Radio Silence

Radio Silence
Written by Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich, Lawrence Gowan
Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw

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Clear blue skies above
And all I feel is love
In this dream

Sand, water
The earth beneath my feet
I feel complete

I wake to darkness
Remembering the fear
I'm really here
So far away

Lost, helpless
Were words I'd never say
Until this day
Yeah, yeah

All I get is

Radio silence (so lonely)
No communication
Radio silence
Anybody, can you hear me?

I need a little mercy
It's gonna take a little faith to see
The Mission
It all comes down to me

Full engines on
Separated from the mother ship
Retro rockets fired
This is real

Hypergolic fumes
Hyperbolic tunes
It's a symphony of fear
But I'm still here
Yeah, yeah

All I get is

Radio silence (so lonely)
No communication
Radio silence
Anybody, can you hear me?

I need a little mercy
It's gonna take a little faith to see
The Mission
It all comes down to me

And only me

S.O.S.
It's anyone's guess
Can we make it?
Tied to the beast
I'm just a small piece
Out here naked

It's a sacred ship
But step by step
I'm gonna save it
Heaven knows I need my crew
But how the hell do I get through to you?

Radio silence (so lonely)
No communication
Radio silence
Anybody, can you hear me?

I need a little mercy
It's gonna take a little faith, I see
The Mission
It all comes down to me

And only me

Interpretation

The ship has made it to orbit around Mars. Tomorrow is the landing. Locomotive finally drifts off to sleep...

Clear blue skies above
And all I feel is love
In this dream
Sand, water
The earth beneath my feet
I feel complete

The captain wakes. 

I wake to darkness
Remembering the fear
I'm really here
So far away
Lost, helpless
Were words I'd never say
Until this day
Yeah, yeah

His dreams of peace, tranquility and safety are quickly replaced by the realization of the situation he's in.

With the ship in orbit, Locomotive boards Khedive's lander for descent to the surface. The first officer and engineer stay behind in orbit.

Full engines on
Separated from the mother ship
Retro rockets fired
This is real

The lander separates and prepares for the descent.

Hypergolic fumes
Hyperbolic tunes
It's a symphony of fear
But I'm still here
Yeah, yeah

Hypergolic fumes are generated by the mixture of fuel and oxidizing chemicals, which ignite upon contact.  This is necessary since the ignition needs to happen despite lack of sufficient oxygen. It's a interesting wordplay against "hyperbolic tunes" which could have the double meaning of the music we are listening to and the sound generated by the rockets burning and the spacecraft whirring through the thin Martian atmosphere.

All I get is
Radio silence (so lonely)
No communication
Radio silence
Anybody, can you hear me?
I need a little mercy
It's gonna take a little faith to see
The Mission
It all comes down to me

As the lander is descending to the Martian surface, there is radio interference caused by heat generated in the Martian atmosphere, and the orbit of the spacecraft around the planet puts the lander out of touch with the crew on the mother ship for a period of time as well. 

S.O.S.
It's anyone's guess
Can we make it?
Tied to the beast
I'm just a small piece
Out here naked

More alone than ever on this trip, with his crew back on the mother ship and temporarily out of contact, the captain feels the pressure on him to make this work and starts to panic. If anything goes wrong with the lander, it's up to him to make corrections to the approach. Even the lander is a massive beast compared to him, yet he must remain in control.

It's a sacred ship
But step by step
I'm gonna save it
Heaven knows I need my crew
But how the hell do I get through to you?

The ship is sacred because the world is placing their hopes in this mission.  The captain steels his resolve and focuses on what's next.  He is on his own and can't communicate even with the crew in orbit.