Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” is thought-provoking, visually fascinating, and absolutely worth watching—but it’s far more than just a great cover of a classic song. It’s an inherently human video because it demonstrates the fundamental truth that we are a species of storytellers—and that we remain so whether or not we’re on Earth.

Music is both one of the oldest human traditions and also one of the oldest astronaut traditions. We’ve been taking songs into orbit with us since the 1960s, first transmitted from the ground and then later via tape, CD, and electronic formats. What we sing in space is similar to what we sing on the ground—music fills in the gaps of a day, helps boredom, focuses the mind, diffuses anger, and does a million other things to soothe the homesick spacefarer.

Ground control to Lionel Hutz

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hadfield’s cover ran into legal trouble almost immediately after its release because copyright doesn’t particularly care how popular or viral a song is. In spite of having explicit permission from David Bowie and his attorneys, Hadfield’s “Space Oddity” was pulled from YouTube after the initial agreement allowing its use online expired, leaving would-be viewers unable to watch it until a new one was inked.