The night sky has inspired art for millenia, from the imagery of constellations crowning the heavens, to the evocation of concepts such as infinity, enchantment and discovery.
Music naturally adopts these influences with its own interpretation. From tracks comparing a crush to the wondrous night sky, to pieces which look to the stars for guidance, our playlist of songs about the night sky picks only the best of modern pop, shedding light on the universes of emotion held within one human being.
Songs About The Night Sky
1. Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars
Coldplay’s 2014 single, A Sky Full Of Stars, devotes every line to breathtaking comparisons between a lover and the glistening night; “’Cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars, I’m gonna give you my heart ’cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars, ’cause you light up the path.”
This synth-based pop track is actually an uncredited collab with Avicii (which becomes totally obvious once you know), its heavily produced soundscape mirroring the wild technological aura of interstellar travel and ascending to undiscovered heights.
2. Faime – Night Sky
Faime’s acoustic indie-pop track, Night Sky, captures the breathtaking feeling of wanderlust that comes naturally with a youthful perspective.
Gowning her lovesong in a hazy sunset atmosphere, Faime centres her lyrics around fleeing into the night with your lover, each dreading the rising of the sun;
“I wish I could keep this moment forever, oh when it’s just you and me and the night sky… Underneath the moonlight, a couple hearts filled with drunken desire.”
3. Leonell Cassio ft. Julia Mihevc – Night Sky
Leonell Cassio & Julia Mihevc’s pop collab, Night Sky, is grounded in a soft dance ambience reflecting the wide-eyed wonder of the cosmos.
This sweet contemporary track is about pursuing a complicated crush, being entranced but scared by a boy filled by darkness and otherworldly beauty; “You’re the night sky I’m trying to see your stars, but I’ve always feared the dark … You’ll always be my night sky.”
Night Sky is woven with a quirky nebula-themed metaphor for seeing the good in another before finding common ground at last; “Now I violet, I can feel your silence, you always feel so far … I found violet in your eyes, you’ll always be my night sky.”
4. Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky
Miley Cyrus’ 2020 single, Midnight Sky, metaphorises the midnight sky for infinite positive potential and self-discovery, the stars painted as a night-time highway lit only by dots of lamplight; “The midnight sky is the road I’m taking, head high up in the clouds.”
This is a pop anthem for anyone revelling in new-found freedom, independence and achievement, resounding amongst those who’ve quit their job or relationship alike;
“It’s been a long night and the mirror’s telling me to go home, but it’s been a long time since I felt this good on my own, a lot of years went by with my hands tied up in your ropes, forever, and ever, no more … I was born to run I don’t belong to anyone, oh no, I don’t need to be loved by you.”
5. B.E.R. – The Night Begins To Shine
Despite being created for a children’s TV show, B.E.R’s The Night Begins To Shine holds up as a pop song on its own, equating the shining night for the ecstasy of blossoming love; “When I look at you, I see the story in your eyes, when we’re dancing the night begins to shine.
This track is immersed in such a realistic ‘80s sound that it could be easily mistaken for an authentic love song of the era, completely removed from the modern age and associated TV context.
6. Chelsea Cutler – The Stars
Chelsea Cutler’s folksy pop track, The Stars, crafts her subtle themes of celestial fortune-telling into a metaphor for knowing you’ve found the one; “If you ask why I’ve stayed and I’ll stay for all I know, it’s cause the stars said so.”
Cutler’s acoustic piece is as serene as the heavens, her lyrics woven with the many cosy blessings of a cute and youthful relationship; “I like the way that I look in your sweatshirt, and being told that I am enough, and I know if it’s right then it won’t hurt, I’m trying not to think so much.”
7. Rihanna – Diamonds
Rihanna’s 2012 #1 hit single, Diamonds, is anchored in a radiant theme of jewels and starlight, detailed with an iconic comparison of true love burning bright as the cosmos; “You’re a shooting star I see, a vision of ecstasy, when you hold me, I’m alive, we’re like diamonds in the sky.”
Diamonds is clustered with cosmic lyrics, weaving galactic themes seamlessly betwixt ambient imagery of ethereal intoxication; “Palms rise to the universe, as we moonshine and molly, feel the warmth, we’ll never die, we’re like diamonds in the sky.”
8. Don McLean – Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)
This vintage folk-style track by Don McLean captures the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh within its illustrative lyrics, drawing vibrant inspiration from the tragic beauty of his work and life.
McLean centres his lyrics in a recurring description of one of Van Gogh’s most recognisable works, Starry Night, whilst highlighting and honouring a number of Van Gogh’s artworks and struggles;
“Starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and grey, look out on a summer’s day, with eyes that know the darkness in my soul … When no hope was left in sight, on that starry, starry night, you took your life, as lovers often do, but I could’ve told you Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”
9. CHVRCHES – Night Sky
Chvrches’ atmospheric pop track, Night Sky, lets their narrator embody the divine power of the night, forming a metaphor for enchanting a crush’s heart.
Chvrches uniquely embellish their track with the theme of stars being nourishing and nurturing entities to those spellbound beneath their beams;
“I will carry you and give you life, I will cover you and show you the way, I’m the night sky, I’m the fire in your eyes, and I want you now and for all time.”