This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Tony went to fight in Belfast
Rudi stayed at home to starve
I could make it all worthwhile
As a rock and roll star
Bevan tried to change the nation
Sonny wants to turn the world, well he can tell you that he tried
I could make a transformation as a rock and roll star
So inviting, so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation
As a rock and roll star
Get it on yeah
(Ooh yeah)
I could do with the money (you know that I)
I'm so wiped out with things as they are (you know that I)
I'd send my photograph to my honey
And I'd come on like a regular superstar
I could make a transformation
As a rock and roll star
So inviting, so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation
As a rock and roll star, get it on yeah
I could do with the money (you know that I)
I'm so wiped out with things as they are (you know that I)
I'd send my photograph to my honey
And I'd come on like a regular superstar
I could fall asleep at night
As a rock and roll star
I could fall in love all right
As a rock and roll star
Rock and roll star
Rock and roll star
Just watch me now
Rudi stayed at home to starve
I could make it all worthwhile
As a rock and roll star
Bevan tried to change the nation
Sonny wants to turn the world, well he can tell you that he tried
I could make a transformation as a rock and roll star
So inviting, so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation
As a rock and roll star
Get it on yeah
(Ooh yeah)
I could do with the money (you know that I)
I'm so wiped out with things as they are (you know that I)
I'd send my photograph to my honey
And I'd come on like a regular superstar
I could make a transformation
As a rock and roll star
So inviting, so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation
As a rock and roll star, get it on yeah
I could do with the money (you know that I)
I'm so wiped out with things as they are (you know that I)
I'd send my photograph to my honey
And I'd come on like a regular superstar
I could fall asleep at night
As a rock and roll star
I could fall in love all right
As a rock and roll star
Rock and roll star
Rock and roll star
Just watch me now
Lyrics submitted by BigPoppaChidog
Star Lyrics as written by David Bowie
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., BMG Rights Management, O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, 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
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced 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.
Like so many have said before, this album is A-C-E. There isn't a bad or even mediocre tune on it - consistent, well-ordered and above all designed to inspire.
"I could fall in love alright as a Rock'n'roll Star..."
This has to be one of the greatest albums ever written. From go to woah this is awesome, inspiring and revolutionary.
The song, alone, is a pretty straight forward song about people becoming rock stars to try to make a difference in the world. However, when brought together with Ziggy, I think that it's no surprise that a song called "Star" among an album full of space and star imagery is actually about becoming a rock star, rather than stars in general. Kind of showing the connection between being a rock star and traveling the final frontier.
this song is an anthem for glam rock. david bowie talks about rock stars and what they've done and what he could do if he was on..it's a great song all in all.
I love at the end. "Watch me now..." Good stuff. Another fun song to dance too.
I actually tooko this kind of on face value - as if he was talking about his "friends" (i originally though roomates - perhaps at college, before he got famous), and what happened when, basically, they'd blown all their money, probably on drugs. They all seem to have ambitions, and he thinks his if the only one vaguely sensible one - like, "yeahh, i'll become a rock star to pay for our daily baked beans on toast!".
he's also laughing at them, in a friendly way - "well, he can tell you that he tried,".
I think it's Ziggy seeing what a few people on earth are doing to try and make the world a better place, failing, and then saying that he could do a better job through music. He also just dreams about how much fun it would be and how cool it'd feel all the time, doing regular things as a rock 'n' roll star...
I could fall asleep at night as a rock & roll star I could fall in love all right as a rock & roll star
Nai Bevan did change the nation - but who is Sonny? Nai Bevan set up the NHS in the UK
Sonny Bono maybe?? I dunno.
Doesn't he sing "I'd send my money back to my honey"?
It doesn't sound at all like "photograph."
@vchamberlain I think it's photograph....I could be wrong though
There's a pretty direct reference to T-Rex ('Get it on'). Also Marc Bolan before he became famous was always boasting and talking about how he would become a famous star. There's a lot of Bolan in Ziggy and Bolan was a bigger influence on Bowie than he gets credits for.
Look at the first verse. All these people are seemingly sacrificing all ot part of their lives for a greater cause. The subject who sings the song is sacrificing nothing to become a star but still feels he can make a difference yet he wants to appear that he is sacrificing "...I can do with the money, I'm so wiped out with things as they are...", ".. So inviting, so enticing to play the part. I could play the wild mutation As a rock and roll star...". No sacrifice only selfishness.
Don't get caught up in the album. Contrary to what people say this is not an album about Ziggy Stardust (unlike Tommy which is an opera about the pinball wizard). Ziggy is a character in one of the songs but it its only a collection of songs.
I am going to post an interview that David Bowie did with William Burroughs in the 70's for Rolling Stone Magazine. I don't see how this can be described as anything but a concept album.<br /> <br /> Burroughs: Could you explain this Ziggy Stardust image of yours? From what I can see it has to do with the world being on the eve of destruction within five years.<br /> <br /> Bowie: The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There's no electricity to play it. Ziggy's adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, 'cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. 'All the young dudes' is a song about this news. It is no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite.<br /> <br /> Burroughs: Where did this Ziggy idea come from, and this five-year idea? Of course, exhaustion of natural resources will not develop the end of the world. It will result in the collapse of civilization. And it will cut down the population by about three-quarters.<br /> <br /> Bowie: Exactly. This does not cause the end of the world for Ziggy. The end comes when the infinites arrive. They really are a black hole, but I've made them people because it would be very hard to explain a black hole on stage.<br /> <br /> Burroughs: Yes, a black hole on stage would be an incredible expense. And it would be a continuing performance, first eating up Shaftesbury Avenue.<br /> <br /> Bowie: Ziggy is advised in a dream by the infinites to write the coming of a starman, so he writes 'Starman', which is the first news of hope that the people have heard. So they latch on to it immediately. The starmen that he is talking about are called the infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers. Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don't have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black-hole jumping. Their whole life is travelling from universe to universe. In the stage show, one of them resembles Brando, another one is a Black New Yorker. I even have one called Queenie the Infinite Fox.<br /> <br /> Now Ziggy starts to believe in all this himself and thinks himself a prophet of the future starman. He takes himself up to incredible spiritual heights and is kept alive by his disciples. When the infinites arrive, they take bits of Ziggy to make themselves real because in their original state they are anti-matter and cannot exist in our world. And they tear him to pieces on stage during the song 'Rock 'n' roll suicide'. As soon as Ziggy dies on stage the infinites take his elements and make themselves visible. It is a science fiction fantasy of today and this is what literally blew my head off when I read Nova Express, which was written in 1961. Maybe we are the Rodgers and Hammerstein of the seventies, Bill!