The woman adressed in this song seems to have experienced a great change in her life — new country, new friends, a house with a maid, and so on. It could be a model, an actress, or a singer who became a star overnight, or someone who married into high society. But obviously the change is not good for her, she seems to live in an illusory world and is in need of psychotherapy.
Bowie holds back important information that could help to decode the song. Why 22? Why "new eyes"? Why does she think so much, but refuses to talk? What does she fear? Maybe Bowie reacted to a news story or had a concrete person in mind. Is the song meant as a riddle? Anyway, it makes me feel uncomfortable — like "The Next Day", where a tortured man gets the hymnical refrain: "Here I am not quite dying, my body left to rot in a hollow tree..." Great music, but very strange lyrics...
The woman adressed in this song seems to have experienced a great change in her life — new country, new friends, a house with a maid, and so on. It could be a model, an actress, or a singer who became a star overnight, or someone who married into high society. But obviously the change is not good for her, she seems to live in an illusory world and is in need of psychotherapy. Bowie holds back important information that could help to decode the song. Why 22? Why "new eyes"? Why does she think so much, but refuses to talk? What does she fear? Maybe Bowie reacted to a news story or had a concrete person in mind. Is the song meant as a riddle? Anyway, it makes me feel uncomfortable — like "The Next Day", where a tortured man gets the hymnical refrain: "Here I am not quite dying, my body left to rot in a hollow tree..." Great music, but very strange lyrics...
I believe the Next Day is a reference to himself. He survived a heart attack/surgery and the album seems to be his view on living on borrowed time
I believe the Next Day is a reference to himself. He survived a heart attack/surgery and the album seems to be his view on living on borrowed time