Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia was a Greek mythological queen known for her vanity. Through boasting of her beauty, she was sent to the heavens as a constellation, the chief stars of which form the outline of a woman sitting in a chair and holding up both arms as if in supplication. During the making of The Blessed Unrest, Sara Bareilles was given a book about astronomy. She found herself fascinated reading about the different constellations, especially Cassiopeia, as well as the topic of supernovas, the incredibly bright bursts of light that stars give off when they explode. Inspired, she penned this song imagining Cassiopeia as a human, and falling in love with another star. "I started to think about how that might feel to personify, you know? The idea of being a star and so far away from everything around you," she told Radio.com "What if a star falls in love? The song is this idea that you give something up to come together." "When stars collide they explode," Bareilles continued. "So it's that sort of idea that you give something up to come together. But it's worth it in the end."

Singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom originally named a song after Cassiopeia on her independent label debut album The Milk-Eyed Mender, released on March 23, 2004. Bruce Springsteen also mentions the constellation in his Devils and Dust track, "Long Time Coming." ("Out 'neath the arms of Cassiopeia. Where the sword of Orion sweeps.")