Oh you, you walk on past
Your lips cut a smile on your face
(Your scalding face) to the cage, to the cage
She was a beauty in a cage

Too, too high a price
To drink rotting wine from your hands
(Your fearful hands) get me to a doctor's, I've been told
Someone's back in town the chips are down
I just cut and blackout
I'm under Japanese influence and my honor's at stake

The weather's grim, ice on the cages
Me, I'm Robin Hood and I puff on my cigarette
Panthers are steaming, stalking, screaming

If you don't stay tonight
I will take that plane tonight
I've nothing to lose, nothing to gain
I'll kiss you in the rain
Kiss you in the rain (kiss you in the rain)
Kiss you in the rain (kiss you in the rain)
In the rain (in the rain)
Get me to the doctor

Get me off the streets
(Get some protection)
Get me on my feet
(Get some direction)
Hot air gets me into a blackout
Oh, get me off the streets
Get some protection
Oh, get me on my feet

(Woo-hoo) while the streets block off
Getting some skin exposure to the blackout (get some protection)
Get me on my feet (get some direction, woo-hoo)
Oh, get me on my feet
Get me off the streets (get some protection)
Get a second, get a (woo-hoo)
Yeah, get a second breath and pass, second go, blackout


Lyrics submitted by saturnine

Blackout Lyrics as written by David Bowie

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Blackout song meanings
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4 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    The first verse and a half seem to be about a club with cage dancers that are too expesive for his tastes. "I just cut and blackout" seems to be a reference to cocaine... cutting it, snorting it, and then blacking out. The fourth verse seems to be about a relationship going bad. I'm not really sure about much of the rest... probably drugs and relations (the things that filled his life during the late 70's)

    zaphod_borgon January 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    THIS SONG!

    stillillon August 15, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song really doesent sound like music until you listened to it like 10 times, then it's one of the crasiest best get-high-songs out there!

    JoeTheLionon May 29, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Zaphod borg (sci-fi fan maybe) is probably right aout the drugs, the imagery is quite confusing I think panthers and robin hood smoking a ciggarette are probably metaphorical (yes, I am like a young sherlock holmes or to a lesser extent nancy drew) it reminds me of the terry gilliam film fear and loathing in las vegas in which Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro stagger around in drug induced stupours, maybe it could have been used in the soundtrack, in fact why wasn't it? Gilliam, this is a major oversight...

    madman_K.on August 31, 2007   Link

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