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David Bowie - Let's Dance

David Bowie - Let's Dance Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Let's Dance
Released: 1983

Let's Dance Lyrics

Hey baby, won't you take a chance?
If you want to, you can have a dance
Let's Dance, let's dance
Do the twist and shout, mashed potato too
Any old dance that you want to do
Let's dance, let's dance

Hey baby, now you're all alone
Hey baby, let me walk you home
Let's dance, let's dance
Do the twist and shout, mashed potato too
Any old dance that you want to do
Let's dance, let's dance

Let's dance
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let's dance
Dance to the song they're playing on the radio
Let's sway
While color lights up your face
Let's sway
Sway through the crowd to an empty space

If you say run, I'll run with you
If you say hide, we'll hide
Watch my love for you
It would break my heart in two
If you should fall into my arms
And tremble like a flower

Let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance, let's dance
Let's dance, let's dance

Writer/s: DAVID BOWIE
Publisher: Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Let's Dance

This song is about (rather unsurprisingly) dancing with a lover. It is the title track to Let's Dance, which was produced by Nile Rodgers, who was responsible for the album's funky sound. Rodgers founded the disco band, Chic, and produced hits for Diana Ross, including "Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out." He also produced Madonna's 1985 album Like a Virgin.

Stevie Ray Vaughan played lead guitar on this song. Bowie was impressed when he saw Vaughan perform at the Montreaux Jazz festival a year earlier. When Vaughan received the call from Bowie to play on the record, he was (although not literally) in the middle of recording his own album, Texas Flood.

This was Bowie's only transatlantic #1, a very upbeat song with mass appeal. He described it as "positive, emotional and uplifting." Said Bowie: "I tried to produce something that was warmer and more humanistic than anything I've done for a long time. Less emphasis on the nihilistic kind of statement."

The official video was directed by David Mallet. It was filmed in Australia and features an Aboriginal couple who are struggling against Western cultural imperialism. The video was described by Bowie as a "very simple, very direct" statement against racism.

According to Mallet, they shot the bar scenes in the morning, which didn't go over well with the locals, who didn't appreciate Bowie and fashionable crew. Some of the patrons also resented the Aborigines who starred in the clip, and mocked them with their own dance moves. Mallet shot this on film and edited it into the video - the white people dancing in the bar were actually making fun of the couple.

Red Shoes are a theme in the video and appear in the lyrics, "Put on your red shoes and dance the blues." This is a reference to the 1948 movie The Red Shoes, where a dancer performs in a ballet of that name. The idea is that the red shoes make you dance - it's based on a Hans Christian Andersen story of the same title. Kate Bush recorded a song about the same subject.

The tour to support this album was called the "Serious Moonlight Tour," named after a line in this song: "Under the moonlight, the serious moonlight."

Originally slated just for Europe, the tour was so successful that it was expanded to North America, Asia and Australia, often in large stadiums.

Smashing Pumpkins covered this song in 1998 along with Joy Division's "Transmission" during a 25 minute live jam.

Nile Rodgers said of this song in the 2013 film Davie Bowie: 5 Years in the Making of an Icon: "'Let's Dance' is not what I'd call a traditional dance record, but it's certainly a record that does make you want to dance. I thought to myself, 'Man, if I don't make a record that makes people want to dance, and we call the song Let's Dance, I'm going to have to trade in my black union card.'"

Gnarls Barkley are digitally inserted into this video during their own video for "Smiley Faces."

Nile Rodgers recalled to The Guardian May 18, 2012: "When Bowie and I got together to do Let's Dance, we spent two weeks researching music and styles and Bowie suddenly said: 'I got it!' He held up a Little Richard album cover where he's wearing a red suit, getting into a red Cadillac, with a pompadour haircut, and said: 'That's rock'n'roll.' After doing all that research with him, I got it too. I knew instantly what he wanted. We switched the suit for a yellow one when we released our record."

Speaking with the Daily Telegraph July 30, 2013, Nile Rodgers recalled Bowie unveiling this song to him. "He says, 'Nile, darling, I think this is a hit,' and he proceeds to play what sounds like a folk song to me, with a twelve-string guitar," recalled the producer. Unable to tell Bowie that what he was playing was not dance music, Rodgers wrote an entire arrangement, taking it in "a funky direction." Said Rodgers: "I was like the Terminator, I was unstoppable, I just wanted to make hits with David."

Bowie's brief cameo in the Ben Stiller film, Zoolander, is accompanied by this song.

Craig David's 2007 UK Top 10 hit "Hot Stuff" extensively samples this song.

Peter Lawless was the location finder for the music video. He was also the location finder/manager for the Matrix films, which were also filmed in Australia.

David Bowie - Like a Rocket Man

David Bowie - Like a Rocket Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Next Day Extra
Released: 2013

Like a Rocket Man Lyrics

Little wendy cocaine stumbles up the hill to pain
Nothing stops the go-to girl, nothing takes the place of taking aim
Little wendy's out there shaking hips and cuckoo eyes
Crazy drives that dizzy crowd
Moonlight strokes the highlights in her hair
She sells and moves and finds my hand
And pulls me down and close so I can hardly stand
As I lay like dead for her, I'm fed into my head I'm led, oh, I am sam
I'm crawling from the window, crawling down the wall
I'm happy screaming, yes, I am
I'm jumping on her daisy chain
I'm speeding through the dancehall Like a Rocket Man
Now I wish today that yesterday was just tomorrow and
I could squeeze her grabby hand
Knowing that I never paid her for a gram
She's a drunken doxy off her trolly
Sent before her time into this poxy world
She's not fit for anything but dealing it
While heaven sings, I have this girl
She's got me eating rice and beans
I have no shape nor color, I'm god's lonely man
I don't want to die but I don't want to live
I'm speeding like a rocket man

Like a rocket man
Like a rocket man
Like a rocket ma

Writer/s: David Bowie
Publisher: RZO MUSIC, INC.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Like a Rocket Man

This song finds Bowie being as direct as he has ever been with his drug references: "I'm speeding through the dancehall like a Rocket Man." Producer Tony Visconti commented to NME that the song "has a deceptively bouncy beat, but lyrically it goes to more dark places – and this time David sings it with a cheeky smile."

David Bowie - God Bless the Girl

David Bowie - God Bless the Girl Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Next Day Extra
Released: 2013

God Bless the Girl Lyrics

Jacqui loves her work, and her work is love
For there is no other
She says "god has given me a job"
Jacqui loves her work
There is no other
Jacqui's aiming for the stars but landed on the clouds
There is no other
Sitting in her corner too afraid to run away
Like a slave without chains

The wonder turns to danger, spring turns to winter
God Bless the Girl
But I will treasure, treasure every single moment
God bless the girl
Fire turns to water, light becomes darkness
God bless the girl
And I don't wanna hurt you, just wanna have some fun
God bless the girl
God bless the girl
Yeah, I don't wanna hurt you, just wanna have some fun
God bless the girl

You don't need another friend, you just need a reason
There is no other
Jacqui loves her work, and her work is love
For there is no other

The wonder turns to danger, spring turns to winter
God bless the girl
But I will always treasure, treasure every single moment
God bless the girl
Fire turns to water and light becomes darkness
God bless the girl
I don't wanna hurt you, just wanna have some fun
God bless the girl
God bless the girl
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
I don't wanna hurt you, just wanna have some fun
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
The years pass so swiftly
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
Years pass so swiftly
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)
God bless the girl (God bless the girl)

Writer/s: David Bowie
Publisher: RZO MUSIC, INC.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

God Bless the Girl

This energized track had the working title "Gospel" for a long time until it was finished towards the end of recording.

At one point this was included on The Next Day and moved up and down the tracklisting, then it was off the album, then back on. Ultimately it was designated to be a bonus track for the Japanese album release, as well as featuring on the expanded three-disc collector's edition of the LP, The Next Day Extra.

David Bowie - So She

David Bowie - So She Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Next Day Extra
Released: 2013

So She Lyrics

So She

This is the closing bonus track on The Next Day Extra, an expanded three-disc collector's edition of Bowie's first studio album in 10 years, The Next Day. Producer Tony Visconti commented to NME: "I am far from the best interpreter of Bowie lyrics, but I'll stick my neck out one more time. 'So She' is a wistfully sung love song. It kind of makes me feel romantically sad. Harmonically it is quite sophisticated for such a short piece."

David Bowie - We Are The Dead

David Bowie - We Are The Dead Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Diamond Dogs
Released: 1974

We Are The Dead Lyrics

Something kind of hit me today
I looked at you and wondered if you saw things my way
People will hold us to blame
It hit me today, it hit me today

We're taking it hard all the time
Why don't we pass it by?
Just reply, you've changed your mind
We're fighting with the eyes of the blind
Taking it hard, taking it hard

Yet now
We feel that we are paper, choking on you nightly
They tell me "Son, we want you, be elusive, but don't walk far"
For we're breaking in the new boys, deceive your next of kin
For you're dancing where the dogs decay, defecating ecstasy
You're just an ally of the leecher
Locator for the virgin King, but I love you in your fuck-me pumps
And your nimble dress that trails
Oh, dress yourself, my urchin one, for I hear them on the rails
Because of all we've seen, because of all we've said
We Are The Dead

One thing kind of touched me today
I looked at you and counted all the times we had laid
Pressing our love through the night
Knowing it's right, knowing it's right

Now I'm hoping some one will care
Living on the breath of a hope to be shared
Trusting on the sons of our love
That someone will care, someone will care

But now
We're today's scrambled creatures, locked in tomorrow's double feature
Heaven's on the pillow, its silence competes with hell
It's a twenty-four hour service, guaranteed to make you tell
And the streets are full of press men
Bent on getting hung and buried
And the legendary curtains are drawn 'round Baby Bankrupt
Who sucks you while you're sleeping
It's the theater of financiers
Count them, fifty 'round a table
White and dressed to kill

Oh caress yourself, my juicy
For my hands have all but withered
Oh dress yourself my urchin one, for I hear them on the stairs
Because of all we've seen, because of all we've said
We are the dead
We are the dead
We are the dead

Writer/s: DAVID BOWIE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

We Are The Dead

This is based on a line from George Orwell's novel 1984 - "We are the dead" are the last words Winston Smith says to Julia before they are caught by the Thought Police. Bowie wrote the song for a musical adaptation of the book but failed to get authorization from the Orwell estate.

Marilyn Manson put this #1 on his list of "The Songs That Made Me" for a feature in Rolling Stone, explaining that it was a huge influence on his Antichrist Superstar album. "It felt like it was about the culture of Hollywood, the disgusting cannibalism," he said.

David Bowie - Changes

David Bowie - Changes Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Hunky Dory
Released: 1971

Changes Lyrics

Oh, yeah
Mmm
Still don't know what I was waitin' for
And my time was runnin' wild
A million dead end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse of
How the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Mmm, yeah I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Where's your shame?
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time
Strange fascination, fascinatin'
Ah, changes are takin'
The pace I'm goin' through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n' rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Changes

This is a reflective song about defying your critics and stepping out on your own. It also touches on Bowie's penchant for artistic reinvention.

Bowie wrote this when he was going through a lot of personal change. Bowie's wife, Angela, was pregnant with the couple's first child, Duncan. Bowie got along very well with his father and was very excited to have a child of his own. This optimism shines through in "Changes."

According to Bowie, this started out as a parody of a nightclub song - "kind of throwaway" - but people kept chanting for it at concerts and thus it became one of his most popular and enduring songs. Bowie had no idea it was going to become so successful, but the song connected with his young audience who could relate to lyrics like "These children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations, they're quite aware of what they're going through."

Bowie had just started using a keyboard to write songs, which opened up new possibilities for him in terms of melody and structure. This fresh approach resulted in "Changes."

Bowie played the sax on this track, and his guitarist, Mick Ronson, arranged the strings. Rick Wakeman, who would later became a member of the prog rock band, Yes, played the piano parts at the beginning and end. Bowie gave Wakeman a lot of freedom, telling him to play the song like it was a piano piece. The piano Wakeman played was the famous 100-year old Bechstein at Trident Studios in London, where the album was recorded; the same piano used by Elton John, The Beatles and Genesis.

Bowie's stuttered vocals in this song ("Ch-Ch-Changes") are some of the most famous stutters in rock. It came well after "My G-G-Generation" but predated "B-B-B-Bennie And The Jets.

David Bowie - Golden Years

David Bowie - Golden Years Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Station To Station
Released: 1975

Golden Years Lyrics

Golden Years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, life's begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
Come get up my baby

There's my baby, lost that's all
Once I'm begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings, angel
Come get up my baby
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
Come get up my baby

I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years, gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Some of these days, and it won't be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Don't cry my sweet, don't break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe oh Lord
I believe all the way
Come get up my baby

Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

There's my baby, lost that's all
Once I'm begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby

Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years, gold

Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Golden Years

Bowie's ex-wife Angela claims this was written for her. Bowie does appear to be addressing someone specific in this song, encouraging them to revel in their "golden years": "Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel, come get up my baby, look at that sky, life's begun, nights are warm and the days are young."

Bowie wrote this with the intention of giving it to Elvis Presley, but he reportedly refused the song. Elvis died two years later.

Bowie performed this when he appeared on the TV show, Soul Train, in 1975. He was one of the first white singers to appear on the show. Bowie reportedly got drunk beforehand to try and calm his nerves and the footage does appear to show him stumbling over his lyrics.

Producer, Harry Maslin, said he achieved the "round" quality of the backing voices by using an old RCA microphone.

Station to Station saw Bowie adopt The Thin White Duke persona. Dressed in a white shirt, black trousers and waistcoat, The Thin White Duke was described by Bowie as "a nasty character indeed." Throughout this period, Bowie was consuming a large amount of cocaine, which added to the alienated feel of the character.

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Man Who Sold The World
Released: 1970

The Man Who Sold The World Lyrics

We passed upon the stair,
We spoke of was and when,
Although I wasn't there,
He said I was his friend,
Which came as some surprise.
I spoke into his eyes,
"I thought you died alone
A long long time ago."

"Oh no, not me,
I never lost control
You're face to face
With The Man Who Sold The World."

I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home,
I searched for form and land,
For years and years I roamed.
I gazed a gazley stare
At all the millions here:
"We must have died alone,
A long long time ago."

"Who knows? Not me,
We never lost control.
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world."

"Who knows? Not me,
We never lost control.
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world.

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Man Who Sold The World

This song is about a man who no longer recognizes himself and feels awful about it. For years, Bowie struggled with his identity and expressed himself through his songs, often creating characters to perform them. On the album cover, Bowie is wearing a dress.

Some of the lyrics are based on a poem by Hugh Mearns called The Psychoed:

As I was going up the stair
I met a man who was not there
He wasn't there again today
I wish that man would go away

Some lyrical analysis: "We passed upon the stair" is a figurative representation of a crossroads in Bowie's life, where Ziggy Stardust catches a glimpse of his former self, (being David Bowie) which he thought had died a long time ago. Then he (the old David Bowie) says: "Oh no, not me. I never lost control." This indicates that Bowie never really lost sight of who he was, but he Sold The World (made them believe) that he had become Ziggy, and he thought it was funny (I laughed and shook his hand). He goes on to state, "For years and years I roamed," which could refer to touring. "Gaze a gazely stare at all the millions here" are the fans at concerts. (thanks, Peter - Montreal, Canada)

The album is one of Bowie's least known, but over the years many fans have come to appreciate it and a lot of bands have covered songs from it.

Critics weren't always sure what to make of it either, but John Mendelssohn had a good handle on it when he wrote of the album in Rolling Stone magazine, 1971: "Bowie's music offers an experience that is as intriguing as it is chilling, but only to the listener sufficiently together to withstand the schizophrenia."

British singer Lulu ("To Sir With Love") recorded this in 1974. Bowie produced her version and played saxophone on the track. It went to #4 in the UK. Lulu recalled to Uncut magazine June 2008 about her recording of this: "I first met Bowie on tour in the early '70s when he invited me to his concert. And back at the hotel, he said to me, in very heated language, 'I want to make an MF of a record with you. You're a great singer.' I didn't think it would happen, but he followed up two days later. He was uber cool at the time and I just wanted to be led by him. I didn't think 'The Man Who Sold The World' was the greatest song for my voice, but it was such a strong song in itself. In the studio, Bowie kept telling me to smoke more cigarettes, to give my voice a certain quality. We were like the odd couple. Were we ever an item? I'd rather not answer that one, thanks!
For the video, people thought he came up with the androgynous look, but that was all mine. It was very Berlin cabaret. We did other songs, too, like 'Watch That Man,' 'Can You Hear Me?' and 'Dodo.' 'The Man Who Sold The World' saved me from a certain niche in my career. If we'd have carried on, it would have been very interesting."

Nirvana recorded this for their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance. It was Chad Channing , who was Nirvana's drummer from 1988-1990, who introduced Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic to Bowie's music. Chad told us: "We were in Boston and stopped by this record store, and I found this copy of The Man Who Sold The World. It was a cool copy - it had the poster in it and everything. And those guys weren't familiar with the record. And I inquired about, 'What David Bowie do you like? Do you like David Bowie?' And they're like, 'Well, the only David Bowie we're familiar with is 'Let's Dance.' I was surprised. I was like, 'Really? Wow.' I was like, 'You've got to hear some early David Bowie, for sure.'

So when I got the opportunity, I made a tape of the record at somebody's house, and then while we were touring around I just went ahead and popped the tape in and let it roll. After a bit, Kurt turned around and said to me, 'Who is this?' kind of like knowingly, just something familiar with the voice and stuff. I said, 'Well, this is David Bowie. This is The Man Who Sold the World record.' He's like, 'Yeah, this is really cool.' I said, 'You should check out Hunky Dory and stuff.' And so eventually, I'm sure he did. But he totally dug it."

Months after the MTV show, Kurt Cobain was found dead. The acoustic set was released as an album in late 1994.

Beck performed this song with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear at the annual Clive Davis Grammy pre-party on February 14, 2016 in tribute to Bowie, who passed away a month earlier. "He's always been kind of guidepost or gravitational force for me," Beck said of Bowie.

On March 29, 2016, Michael Stipe performed this song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, accompanied only by a piano. Two days later, Stipe sang "Ashes To Ashes" with Karen Elston at a Bowie tribute concert held at Carnegie Hall.

David Bowie - Suffragette City

David Bowie - Suffragette City Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Released: 1972

Suffragette City Lyrics

Hey man, oh leave me alone you know
Hey man, oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta
Hey man, I gotta straighten my face
This mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place
Hey man, my schooldays insane
Hey man, my work's down the drain
Hey man, well she's a total blam-blam
She said she had to squeeze it but she then she

Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right

Hey man, oh Henry, don't be unkind, go away
Hey man, I can't take you this time, no way
Hey man, droogie don't crash here
There's only room for one and here she comes, here she comes

Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right

Oh hit me

Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
'Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man, 'cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City

Don't lean on me man ''cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight she's all right

A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
I'm back on Suffragette City, I'm back on Suffragette City
Ooo, Sufraggete city, ooo, Suffragette City
Oooh-how, Sufragette City, oooh-how, Sufragette City
Ohhh, wham bam thank you ma'am
A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
Quite all right
A Suffragette City
Too fine
A Suffragette City, ooh, a Sufragette City
Oh, my Sufragette City, oh my Suffragette City
Oh, Suffragette
Suffragette

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Suffragette City

A "Suffragette" is a woman involved in the women's suffrage movement (trying to get the right to vote). A London newspaper was the first to use the term, and did so in a derogatory manner. In England, women got voting rights in 1918. In the US, it was 1920.

Bowie offered this to the band Mott The Hoople, but they turned it down. Bowie was a big fan of Mott The Hoople, but they weren't selling well and were about to break up. To keep them going, Bowie offered to produce their next album, and although they rejected this, they did record Bowie's "All The Young Dudes," which became a big hit and got them out of a financial mess.

The heavy saxophone backing sound is not a saxophone. It was created by an ARP synthesizer. Bowie wanted a larger-than-life sax sound, so they used the synth to create the sounds that a real sax couldn't.

The famous "Wham Bam Thank-you Ma'am" lyric was the title of one of the tracks on Charles Mingus' 1961 Oh Yeah album (according to Mingus it was also a phrase that his drummer, Max Roach, used when he was "unable to express his inner feelings") and most likely one which Bowie was aware of, being a jazz lover himself. (thanks, Klasic Rok - Battle Ground, WA, for all above)

The word "droogie" (from the line "Aw, droogie, don't crash here") is from the book (later made into a movie) A Clockwork Orange. It means "friend." Like most of the words in the book's teen-slang language, Nadsat, it's based on Russian. (thanks, Beth - San Francisco, CA)

This is one of Bowie's all time personal favorites.

When Bowie played this live in 1972, he started doing a bit at the end of the song where he went underneath his guitarist, Mick Ronson, and played the guitar with his mouth. This made it look like Bowie was simulating oral sex, and it caused a stir when Bowie talked his Manager into buying a whole page of advertising space in the British magazine Melody Maker to get the infamous "oral sex" picture published immediately after it was shot at a show in Oxford Town Hall in June 72. That's the way photographer Mick Rock tells the tale in his book Blood And Glitter. (thanks, Peter - Berlin, Germany)

The year after this was released, Paul McCartney put the word "Suffragette" into his song "Jet."

David Bowie - Rebel Rebel

David Bowie - Rebel Rebel Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Diamond Dogs
Released: 1974

Rebel Rebel Lyrics

Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo

You've got your mother in a whirl
She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl
Hey babe, your hair's alright
Hey babe, let's go out tonight
You like me, and I like it all
We like dancing and we look divine
You love bands when they're playing hard
You want more and you want it fast
They put you down, they say I'm wrong
You tacky thing, you put them on

Rebel Rebel, you've torn your dress
Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel Rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!

Don't ya?
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo

You've got your mother in a whirl 'cause she's
Not sure if you're a boy or a girl
Hey babe, your hair's alright
Hey babe, let's stay out tonight
You like me, and I like it all
We like dancing and we look divine
You love bands when they're playing hard
You want more and you want it fast
They put you down, they say I'm wrong
You tacky thing, you put them on

Rebel Rebel, you've torn your dress
Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel Rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!

Don't ya?
Oh?
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo

Rebel Rebel, you've torn your dress
Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess
Rebel Rebel, how could they know?
Hot tramp, I love you so!

You've torn your dress, your face is a mess
You can't get enough, but enough ain't the test
You've got your transmission and your live wire
You got your cue line and a handful of ludes
You wanna be there when they count up the dudes
And I love your dress
You're a juvenile success
Because your face is a mess
So how could they know?
I said, how could they know?

So what you wanna know
Calamity's child, chi-chi, chi-chi
Where'd you wanna go?
What can I do for you? Looks like you've been there too
'Cause you've torn your dress
And your face is a mess
Ooo, your face is a mess
Ooo, ooo, so how could they know?
Eh, eh, how could they know?
Eh, eh

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rebel Rebel Song Chart

This song is about a boy who rebels against his parents by wearing makeup and tacky women's clothes. It was a defining song of the "Glam Rock" era. Characterized by feminine clothes and outrageous stage shows, Glam was big in England in the early '70s. Bowie had the most mainstream success of the glam rockers.

Three years before this was released, Bowie admitted he was bisexual. The announcement seemed to help his career, as he gained more fans and wrote more adventurous songs.

Bowie did an episode of VH1 Storytellers in 1999 where he introduced this song with this yarn:

I can tell you about the time that I first met Marc Bolan who became a very, very good friend of mine. We actually met very early on in the '60s before either of us were even a tad pole known. We were nothing; we were just two nothing kids with huge ambitions, and we both had the same manager at the time. And we met each other firstly painting the wall of our then manager's office.

"Hello, who are you?"

"I'm Marc, man."

"Hello, what do you do?"

"I'm a singer."

"Oh, yeah, so am I. Are you a Mod?"

"Yeah, I'm King Mod. Your shoes are crap."

"Well, you're short."

So we became really close friends. Marc took me dustbin shopping. At that time Carnaby Street, the fashion district, was going through a period of incredible wealth and rather than replace buttons on their shirts or zippers on their trousers, at the end of the day they'd just throw it all away in the dustbin. So, we used to go up and down Carnaby Street, this is prior to Kings Road, and go through all the dustbins around nine/ten o'clock at night and get our wardrobes together. That's how life was, you see.

I could also tell you that when we used to play the working men's clubs up north - very rough district - and I first went out as Ziggy Stardust, I was in the dressing room in one club and I said to the manager: "Could you show me where the lavatory is, please?"

And he said: "Aye, look up that corridor and you see the sink attached to the wall at the end? There you go."

So, I tottered briefly on my stack-heeled boots and said: "My dear man, I'm not pissing in a sink."

"He said: "Look son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Them were the days, I guess.

In 1972, Bowie produced "Walk On The Wild Side" for Lou Reed, which is another song celebrating transgender individuals .

Bowie's guitarist, Mick Ronson, quit in 1973 in order to pursue a solo career, so Bowie played guitar on this song. Bowie spoke to Performing Songwriter magazine about the legendary riff: "When I was high school, that was the riff by which all of us young guitarists would prove ourselves in the local music store. It's a real air guitar thing, isn't it? I can tell you a very funny story about that. One night, I was in London in a hotel trying to get some sleep. It was quite late, like eleven or twelve at night, and I had some big deal thing on the next day, a TV show or something, and I heard this riff being played really badly from upstairs. I thought, 'Who the hell is doing this at this time of night?' On an electric guitar, over and over [sings riff to 'Rebel Rebel' in a very hesitant, stop and start way]. So I went upstairs to show the person how to play the thing (laughs). So I bang on the door. The door opens, and I say, 'Listen, if you're going to play...' and it was John McEnroe! I kid you not (laughs). It was McEnroe, who saw himself as some sort of rock guitar player at the time. That could only happen in a movie, couldn't it? McEnroe trying to struggle his way through the 'Rebel Rebel' riff."

An alternate version appears on Bowie's compilation album Sound And Vision. On this version, Bowie plays all the instruments, bar the congas, which are played by Geoff MacCormack.

The Diamond Dogs tour was an enormous production. It featured moving bridges, catapults, and a huge diamond that Bowie emerged from.

The album cover was painted by Dutch artist Guy Peellaert. It shows Bowie as a dog in front of a banner that says "The Strangest Living Curiosities." The cover caused some controversy because the Bowie dog had clearly not been neutered. An alternate cover was released with the appendages airbrushed out. Mick Jagger had shown Bowie artwork that Peellaert had done for the not yet released Rolling Stones album It's Only Rock And Roll. Bowie quickly got a hold of Peelaert and had him design the cover for Diamond Dogs, which was unleashed to the public prior to the album by the The Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger was none too happy about this. David Bowie has this to say about the incident: "Mick was silly. I mean, he should never have shown me anything new. I went over to his house and he had all these Guy Peellaert pictures around and said, 'What do you think of this guy?' I told him I thought he was incredible. So I immediately phoned him up. Mick's learned now, as I've said. He will never do that again. You've got to be a bastard in this business." (thanks, Willy - Vallejo, DC and Daniel - The North West, England)

The lyric, "We like dancing and we look divine," is a reference to the famous drag queen known as Divine, who starred in many John Waters films, including Pink Flamingos and Hairspray.

The transgender musician Jayne County claims Bowie based this on her song, "Queen Age Baby," which was recorded a month before "Rebel Rebel." County told Seconds magazine: "After one of his shows, me and Bowie were chatting. I had just signed to MainMan at the time and had all these great ideas kicking around, and I told David I had the best idea in the world. I told him I wanted to do a whole album of all British Invasion hits. Six months later he comes out with Pin-Ups [Bowie's cover album]. I was flabbergasted! When I would say anything to anyone, they would just laugh and say I was paranoid. I said, 'Something's up here.' They took me into the studio to record. I recorded 'Wonder Woman,' 'Mexican City,' 'Are You Boy Or Are You A Girl?,' 'Queen Age Baby,' all these incredible lyrics I had come up with. So I sent him all of my tapes and not long after that, Sherry is sitting at the house in Connecticut. Bowie called her up and said that he wrote this great song called 'Rebel Rebel' and plays her this demo. She listened to it and said, 'This sounds like one of Wayne's songs.' Basically, 'Queen Age Baby' is the mother of 'Rebel Rebel.' If he had never heard 'Queen Age Baby,' he would have never written 'Rebel Rebel.'"

This song was created in a spate of spontaneous inception. Alan Parker, the guitarist on "1984," recalled to Uncut magazine: "He (Bowie) said, 'I've got this list and it's a bit Rolling Stonesy – I just want to piss Mick off a bit.'"

"I spent about three quarters of an hour to an hour with him working on the guitar riff – he had it almost there, but not quite," Parker continued. "We got it there, and he said, 'Oh, we'd better do the middle...' So he wrote something for the middle, put that in. Then he went off and sorted some lyrics. And that was us done."

This was covered in Portuguese by Seu Jorge for the soundtrack of the 2004 film The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

David Bowie - Young Americans

David Bowie - Young Americans Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Young Americans
Released: 1975

Young Americans Lyrics

They pulled in just behind the bridge
He lays her down, he frowns
Gee my life's a funny thing, am I still too young?
He kissed her then and there
She took his ring, took his babies
It took him minutes, took her nowhere
Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but

All night
She wants the young American
Young American, young American, she wants the young American
All right
She wants the young American

Scanning life through the picture window
She finds the slinky vagabond
He coughs as he passes her Ford Mustang, but
Heaven forbid, she'll take anything
But the freak, and his type, all for nothing
Misses a step and cuts his hand, but
Showing nothing, he swoops like a song
She cries where have all Papa's heroes gone?

All night
She wants a young American
Young American, young American, she wants the young American
All right
She wants the young American

All the way from Washington
Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor
"We live for just these twenty years
Do we have to die for the fifty more?"

All night
He wants the young American
Young American, young American, he wants the young American
All right
He wants the young American

Do you remember, your President Nixon?
Do you remember, the bills you have to pay
For even yesterday?

Have you have been an un-American?
Just you and your idol singing falsetto 'bout
Leather, leather everywhere, and
Not a myth left from the ghetto
Well, well, well, would you carry a razor
In case, just in case of depression?
Sit on your hands on a bus of survivors
Blushing at all the afro-Sheilas
Ain't that close to love?
Well, ain't that poster love?
Well, it ain't that Barbie doll
Her heart's been broken just like you have

All night
All night was a young American
Young American, young American, you want the young American
All right
All right you want the young American

You ain't a pimp and you ain't a hustler
A pimp's got a Cadi and a lady got a Chrysler
Black's got respect, and white's got his Soul Train
Mama's got cramps, and look at your hands ache
(I heard the news today, oh boy)
I got a suite and you got defeat
Ain't there a man you can say no more?
And, ain't there a woman I can sock on the jaw?
And, ain't there a child I can hold without judging?
Ain't there a pen that will write before they die?
Ain't you proud that you've still got faces?
Ain't there one damn song that can make me
Break down and cry?

All night
I want the young American
Young American, young American, I want the young American
All right
I want the young American, young American whoa whoa

Young American, young American
I want what you want
I want what you want
You want more
I want you
You want I
I want you
I want what you want
But you want what you want
You want I
I want you
And all I want is a young American
Young American

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Young Americans Song Chart

Bowie never was a young American - he was born and raised in England. Bowie said that this was the result of cramming his "whole American experience" into one song.

This was recorded between tour dates at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, which was the capital of black music in the area. The Soul influence had a very obvious effect on Bowie's style. He even completely redesigned the stage for the rest of his Diamond Dogs tour.

Over the course of about eight very creative days, Bowie recorded most of the songs for Young Americans at Sigma Studios. He usually recorded his vocals after midnight because he heard that's when Frank Sinatra recorded most of his vocals, and because there weren't so many people around.

Sigma had a staff of very talented producers and musicians (known as MFSB - the same folks who had a #1 hit with "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"), but Bowie used his own people - Tony Visconti produced this track.

The line near the end, "I heard the news today, oh boy," is a reference to the Beatles song "A Day In The Life." John Lennon worked with Bowie on "Fame" and also Bowie's cover of "Across The Universe." Both songs are on this album.

The lead instrument in this song the saxophone, which was played by American Jazz player David Sanborn, who was just starting to get noticed when Bowie brought him in to play on this.

Bowie hired Luther Vandross, who had yet to establish himself as a solo artist, to sing backup and create the vocal arrangements on the Young Americans album.

Near the end of the song, Bowie sings, "Black's got respect and white's got his soul train." Soul Train is an American TV show targeted to a black audience that started in 1970. The show features lots of very expressive dancing as well as a musical guest, and in November 1975, Bowie became one of the first white singers to perform on the show, something he was very proud of. The "Young Americans" single was released in February 1975, so Bowie performed "Fame" and "Golden Years," which was his current single.

Young Americans was the first Bowie album that guitarist Carlos Alomar played on. Bowie first saw Alomar playing in the house band at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and convinced him to play on this album and join the tour. Alomar became a major contributor, playing on several of Bowie's albums and coming up with guitar riffs for songs like "Fame" and "Golden Years."

The album was going to be called "Dancin'" before Bowie decided to name it after this track.

At a performance at Giants Stadium, Bowie stopped after singing the line, "Ain't there one damn song that can make me...", and dropped to the stage, where he stayed for 10 minutes. The crowd went nuts, but got concerned after a while. Bowie did it to see what kind of reaction he would get.

The Cure did a version of this in appreciation of Bowie, their long time friend. The lyrics "Do you remember President Nixon?" were changed to "...President Clinton?" The Cure's version was originally released on a British radio demo CD only, but can now be found on various bootlegs.

David Bowie - Fame

David Bowie - Fame Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Young Americans
Released: 1975

Fame Lyrics

Fame makes a man take things over
Fame lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame puts you there where things are hollow (fame)
Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane (fame)

Fame, (fame) what you like is in the limo
Fame, (fame) what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, (fame) what you need you have to borrow Fame
Fame, (fame) it's mine, it's mine, it's just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to crime (fame)

Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Is it any wonder you are too cool to fool? (fame)
Fame, bully for you, chilly for me
Got to get a rain check on pain (fame)

Fame
Fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Fame, fame, fame
Fame, what's your name?
Fame

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN/BOWIE, DAVID/ALOMAR, CARLOS
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC, UNIDISC MUSIC, SONY ATV MUSIC PUB LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Fame Song Chart

This song is about what it is like to be famous. Bowie gave his thoughts on the subject in a 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine: "Fame itself, of course, doesn't really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant. That must be pretty well known by now. I'm just amazed how fame is being posited as the be all and end all, and how many of these young kids who are being foisted on the public have been talked into this idea that anything necessary to be famous is all right. It's a sad state of affairs. However arrogant and ambitious I think we were in my generation, I think the idea was that if you do something really good, you'll become famous. The emphasis on fame itself is something new. Now it's, to be famous you should do what it takes, which is not the same thing at all. And it will leave many of them with this empty feeling. Then again, I don't know if it will, because I think a lot of them are genuinely quite satisfied. I know a couple of personalities over in England who are famous for being famous, basically. They sort of initially came out of the pop world, but they're quite happy being photographed going everywhere and showing their kids off and this is a career to them. A career of like being there and turning up and saying, 'Yes it's me, the famous girl or guy' (laughs). It's like, 'What do you want?' It's so Warhol. It's as vacuous as that. And that to me, is a big worry. I think it's done dreadful things to the music industry. There's such a lot of rubbish, drivel out there."

John Lennon helped write this song - he came up with the title and also sang the background "Fame" parts in the high voice. They started working on the song when Bowie invited Lennon to the studio, and Lennon played rhythm guitar on a jam session that resulted in this track. Bowie met Lennon less than a year earlier at a party thrown by Elizabeth Taylor. Lennon was one of Bowie's idols, and they became good friends.

Bowie often had conversations with Lennon about how fame took away parts of their lives. In the same interview, Bowie said: "We'd been talking about management, and it kind of came out of that. He was telling me, 'You're being shafted by your present manager' (laughs). That was basically the line. And John was the guy who opened me up to the idea that all management is crap. That there's no such thing as good management in rock 'n' roll, and you should try to do it without it. It was at John's instigation that I really did without managers, and started getting people in to do specific jobs for me, rather than signing myself away to one guy forever and have him take a piece of everything that I earn. Usually, quite a large piece, and have him really not do very much. So, if I needed a certain publishing thing done, I'd bring in a person who specialized in that area, and they would, on a one-job basis, work for me and we'd reach the agreed fee. And I started to realize that if you're bright, you kind of know you're worth, and if you're creative, you know what you want to do and where you want to go in that way. What extra thing is this manager supposed to do for you? I suppose in the old days, it was [in a hokey New York voice] 'Get you breaks!' (laughs). I don't quite know what managers are supposed to do, even. I think if you have even just a modicum of intelligence, you're going to know what it is you are and where you want to go. Once you know that, you just bring in specific people for specialist jobs. You don't have to end up signing your life away to some fool who's just there kind of grabbing hold of the coattails."

Bowie's guitarist Carlos Alomar came up with the guitar riff. It was based on a song called "Foot Stompin'" by The Flares, which Bowie had been performing on tour. "In funk music, what you want to do is put down a lot of holes," Alomar recalled to Mojo magazine of the song's instrumentation, "leaving a little space for someone to be able to dance in. Lennon played acoustic guitar and we reversed it and that's the suction sound you hear at the beginning."

"Then we put up big reverb upon David's riff," he continued. "Like going to a recreation centre when it's empty, taking your amplifier and your guitar – and filling that room."

This was Bowie's first big hit in America, and also his first to do better in the US than the UK. He had a few UK hits before this, including "Rebel Rebel," "Life On Mars," and "Diamond Dogs."

Bowie: "Fame can take interesting men and thrust mediocrity upon them."

This was recorded at the Sigma Sound studios in Philadelphia, where many soul classics of the '70s were made. Bowie wanted the album to have a rhythm & blues feel, and he called the sound he created "Plastic Soul."

Bowie whispers something at the end. It is rumored to be either "Brings so much pain" or "Feeling so gay, feeling gay."

Bowie performed this on Soul Train. He is one of only a few white performers to appear on the show. Bowie allegedly got drunk before the performance to calm his nerves.

This was remixed as a Techno version for the Pretty Woman soundtrack. It was re-titled "Fame '90." This version was also included on the album Changesbowie when it was re-issued.

At the end of this song, "Fame" is repeated 23 times, each "Fame" being a different note. The repetitions of "Fame" span an amazing four octaves. (thanks, Annabelle - Eugene, OR)

In one of Bowie's first US TV appearances, he performed this on The Cher Show in 1975. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

At the time this song was written, Bowie was under contract with MainMan Records and Tony DeFries. Money was mismanaged after several tours, leaving Bowie broke from having to pay back expenses owed. Bowie wrote this song in response to the whole financial ordeal. Not too long after, Bowie fired DeFries at John Lennon's suggestion. (thanks, Thomas - Marion, IN)

David Bowie - Tis A Pity She Was A Whore

David Bowie - Tis A Pity She Was A Whore Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)
Released: 2014

Tis A Pity She Was A Whore Lyrics

Tis A Pity She Was A Whore Song Chart

The B-Side of the 2014 single, "Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)," this song gets its title from a 17th century English play called 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.

A tragedy written by John Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore was first performed around 1630. Ford's failure to condemn his protagonist's incestuous passion for his sister made the play one of the most controversial works in English literature.

Bowie said the song was inspired by the destruction of World War I. "If Vorticists wrote rock music it might have sounded like this," he said, referring to the short-lived modernist movement in British art and poetry that emerged just before the war began.

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Scary Monsters
Released: 1980

Ashes To Ashes Lyrics

Do you remember a guy that's been
In such an early song?
I've heard a rumor from Ground Control
Oh no, don't say it's true

They got a message from the Action Man
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too
I've loved all I've needed, love
Sordid details following"

The shrieking of nothing is killing, just
Pictures of Jap girls in synthesis and I
Ain't got no money and I ain't got no hair
But I'm hoping to kick but the planet it's glowing

Ashes To Ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low

Time and again I tell myself
I'll stay clean tonight
But the little green wheels are following me
Oh no, not again
I'm stuck with a valuable friend
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too"
One flash of light but no smoking pistol

I never done good things (I never done good things)
I never done bad things (I never done bad things)
I never did anything out of the blue, woh-o-oh
Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low

My mother said, to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom

My mother said, to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom

My mother said, to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom

My mother said, to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Ashes To Ashes Song Chart

This song can be seen as a sequel to Bowie's 1969 hit, "Space Oddity." It revisits the fictional astronaut, Major Tom, who is now in space. He has regained communication with Ground Control and tells them he is happy, but they deem him nothing but a "junkie, strung out in heavens high, hitting an all-time low." Fans believe this to be Bowie's autobiographical piece about his fight against drug abuse and other personal demons.

The closing refrain of this song, "My mama said to get things done, you'd better not mess with Major Tom," suggests that in order to make the best of the future, one should not dwell on the past. It has also been suggested that "Space Oddity" was a thinly veiled reference to a drug trip, and that "Ashes to Ashes" is hinting that in order to move on, Bowie must kick these drug habits. (thanks, Jason - Watford, England)

In his 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, Bowie explains that the song "Inchworm," which was sung by Danny Kaye in the 1952 movie Hans Christian Andersen, was a big influence on "Ashes To Ashes." Said Bowie: "I loved it as a kid and it's stayed with me forever. I keep going back to it. You wouldn't believe the amount of my songs that have sort of spun off that one song. Not that you'd really recognize it. Something like 'Ashes to Ashes' wouldn't have happened if it hadn't have been for 'Inchworm.' There's a child's nursery rhyme element in it, and there's something so sad and mournful and poignant about it. It kept bringing me back to the feelings of those pure thoughts of sadness that you have as a child, and how they're so identifiable even when you're an adult. There's a connection that can be made between being a somewhat lost five-year old and feeling a little abandoned and having the same feeling when you're in your twenties. And it was that song that did that for me."

The music video for "Ashes to Ashes" features Bowie dressed as Pierrot in a variety of bizarre situations. Steve Strange of the New Wave band, Visage, cameos. Bowie has said the shot of himself and other characters marching towards the camera in front of a bulldozer symbolizes "oncoming violence." During this scene, the characters behind Bowie are not bowing, but simply trying to pull their gowns away from the bulldozer so they don't get stuck! This, and many other images in the video suggest that Bowie may be trying to bury the various personas he developed.

The video, which Bowie directed with David Mallet, cost £250,000 to produce, making it the most expensive music video ever made at the time. It was released a year before MTV went on the air.

In 1983, Peter Schilling released "Major Tom (I'm Coming Home)," which is based on the Major Tom character. It was a rare instance of someone making a sequel to a song by another artist.

This was sampled on Samantha Mumba's "Body II Body." Bowie gave his seal of approval to Samantha's song, but a lot of his fans hated it. (thanks, Adam - Dewsbury, England)

The British BBC TV series, Ashes to Ashes, was named after this song. The series served as the sequel to Life on Mars, which was also named after the Bowie song of the same name.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) was ranked at #30 on Q Magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums Ever."

David Bowie - Up the Hill Backwards

David Bowie - Up the Hill Backwards Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Scary Monsters
Released: 1980

Up the Hill Backwards Lyrics

The vacuum created by the arrival of freedom
And the possibilities it seems to offer
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it

A series of shocks - sneakers fall apart
Earth keeps on rolling - witnesses falling
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it

Yeah, yeah, yeah - Up the Hill Backwards
It'll be alright ooo-ooo

While we sleep they go to work
We're legally crippled it's the death of love
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it
It's got nothing to do with you, if one can grasp it

More idols then realities
I'm OK, you're so-so

Yeah, yeah, yeah - up the hill backwards
It'll be alright ooo-ooo

Writer/s: BOWIE, DAVID
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Up the Hill Backwards Song Chart

The fourth and final single from David Bowie's Scary Monsters album, this features Robert Fripp on lead guitar. The King Crimson axeman recalled to Mojo in 2015: "Bowie had the intelligence to let me get up and fly. On 'Up The Hill Backwards,' his words were referring to Marcel Duchamp, and I interpreted that in my playing."

Marcel Duchamp (1887 – 1968) was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. He first achieved fame not in his native country, but in the US, where his painting Nude Descending a Staircase, exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show in New York was the rage of the exhibition.

A playful man, Duchamp challenged conventional thought about artistic processes through subversive actions such as putting everyday items like a bicycle wheel mounted on a kitchen stool on display. Half a century later, this approach would be called conceptual art, though he himself used the term 'ready-mades' for his ideas.

Duchamp ostensibly giving up art in the early twenties, devoting himself to chess, which he studied for the rest of his life to the exclusion of most other activities.