According to Wikipedia, there happens to be a specific real-life event that had a hand in inspiring this song:
"During 1969 Bowie and then-girlfriend Angela Barnett lived in Beckenham, where they ran the Arts Lab, trying to encourage young people to be creative. However, Bowie soon quit the Arts Lab, when he realized that most people were coming just to see him perform and not to participate. His disappointing encounter with the hippies during this time is the basis for the song, as he felt he was used and abused by the teens: 'I gave them my life... They drained my very soul...'"
According to Wikipedia, there happens to be a specific real-life event that had a hand in inspiring this song:
"During 1969 Bowie and then-girlfriend Angela Barnett lived in Beckenham, where they ran the Arts Lab, trying to encourage young people to be creative. However, Bowie soon quit the Arts Lab, when he realized that most people were coming just to see him perform and not to participate. His disappointing encounter with the hippies during this time is the basis for the song, as he felt he was used and abused by the teens: 'I gave them my life... They drained my very soul...'"