obscure track, like…
Stone Temple Pilots – Silvergun Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKQknGhcCkY
I’ll admit it. I really like this song. No idea how it relates to Superman except for the name. Of course, this is on an album with an opening track called “Meatplow” that is supposedly about. . . nevermind. There might be kids reading this.
Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out for a Hero
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVtaVrUAPK0
Ok, technically not about Superman, but here’s why– not only does she proclaim, “I’m gonna need a superman to sweep me off my feet,” this song was also featured in the pilot episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Granted, it was during a fashion montage of Dean Cain trying on different superhero outfits and it was dreadful, but, it was a connection nonetheless.
Crash Test Dummies – Superman’s Song
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihUIPlLw2ZE
I already wrote about why I love this song, but to recapitulate, Superman never made any money/ saving the world from Solomon Grundy/ and sometimes I despair the world will never see another man like him.
Five for Fighting – It’s Not Easy
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRz4FY0ZcwI
This is either the best song about Superman or the absolute worst. I can’t decide. It trades Crash Test Dummies’ sweet subtlety for just telling you straight up that “It’s not easy” to be Superman. Well duh. But it was on the first season of Smallville, an obvious tie-in. Speaking of:
Remy Zero – Save Me
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYdCzs5uPrI
There are exactly 30 seconds of this song that are listenable, and it’s the part of the chorus that’s in the opening Smallville credits. The rest of the song is as uneven and a patchwork of styles as Superman II. I mean, you just don’t change tempo AND time signature between chorus and verse. Really guys. Remember when they showed up to play the Smallville High Prom in Season One? And Pete was all excited? “Yay! Remy Zero!!” And that was literally the last time anyone was excited about them as a band.
Lazlo Bane – I’m no Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1wtyW__5O8
A much superior tv theme song in my opinion (and one of my favorite shows, truth be told) and this one is actually a cohesive song that deserves to be heard all the way through. And my son loves it. As I was writing this, he told me, “Dad, that’s the I’m no Superman song!” Smart kid. Who has sat with his mom and dad through too many reruns of Scrubs.
Goldfinger – Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfwsxoo_FL8
Not a tv theme song , and a song I’d certainly loved before 1999’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater came out on Playstation, but how many hours I listened to this song while playing that game I have no idea. And I’m so confused, about what to do, sometimes I want to throw it all away. . . . Now I want to go listen to more Goldfinger. Here in your bedroom. . .
Frank Black – Man of Steel
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzc4jBqh90w
The former lead singer of The Pixies contributed this song to the X Files movie soundtrack. Not sure how much more it is related to Superman. I guess you could argue he’s singing about Fox Mulder. In either case, it’s about some guy who is lonely, carries a burden, and is a man of steel. Sounds like Supes to me.
Zoom – Lois Lane
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Skf0NYKTE
I had a roommate who loved Superman who really liked this song. Coincidentally, a few years later, he came out to everyone as gay. Really? We kind of knew already. Lois Lane by Zoom was a big clue. If you’re looking for a song to play about Superman in a Eurodisco some place, this is for you.
Eminem – Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kYkciD9VjU
Also uncensored NSFW version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPUSG9feE6k
Yeah. Not your typical Superman song. But Eminem claims he can leap tall ‘hoes in a single bound. Ok. Yeah, maybe this is the Superman under the influence of tar-infused kryptonite from Superman III. This is his jam, yo.
Our Lady Peace – Superman’s Dead
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CBBtorFg2I
Canadian post-grunge rockers Our Lady Peace bust out onto US airwaves with this ode to the (then) recent death of Superman. While you might’ve heard their earlier songs “Starseed” and “Naveed” if you were really into alternative rock in the 90’s, this was their first legitimate hit. Aside from only a few other songs on this list, this is one of the only ones guaranteed to make me turn my stereo and scream along. Doesn’t anybody ever know. . .
Flaming Lips – Waitin’ for a Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0AOG7ciuJo
Like your alternative music a little more. . .alternative? Then Flaming Lips is for you, and so is this song. Moody, soulful, thoughtful– everything you’d expect from Flaming Lips. Cuz it’s getting heavy. . .
Also, don’t watch this video if you get sick from seeing blood. Somehow, inexplicably, there’s a lot of it in this video.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters – Resignation Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSPtTIPAW10
Really the only song by these guys that I even slightly liked, but I was never really into jam bands. But another great song about Superman being tired of fighting for good and “Guess I’ll turn my back on this world.” Did alternative bands in the 90’s have any other take on Superman?
REM – Superman
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxQS6lfn0yU
A couple of important points about this song. It was not written by REM, but rather by Texas sunshine power pop band The Clique in 1969. And also, it is the only one of REM’s hits not sung by Michael Stipe. Instead, lead vocals are done by bassist Mike Mills. Wait, unless you count Shiny Happy People where Stipe shares lead vocals with both Mills and Kate Piersen of the B-52s. But we don’t count Shiny Happy People. Mike Mills was also a studio musician on Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, specifically adding piano tracks to Soma. It’s not that I’m full of Mike Mills trivia, that is literally all the trivia I know about him.
Anyway, it’s a great song about Superman.
“Superman Lover” – Johnny Guitar Watson
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cbvx12PC_0
Funky!! I have to admit, this was one of the only ones on this list that I didn’t know before but discovered because of the magic of googling “Songs about Superman.” And now I kind of like it. Was always a fan of a good blues song, though.
(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman – The Kinks
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ql_m-4jdZE
Speaking of bringing the funk… What a great guitar riff. Probably the best of any on this list. And such a strong backbeat, but you can really tell this song came from the late 70’s. You can hear a little of disco, Kiss, Styx, but most of all The Kinks on this song. Also, coming out right after the original Superman film, I wonder how much that inspired them to write this tune.
John Williams — Superman Theme
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vrfEoc8_g
In just 8 notes, Williams is able to define Superman. And immediately tell you that this is a Superman movie you’re watching. I know this isn’t a “song” per se, but I think it’s important, as always, to salute Williams for his work. And considering that the scoring work he did for one film (Superman the Movie) has served as either a template, a crib sheet, or just a place to borrow a few important motifs for the scores of the next 4 Superman films, it’s a stunning achievement. I’m excited to see Man of Steel and to hear what Hans Zimmer does, but ain’t nothing like a John Williams score.
And that’s that. Yes, I know I left a couple off, some of them intentionally, like Jim Croce’s You Don’t Mess Around Jim (because the song is about Jim, and just because the chorus says you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, it also says you don’t spit into the wind, or pull the mask off the Lone Ranger. It’s equally about them. Not Superman.) or the gawd-awful O Superman by avant garde artist Laurie Anderson, which seriously will give me a seizure if I listen to it for more than 30 seconds. That’s ok, I’ll leave her to the people who “get” her art, as obviously I do not. Also, no Taylor Swift. That girl gets enough press and mention without us. So that’s enough.
But this is not a fully exhaustive list– have a favorite I left off? Let us know in the comments section, and until next time, keep on watching the skies.