Share bright failing star

Care-line
Care-line
Care-line
Care-line
Riding these shelly, shelly, shelly umm

Share bright failing star


Lyrics submitted by saturnine, edited by ziggystardox

Subterraneans Lyrics as written by David Bowie

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Subterraneans song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    heyyyy i'm a subterranean

    subterranean_summeron June 12, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Prettiest Bowie song imo.

    blackled222on October 01, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The lyrics here are incorrect. "Shelly" should be replaced with "Shirley" as it is in the CD booklet.

    Interestingly enough, "Care-line" might be interpreted as the name "Caroline", whereas "Shirley" might be heard as "surely" a la Airplane!.

    Chocolate Is Yummyon November 16, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    As a philosophy grad the first thing this song makes me think of is Chomsky's linguistic theories. Chomsky argued that the human mind has an inborn faculty of language comprehension that recognizes the underlying structure of language, without requiring the content of a given sentence to be, itself, comprehensible. Chomsky's famous example is the sentence "Colourless green ideas sleep furiously." which, syntactically speaking, is a perfectly acceptable sentence, and is recognized by the mind as such - despite it's being nonsense. I've always wondered if Bowie was aware of this theory and cleverly making art out of science.

    terrykbon June 21, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Wonderful saxophone. No idea about the meaning though.

    flavour countryon August 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    A beautiful tune.Dreamy and romantic. I think the vocal sounds like Share bright failing star Caroline, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline Riding there, surely, surely, surely on

    He stands beneath bright stars that are on the verge of dying ("white dwarves," these stars are called) Thinking of a lady he loves (Caroline) Riding the bus or the tube, having moved on with her life, certainly to be out of his l. And he's thinking of how he and his sweetheart, his Caroline, walked and kissed under these bright "white dwarf stars" together, and the poor feller's got the sorrows. Awwwww.

    So, there you go. It's a broken-heart song. It's a song about romantic parting and the sorrow it brings

    CuteSparkinaon October 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Sorry about the repost. Typo

    like Share bright failing star Caroline, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline Riding there, surely, surely, surely on

    He stands beneath bright stars that are on the verge of dying ("white dwarves," these stars are called) Thinking of a lady he loves (Caroline) Riding the bus or the tube, having moved on with her life, certainly out of his. And he's thinking of how he and his sweetheart, his Caroline, walked and kissed under these bright "white dwarf stars" together, and the poor feller's got the sorrows. Awwwww.

    So, there you go. It's a broken-heart song. It's a song about romantic parting and the sorrow it brings

    CuteSparkinaon October 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The final song of Low, "Subterraneans" was meant to invoke the misery of those in East Berlin during the Cold War. According to Bowie, people who "got caught in East Berlin after the separation - hence the faint jazz saxophones representing the memory of what it was."

    Beautiful song, great album.

    ItsOnlyRckNRollon January 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I interpret this as either he talked Caroline and Shelly into a threesome back at the Sharebright Motor Lodge but his credit card was declined, or he accidentally called Shelly "Caroline" back at the Sharebright Motor Lodge and now everything has been declined. Either way the night has turned out to be far less terranean than he had hoped...

    ...or that East Berlin thing.

    Thrarcon June 03, 2023   Link
  • -1
    General Comment

    Shoot. Didn't copy enough. Third time's the charm.

    A beautiful tune.Dreamy and romantic. I think the vocal sounds like Share bright failing star Caroline, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline Riding there, surely, surely, surely on

    He stands beneath bright stars that are on the verge of dying ("white dwarves," these stars are called) Thinking of a lady he loves (Caroline) Riding the bus or the tube, having moved on with her life, certainly out of his. And he's thinking of how he and his sweetheart, his Caroline, walked and kissed under these bright "white dwarf stars" together, and the poor feller's got the sorrows. Awwwww.

    So, there you go. It's a broken-heart song. It's a song about romantic parting and the sorrow it brings

    CuteSparkinaon October 03, 2008   Link

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

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.