I must kindly disagree with you. Bowie is most definitely being ironic in this song, but not sarcastic as your brother seems to think. Rather, Bowie is describing a thought that young people often have and is ascribing worth to it, but while also knowing that it doesn't last. Perhaps if you think this article of faith he describes can last, then it won't sound ironic, but I think he plays it a little too fast and the tones are painfully joyful.
I remember when my girlfriend and I were in college: we actually believed the words in this song as an article of faith. We believed that if human beings could simply "conquer fear" then thy could find ultimate happiness on earth. This is at once both a beautiful wish and a state of being that can never be attained. Both of these truths are conveyed at once in this song, making it an all-time classic in my book.
I must kindly disagree with you. Bowie is most definitely being ironic in this song, but not sarcastic as your brother seems to think. Rather, Bowie is describing a thought that young people often have and is ascribing worth to it, but while also knowing that it doesn't last. Perhaps if you think this article of faith he describes can last, then it won't sound ironic, but I think he plays it a little too fast and the tones are painfully joyful.
I remember when my girlfriend and I were in college: we actually believed the words in this song as an article of faith. We believed that if human beings could simply "conquer fear" then thy could find ultimate happiness on earth. This is at once both a beautiful wish and a state of being that can never be attained. Both of these truths are conveyed at once in this song, making it an all-time classic in my book.