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Teenage Wildlife Lyrics
Well, how come you only want tomorrow
With its promise
Of something hard to do
A real life adventure
Worth more than pieces of gold
Blue skies above
And sun on your arms
Strength in your stride
And hope in those squeaky clean eyes
You'll get chilly receptions
Everywhere you go
Blinded with desire
I guess the season is on
So you train by shadow boxing,
Search for the truth
But it's all, but it's all used up
Break open
Your million dollar weapon
And you push , still you push,
Still you push your luck
A broken nosed mogul are you
One of the new wave boys
Same old thing in brand new drag
Comes sweeping into view, oh-ooh
As ugly as a teenage millionaire
Pretending
It's a whizz kid world
You'll take me aside, and say
"Well, David, what shall I do?
They wait for me in the hallway"
I'll say "Don't ask me, I don't know any hallways"
But they move in numbers and they've got me in a corner
I feel like a group of one, no-no
They can't do this to me
I'm not some piece
Of teenage wildlife
Those midwives to history put on their bloody robes
The word is that the hunted one is out there on his own
You're alone for maybe the last time
And you breathe for a long time
Then you howl like a wolf in a trap
And you daren't look behind
You fall to the ground
Like a leaf from the tree
And look up one time
At that vast blue sky
Scream out aloud as they shoot you down
No no, I'm not a piece
Of teenage wildlife
I'm not a piece
Of teenage wildlife
And no one will have seen
And no one will confess
The fingerprints will prove
That you coudn't pass the test
There'll be others
On the line filing past,
Who'll whisper low
I miss you he really had to go
Well each to his own, he was
Another piece of teenage wildlife, oh-oh-oh-ohh
Another piece of teenage wildlife, oh-oh-oh-ohh
Another piece of teenage wild...
Wild
Wild
Wild
With its promise
Of something hard to do
A real life adventure
Worth more than pieces of gold
Blue skies above
And sun on your arms
Strength in your stride
And hope in those squeaky clean eyes
You'll get chilly receptions
Everywhere you go
Blinded with desire
I guess the season is on
So you train by shadow boxing,
Search for the truth
But it's all, but it's all used up
Break open
Your million dollar weapon
And you push , still you push,
Still you push your luck
A broken nosed mogul are you
One of the new wave boys
Same old thing in brand new drag
Comes sweeping into view, oh-ooh
As ugly as a teenage millionaire
Pretending
It's a whizz kid world
You'll take me aside, and say
"Well, David, what shall I do?
They wait for me in the hallway"
I'll say "Don't ask me, I don't know any hallways"
But they move in numbers and they've got me in a corner
I feel like a group of one, no-no
They can't do this to me
I'm not some piece
Of teenage wildlife
Those midwives to history put on their bloody robes
The word is that the hunted one is out there on his own
You're alone for maybe the last time
And you breathe for a long time
Then you howl like a wolf in a trap
And you daren't look behind
You fall to the ground
Like a leaf from the tree
And look up one time
At that vast blue sky
Scream out aloud as they shoot you down
No no, I'm not a piece
Of teenage wildlife
I'm not a piece
Of teenage wildlife
And no one will have seen
And no one will confess
The fingerprints will prove
That you coudn't pass the test
There'll be others
On the line filing past,
Who'll whisper low
I miss you he really had to go
Well each to his own, he was
Another piece of teenage wildlife, oh-oh-oh-ohh
Another piece of teenage wildlife, oh-oh-oh-ohh
Another piece of teenage wild...
Wild
Wild
Wild
Song Info
Submitted by
saturnine On Apr 27, 2004
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'Same old thing in brand, new drag Comes sweeping into view, whoa, hoe, hoe, hoe, hoe, hoe As ugly as a teenage millionaire Pretending it's a whizz-kid world'
Rumor has it that Bowie was referring to Gary Numan whom Bowie didn't really like much. Numan was being compared to Bowie at the time of this release.
this is a really metaphorical song, and thanks guys for clearing up some of it. for me, the chorus is just so defiant. he's not just some regular teenage trash caught in the machinery, dammit! i think about this song whenever the world gets me down, haha.
The lyrics to Teenage Wildlife were pretty much a cut-and-paste process, something Bowie has been a fan of doing all through his career.
You basically jumble a shitload of words, and then piece them together in some random order, keeping in mind things like basic grammar and flow.
There are occasional remarks in here that seem thought out, but mostly this song is really random and there isn't too much to peel back.
The music and textures used play a far bigger role in defining this song than the lyrics. The lead guitar sections are amazing.
@rabbithowl Seriously? This has to be the laziest assessment i've seen so far. I'll give you a hint: it's about newcomers and imitators going into the popular music scene
@rabbithowl Seriously? This has to be the laziest assessment i've seen so far. I'll give you a hint: it's about newcomers and imitators going into the popular music scene
@rabbithowl Lots of poets and song-writers have used the cut-up method, including T.S. Eliot and William Burroughs.
@rabbithowl Lots of poets and song-writers have used the cut-up method, including T.S. Eliot and William Burroughs.
The use of this method doesn’t mean that the results are “random” or without meaning. The crucial final stage of the process is not just ensuring “basic grammar and flow,” but also meaning.
The use of this method doesn’t mean that the results are “random” or without meaning. The crucial final stage of the process is not just ensuring “basic grammar and flow,” but also meaning.
“Teenage Wildlife” obviously has a lot of meaning, as others have discussed.
“Teenage Wildlife” obviously has a lot of meaning, as others have discussed.
teenagewildlife webs. has pretty amazing analysis. impressive. and it was mentioned that this song was of an angry bowie which was strange for he always goes out of his way to be charming;, well I say, even angry, he does it in a remarkable charming way, artsy way, poetic way conveyed thorugh lyrics teenage wildlife,. He can only be charming,
About the nasty side of fame - the fear of being hunted. He feels like some sort of wild game being persued. "Don't ask me, I don't know any hallways." = I don't know how to handle this any better than you do. The "you" could be some up-and-coming star who will also be treated as a freak.
I'd love to connect it to the death of John Lennon, except that I'm pretty sure the song was written before then. Who's that guy who keeps insisting that Bowie's some sort of psychic? Take it from here, meaningman.
Sounds like Heroes in the beginning
Sounds like Heroes in the beginning
Genius love.
My guess is its about the adverse emotions one can face when its a change of the guard. I think maybe in Bowie's respect , the new music scene coming in and new trends/fashion and people almost render his emotions and feelings irrelevant to themselves such that he he might feel dejected and annoyed with the new wave
Lyrically, this song sees Bowie taking a thinly-veiled swipe at the new legion of imitators who had sprung up in the late 1970s as a result of his success. Bowie refers to them as the "new wave boys" and sings that they do the "same old thing in brand new drag". Indeed, there were new New Wave artists such as Gary Numan, Falco, Joy Division and The Cure among others who owed much of their existence and success to Bowie. And this track finds Bowie dismissing them with lyrics such as "The fingerprints will prove you couldn't pass the test".
Musically, the song purposefully echoes Bowie's own classic song "Heroes" as is to drive the point home that his artistic godchildren are just blatantly copying him and acting as if they invented this new style ["pretending it's a whiz-kid world"].
As the years moved on, Bowie came to terms with his followers and made peace with it - even with Gary Numan who he seemed particularly perturbed with at the time "Teenage Wildlife" was written.