I couldn't escape this feeling
With my China Girl
I'm just a wreck without
My little China Girl
I'd hear her heart beating
Loud as thunder
Saw the stars crashing

I'm a mess without
My China Girl
Wake up mornings, there's
No China Girl
I'd hear hearts beating
Loud as thunder
I'd see stars crashing down

I'd feel tragic, like I
Was Marlon Brando
When I'd look at my China Girl
I could pretend that nothing
Really meant too much
When I'd look at my China Girl

I'd stumble into town
Just like a sacred cow
Visions of swastikas in my head
And plans for everyone
It's in the white of my eyes

My little China Girl
You shouldn't mess with me
I'll ruin everything you are
I'll give you television
I'll give you eyes of blue
I'll give you men who want to rule the world

And when I get excited
My little China Girl says
"Oh Jimmy, just you shut your mouth"
She says "shhhh..."


Lyrics submitted by J0K3R

China Girl Lyrics as written by James Osterberg David Bowie

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

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

China Girl song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

14 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    I love how it starts as just another bowie imitation track and at about 2:00 he just starts screaming his head off like he's in the stooges again

    RobotHouseon September 29, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i just love iggy's voice so much, i can't explain it. it's really fucking amazing. so cool, so beautiful, and yet at times so wild and primal. he's a musical god. i love both his and bowie's version, as i'm a huge bowie fan. they wrote the song together though and i think its fitting that they both had a shot at it.

    lukeyboy3on July 13, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Iggy Pop & David Bowie wrote this while they were recording with in France. They were recording in the same place as the French artist Jacques Higelin, and Iggy became smitten with his wife, who is Vietnamese. He confessed his love for her and she rebuked him. The song is a pretty good summary of falling for someone and not having them reciprocate; the feelings go from tender and loving to angry and frustrated. He sounds so hurt and dejected by the last line of the song... awesome recording.

    tristan_son August 18, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    must be my favourite song ever. can't believe no one commented on it. so superior to bowie's version, the vocals are unbelievable

    PiKueloon February 03, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is one of my favorite songs.

    Somaliveon April 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this version is really beautiful and sounds very rich. I like it a lot better than Bowie's version, although I think Bowie's version is easier to understand. This is so glam, I love it.

    aubreymcfateon March 02, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    read the book. Open up and Bleed: Iggy Pop. i just finished it. they talk about the inspiration behind it.

    Dustin_Moritzon August 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    the first portion of the lyrics has minor inaccuracies..

    here's the correct lyrics:

    "I couldn't escape this feeling With my China Girl I'm just a wreck without My little China Girl I'd hear her heart beating Loud as thunder Saw the stars crashing"

    smashingyngmanon July 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion

    Better than the bowie version IMHO. Iggy's voice feels more vulnerable and desperate, which Bowie is trying to be sensual in a kind of gross over the top kind of way.

    j1eron November 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Swastika? What is it with Bowie and Iggy when it comes to Nazis?

    VGoldmineWildeon August 14, 2010   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
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.