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"


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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The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie cover) song meanings
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  • +28
    General Comment

    In his youth a man was happy, ambitious, eager to embrace the world around him. Everything was going for him. Pretty much just a normal typical young boy. As he grew older he fell into depression, drugs, etc. Washed his life away. His world has ended and he's stuck in his own despair. A deep deep depression that is unbelievably hard to break the grasp of.

    I believe the song is about said man. He's walking down the stairs and perhaps there is a mirror on the wall or a picture of himself as a young boy. He stops and looks at his own face and is suddenly struck with the pain and grief of realizing he has let his life slip so shittily down the drain. He's confused by these sudden feelings and rememberances, as he thinks to himself, "I thought you died alone, a long long time ago." Referring to his younger self sinking into the depression he now carries. He's not even sure where things went wrong. "Who knows? Not me. I never lost control"

    Experiencing these old feelings he decides to embark on a journey to recovery but it is not easy and it takes years. "I searched for form and land. For years and years I roamed". Along this journey he begins to notice how many others are feeling the same way as him and it strikes him with a deep pain. "I gazed a gazely stare at all of the millions here" It hurts him that this world could be so sad, and by the end of the song he deems himself no more capable than everyone else around him. They've all sold their own world (just like he sold his own) and he's fallen back into his own depression just like everybody else. He's helpless. "WE must have died alone, a long long time ago."

    Stypticon July 26, 2011   Link

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