U.F.O. stands for "Unidentified Flying Object". The majority of UFOs can be easily explained as weather balloons or flocks of birds, but each year there are many sightings of objects in the sky that cannot be explained. The legend of UFOs has developed it's own unique legion of followers who believe that these unidentified flying objects are spacecraft from distant planets.
Dr. J. Allen Hynek penned the scientifically accepted term for UFO:
"A UFO is the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behaviour of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible."
UFO sightings appear all through recorded history, Alexander the Great saw two airborne "silver shields" in 329 BC. In 1235 the Japanese army of Oritsume saw the "mysterious lights in the sky" and the British people reported many "mystery airships" from 1909 through 1913.
The modern day fascination with UFOs can be traced to American businessman Kenneth Arnold who claimed to see nine bright objects flying at "incredible speed" on June 24, 1947, near Mount Rainier, Washington. This led to the golden age of UFO stories, books and films like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet . Around this time the first UFO-related spiritual sect also appeared, The Aetherius Society. In the 1970's, the films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. opened wide the mind of Americans in regards to UFOs, as did popular television series' like Star Trek. In 2002, a Roper poll found that 56% of Americans thought UFOs were real craft and 48% believed that UFOs had visited the Earth.
Of course, musicians are among those who have been inspired by UFOs in popular culture, or may even be true believers. Below is a list of "Songs About UFOs" by a diverse group of artists.
Please add songs that were missed to the comments.
Songs About UFOs
1. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft - The Carpenters
2. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
3. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg
4. After The Gold Rush - Neil Young
5. Flying Saucers - Sundayrunners
6. U.F.O. Has Landed In The Ghetto - Ry Cooder
7. When You See Those Flying Saucers - Charles River Valley Boys
8. Zero Zero UFO - The Ramones
9. Spaceship Relationship - Dr. John
10. Waiting For The UFO's - Graham Parker & The Rumour
11. U.F.O. - Country Joe McDonald
13. The Flying Saucer Song - Harry Nilsson
14. Flying Saucer - The Wedding Present
15. Wild Signals - Contains Previously Unreleased Music - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
16. I Saw Elvis In A U.F.O. - Ray Stevens
17. Scottish Flying Saucers - Doug Brockie
18. UFO - Radium88
20. Looking For A U.F.O. - Adrian Belew
21. I Am Seeing UFOs - Dee Dee Ramone
22. In-Flight Music For UFOs - Spacerocket
23. UFO's Are Real (Exhibit B) - DJ Zero