laika by pigeon watch

lyrics

verse one

it's always been cold
it's always been scary
but you know the things you know
and that makes it fine

and i never questioned
in the way that you questioned
but what could i have possibly said
to change up your mind

if we take the song to go in chronological order, it's always been cold/it's always been scary is therefore then presumably referencing that Laika was a stray dog before she was taken in by the scientists, who were specifically looking for stray female dogs. for her, life was always cold and scary. the vague phrase of the things you know links to the fact that Laika didn't actually know what the scientists were using her for (since she was a Dog), and therefore can't articulate what they know. and that makes it fine suggests an element of spitefullness a similar idea is presented in the next stanza: and i never questioned/in the way that you questioned could be seen to be referencing that she didn't know what was happening, you know, she couldn't comprehend space exploration or the like. and by contrast, the scientists of course did question!

verse two

and there were tests
that i must have passed
you were doing something great
that was not meant to last

and no one quite said it
but i understood
it was only a matter of time
it was all for a matter of good

and there were tests/that i might have passed presumably refers to the scoentists

verse three

and i don't think
you were that bad
there were days when i saw the life
that i could have had

i could have been loved
spent days in the sun
to warm up my back
while i run

this is the verse that really Got Me when i was first listening to laika even without the full context of Laika, and instead applying the song to myself, it sure is a feeling! it' equally devastating for thinking about Laika though. in terms of there were days when i saw the life/that i could have had, it could be referring to a scientist that, near to the time before the launch, took Laika home to look after her. as is written in the smithsonian:

One of her keepers, Vladimir Yazdovsky, took 3-year-old Laika to his home shortly before the flight because "I wanted to do something nice for the dog," he later recalled.

the song presents a truly heartbreaking narrative, in that BECAUSE Laika saw what love looks like she knew what she wasn't getting, and then was blasted off to space with that knowledge but without the love that she deserved. also, if you want to go full literature mode, to warm up my back/while i run could be seen to be foreshadowing the cause of Laika's death and the heat associated with it.

verse four

but i'd gotten used
to the cold
and it started to get hotter
like i'd never been told

but what's there to do?
put me to use
the data will be worth it
you can use up that excuse

i'd gotten used/to the cold functions both as a reference back to Laika's early life, as well as the coldness of space (and i would assume inside the space craft) that Laika would be experiencing. and it started to get hotter is referring to the fact that the heat shield failed, leading the temperature in the capsule to rise to a lethal level- like i'd never been told is perhaps because of the unplanned nature of Laika's fate. the scientists knew that she would die on the mission, but not in this way. the next stanza (can i call it a stanza?in songs??) has a completely justified sense of bitterness to it; the rhetorical question of but what's there to do? presents Laika as being resigned to her fate, but the phrasing of you can use up that excuse comes across as more spitefull. the data will be worth it acknowledges the bittersweet truth of Laika's death, in that her involuntary sacrifice helped to pave the way for human exploration. even though animal rights movements weren't QUITE as prominent as they are today, there was still much outrage over Laika being put [] to use, and this was argued against by the soviet scientists involved by showing the improved data they got because of her.

bridge

and it gets hotter
and it gets hotter
and it gets hotter
it only gets hotter

this is where they really kick you in the stomach till you bleed on the ground, so to speak. in terms of the chronology of Laika's life within the song, this is where she tragically dies. the repetition of and it gets hotter emphasises the sheer panic at the loss of the heat shield; the complete lack of knowing what was happening.