Reality

Another personal reflection.

"Tragic youth was looking young and sexy The tragic youth was wearing tattered black jeans Bearing arms and flaunting all her mischief Then tragic youth was going down on me"

This 1st verse sets up the image of youthful innocence. It only sounds like a blowjob from a crazed fan, but it doubles as Bowie talking about himself and his own youthful naievity.

I build a wall of sound to separate us (rock star status) I hid amog the junk of wretched highs (cocaine) I sped from planet X to planet Alpha (ziggy to today) Struggling for reality (still trying to find himself)

Such a great song, people who think Bowie is past it are missing out on a great CD with 'Reality.'

I think in this song Bowie is just talking about reality in a semi-existentialist way, what the f&*k is it basically, how do we know what is real, how do we come to be at the place and time in existence where we are?

My favourite part is "I've been right and I've been wrong/Now I'm right back where I started from/Never looked over reality's shoulder" - it's like, I've been through all these ups and downs and ins and outs, but I never realised that reality was playing a different game with me the whole time. Or something.

Anyway, it's a cool song and it rocks like Bowie of old.

I agree. Bowie has once again proven that he's almost immortal. Also, I think ""I've been right and I've been wrong/Now I'm right back where I started from/Never looked over reality's shoulder" refers to him always changing stange personas and attitudes, but never showing who he really was: i.e. messing with reality.

I find this song totally about Bowie. This line "Now my death is more than just a sad song" refers to his version of My Death. I see this song as Bowie looking back on his like. Kinda like his "My Way" song.

I says to me that the world is not what you think it is and, no matter how much you try, you can't deny reality.

A song about the impossibility of life in the modern age of rampant christian and muslim fundamentaslism. It's not a matter of "whether" they will destroy our planet with nuclear war in the name of 2,000 year old superstitions... just "when" it will happen. Anybody who has children must now consider the probable possibility that their children will not live a full life because of these nutjob a-holes, like Pat Robertson or the authors of the Left Behind books. There WILL be nuclear war... not because it's prophecized (as these idiots would have you believe in their fear-mongering books) but because people believe these books and pastors and will think dropping bombs and torturing "heretics" is fulfilling the prophecy and serving their "god". It's truly tragic. This song is about one sick-n-tired youth who realizes how futile it is to resist these war-mongers.

Really digging this song, and this whole album really. Just recently started listening to some of Bowie's later albums, (always loved his early work though).