In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Cold fire, you've got everything but cold fire
You will be my rest and peace, child
I moved up to take a place
Near you
So tired, it's the sky that makes you feel tried
It's a trick to make you see wide
It can all but break your heat
In pieces
Staying back in your memory
Are the movies in the past?
How you moved is all it takes
To sing a song of when I loved
The prettiest star
One day, though it might as well be someday
You and I will rise up all the way
All because of what you are
The prettiest star
Staying back in your memory
Are the movies in the past?
How you moved is all it takes
To sing a song of when I loved
The prettiest star
One day, though it might as well be someday
You and I will rise up all the way
All because of what you are
The prettiest star
You will be my rest and peace, child
I moved up to take a place
Near you
So tired, it's the sky that makes you feel tried
It's a trick to make you see wide
It can all but break your heat
In pieces
Staying back in your memory
Are the movies in the past?
How you moved is all it takes
To sing a song of when I loved
The prettiest star
One day, though it might as well be someday
You and I will rise up all the way
All because of what you are
The prettiest star
Staying back in your memory
Are the movies in the past?
How you moved is all it takes
To sing a song of when I loved
The prettiest star
One day, though it might as well be someday
You and I will rise up all the way
All because of what you are
The prettiest star
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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
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.
This is in my top four favorite David Bowie songs. I know it's not politically driven and controversial and it does not has a crazy sound that Bowie is known and loved for, but thats exactly why I love it. It is beautiful and pure. Uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. I love David Bowie.
I don't actually agree about it being a proposal - he sounds a lot as if he's talking in retrospect; "When I LOVED the prettiest star". "Staying back in your memory are the movies in the past"
Gorgeous guitar solo - lifts you on the wind & soars away
I'm sure you'll agree that this song is beautiful and of a time pure and simple, a lost time that unless you were there you couldn't begin to understand how special it was, I'm there still in my mind, still dreaming of it, special times gone now, todd
The bolan version is less complicated than the album version, both very good. Such a great song andof a great time.todd
Try not to smile when listening to this. Such a gorgeously, simple love song.
It's a great song when reflecting upon someone you knew or have lost. Great guitar solo at the end of the song for sure.
I too always loved the end of this song (as well as just the whole song generally)...there's just something about the way it fades out the last thirty/forty seconds, such an easygoing trailing off just before the manic, over-the-top cover to "Let's Spend The Night Together"...the last 30-45 seconds or so of "Prettiest" are like being taken by the hand and strolled/escorted ever so lightly to the edge of a precipice which leads to a sharp, abrupt, very vertical drop to the next track on the album (again, the nutty cover to Jagger/Richards).
Bowie claimed this was the song he sang to Angie over the phone as a proposal. For the album, his old friend Marc Bolan of TRex was asked to do the guitar solo on the song, The Prettiest Star-- which he did. Marc's wife, June Child, did not like Bowie and did not want Marc to do it-- she said he was too good for it. Marc was famous first before Bowie. He was the FIRST glam rocker and the UK's no. 1 pop star for 3 years. Bowie and Bolan knew each other before either were famous, and had the same producer Tony Visconti. They had an ornery and healthy rivalry. Bowie was the guest on Marc's final TV show before Marc died. I have always had the suspicion that Bowie wrote this song about Marc Bolan. Marc was camp, a prettyman, but straight. Bowie's bisexuality was and is well known. Angie didn't like Marc either and talked Bowie into dropping his guitar solo from the album,, and replaced him. If you look hard enough, you can find the version with Marc playing. Neither of their wives liked the other guy-- perhaps jealous of their relationship and Bowie's brief attraction to Marc. If Bowie were alive, and I had the chance to ask him, I would!
Inspired by his first wife Angie. Bowie often called her 'Star'.