| David Bowie – The Bewlay Brothers Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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First of all, the lyrics seem to be incorrect. Bowie's own notes say "he can't sing above that", not "about that". Bowie wrote that the song is simply intended to make no sense, but since he said that after taking on his trickster role and probably wanted to fend off questioning about the song, and the actual song seems brutally sincere and vivid and was part of his most brutally honest record, I don't believe that comment. Third, the song contains religious imagery and sexual connotations that cannot be ignored. "The cathedral floor" "Corinthian and Caricature" "the devil may be here" "the blessed and cold", "with our backs on the arch", "real cool traders", "so turned on" "flayed our mark". Allusions to secrecy: "the solid book we wrote cannot be found today" "the dress was hung the ticket pawned, the factor max that proved the fact is melted down".. One things seems apparent, these guys are together through everything, In the feeble in the bad, in the devil may be here, in the blessed and cold, etc. That, and the secrecy and darkness, is all I can come up with for now. |
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| David Bowie – Life on Mars? Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Bowie's lyrics tend to dwell on arrogance and self absorption. "Life On Mars " could very well refer simply to his self-infatuation, and his longing for place where he could interact with peers. (You can find other examples of self-glorifications in songs such as "Quicksand" "just a mortal with potential of a superman". His contempt for the "mice and their million hordes" extends to his own mother, and he writes films so that their vulgar appetites can be satisfied. (Although, to be fair, there is some ambiguity here, since it could be about the upper castes of society (the "creative" classes in general) for whom he takes on the first person, acknowledging himself as a member of that caste. Of course, the "girl with the mousey hair" verse displays an unusual note of sympathy for a girl who is longing for escape, who consumes these movies for that purpose, and who is as bored ultimately as our herp, the supposed Superman. Anyway, that's my feeling. |
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