The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long, long time ago
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home
I searched for form and land
For years and years, I roamed
I gazed a gazeless stare
We walked a million hills
I must have died alone
A long, long time ago
Who knows?
Not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
Who knows?
Not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
"Thanks, that was a David Bowie song"
"What's next?"
"I didn't screw it up, did I?
Okay, but here's another one I could screw up"
"What is it?"
"Am I going to do this by myself?"
"Do it by yourself"
"Okay, well, I think I'll try it in a different key
I'll try it in the normal key
And if it sounds bad, these people are just gonna have to wait"
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long, long time ago
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home
I searched for form and land
For years and years, I roamed
I gazed a gazeless stare
We walked a million hills
I must have died alone
A long, long time ago
Who knows?
Not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
Who knows?
Not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
"Thanks, that was a David Bowie song"
"What's next?"
"I didn't screw it up, did I?
Okay, but here's another one I could screw up"
"What is it?"
"Am I going to do this by myself?"
"Do it by yourself"
"Okay, well, I think I'll try it in a different key
I'll try it in the normal key
And if it sounds bad, these people are just gonna have to wait"
Lyrics submitted by bonj, edited by RaY4451, Mellow_Harsher, LivieP
The Man Who Sold The World [MTV Unplugged In New York] Lyrics as written by David Bowie
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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to those who dont understand the concept of songmeanings:
i dont go here to talk about the greatest songs and bands im come here to get some fucking knowledge on music and get help interpreting songs. if youre gonna offer a comment can you at least try to write some kind of meaning????? nobody cares about who's favorite song this is. if youre gonna say something like that though..try not to make it sound like a damn fact. it offends many people as you are making it seem like what you say goes. once someone says "this song sucks," those who disagree will attack you, calling you musically challenged or some crap like that. im not ragging on the people who leave a comment saying its their fave song. im pissed at the people who think theyre the shit casting insults on songs which a lot of people may like PLUS MAKING IT A STATEMENT, not opinion. and i realize i said "nobody cares about who's favorite song this is" i didnt quite mean that---i just get annoyed when im looking through 5 pgs of 'good song" over and over again when the purpose of this site is for posting possible meanings to songs.
excuse my thoughts all over the place, when i get mad i speak out of order and bizarrely
OH YEAH!! the person who said nirvana was barely musically average on the first page: GO TO HELL!!! its comments like that that anger me so. nirvana must have been good--they turned rock into an entirely new direction. its fine if you dnt like them and think theyre terrible--im just saying that nothing below average can be so popular. what a stupid thing to say! dnt fucking diss any band like that i could go on a completely different rant on this but i think ppl reading this are prolly getting mad at me :p
whatever-- just dnt be ignorant ppl
and thank you "ill stylie" you made an OPINION and made an effort to INTERPRETATION
Guitar player especially rag on Nirvana because practically all the guitar work on their albums was very simple and easy to learn. Anyone with a brain however will be aware that difficulty has no real bearing on the quality of the music. Nirvana was good, they were somewhat catchy, just accept it.<br /> And speaking as someone who has A) chronic depression they're whole life, and B) kicked heroin/opiates repeatedly... (and also C for someone who hates identifying themselves by their issues)...uh, what was my point? Oh yeah, he totally killed himself. If there truly is a god up there and he is a giant retard like some people seem to believe then sure, maybe Courtney Love got together w/El Duche from The Mentors and George Bush Sr. and Andre the Giant's ghost and staged Kurt's suicide to cover up the murder. Even if that actually happened, he still would've killed himself eventually so it's a moot point. When you're hooked on dope your whole day revolves around either the acquisition of dope and/or the enjoyment of said smack. Once you're rich and have all you could ever need then your tolerance shoots through the roof, so you'll never feel as good as you remember again (the only alternative being to stop for awhile, which is hard enough to cover up when you're not famous). Plus he had a kid which puts your head in a whole new place. Plus he must've realized who the mother was at some point of lucidity and gotten high again to suppress the horror.<br /> Yes, he killed himself. And guess what? It was a good thing. Yup. The alternatives could be: seeing a commercial for Kurt Cobain on the next episode of Celebrity Intervention (during a Jersey Shore commercial), Kurt going through rehab so much that Lindsey Lohan looks normal, not able to write music anymore (much more challenging after sobriety) or worse writing crappy music. Yes, "crappy" is a subjective term, but think about this: heroin addiction is highs and lows, and everything feels/sounds/look/smells like crap when you're low. Maybe all his music started sounding lousy to him. Who knows?<br /> The reason I'm here, simultaneously hijacking and pulling a 6yr necropost, is because I recently rediscovered the David Bowie version and forgot how much better it is. Really. He speaks English and everything. Cool flange effect on the vocals. Way better song (and the Bowie version's page doesn't have nearly as many useless insipid comments, so that's a plus too :-)
You must be from the snowflake generation. That is, considering how easily you got your little feelings hurt. Run to momma and suckle her/his titty, but for God's sake shut the fuck up.<br /> @writtenspikes