I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
What to wear
What to say
What to do on a sunny day
Who to phone
Who to fight
Who to dance with on a Sunday night
Reaching the very edge, you know
Reaching the very edge
I'm going to the other side this time
Reaching the very edge
You're still breathing but you don't know why
Life's a bit and sometimes you die
You're still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
I am a drug
I am a dragon
I am the best jazz you've ever seen
I am a dragon
I am the sky
I am the blood at the corner of your eye
I found the secrets, I found gold
I find you out before you grow old
I find you out before you grow old
What is eternal?
What is damned?
What is clay and what is sand?
Who to diss?
Who to trust?
Who to listen to?
Who to sus?
I'm reaching the very edge, you know
I'm reaching the very edge
I'm going to the other side this time
I'm reaching the very edge
You're still breathing but you don't know why
Life's a bit and sometimes you die
You're still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
I am a dragon
I am a drug
I am the best jazz you've ever heard
I am a dragon
I am the sky
I am the blood at the corner of your eye
I found the secrets, I found gold
I find you out before you grow old
I find you out before you grow old
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
(Yes, ah)
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
Still breathing but you don't know why
Still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
What to say
What to do on a sunny day
Who to phone
Who to fight
Who to dance with on a Sunday night
Reaching the very edge, you know
Reaching the very edge
I'm going to the other side this time
Reaching the very edge
You're still breathing but you don't know why
Life's a bit and sometimes you die
You're still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
I am a drug
I am a dragon
I am the best jazz you've ever seen
I am a dragon
I am the sky
I am the blood at the corner of your eye
I found the secrets, I found gold
I find you out before you grow old
I find you out before you grow old
What is eternal?
What is damned?
What is clay and what is sand?
Who to diss?
Who to trust?
Who to listen to?
Who to sus?
I'm reaching the very edge, you know
I'm reaching the very edge
I'm going to the other side this time
I'm reaching the very edge
You're still breathing but you don't know why
Life's a bit and sometimes you die
You're still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
I am a dragon
I am a drug
I am the best jazz you've ever heard
I am a dragon
I am the sky
I am the blood at the corner of your eye
I found the secrets, I found gold
I find you out before you grow old
I find you out before you grow old
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
(Yes, ah)
The pretty things are going to hell
They wore it out but they wore it well
Still breathing but you don't know why
Still breathing but you just can't tell
Don't hold your breath but the pretty things are going to hell
Lyrics submitted by merchantpierce
The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell Lyrics as written by Reeves Gabrels David Bowie
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
this is about consumerism
To me the song should be taken litteraly, as we humans are decaying so quickly that soon all pretty things will be gone to hell...the dragon is the devil itself...
the song may also refer to something (bowie) crossing the invisible barrier to lower levels of reality (hell)...that would explain the 'I'm reaching the very edge, I'm going to the other side this time'....Also, the lines 'I found the secrets, I found gold' also seems significant to me, as meaning the occult acitivities that bowie was involved, and his relationship with the occultic 'The Golden Dawn' group.
I think it should be taken as... the prettier you are, the more you think you deserve. The powerful commit things that are unkind, but get away with it. The more power you have, the more evil you are capable of... hence, the pretty things are going to hell... because they can. If you were pretty (or powerful) you'd be doing the same thing.
Personally, I've delved deep into my dreams and I've seen what ultimate power does to a person.
This song seems to encompass hubris a lot, as well as superficiality, pessimism and paranoia, and concludes that this reduced level of humanity (it implies this essence reduced by using "pretty") is going to "hell".
Early 70s revisited; taking two songs Bowie worked on - his own "Oh! You Pretty Things!" and the Stooges' "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell" and looking at where the world has gone since then.