Yes... but the entire first verse references scenes and conditions in post Soviet Russia (or the 'buffer states')... the Riga One was a late soviet (Latvian) moped, much beloved of teenagers from Russia to East Germany, also seen in Berlin in the late 70s....
in more detail, it sounds post Soviet, from the satellite states which since floundered in civil wars... or maybe Jugoslavia, which was torn apart and 'joined the west'...
the yayaya chorus is in fact a loose version of the 1960s pre-Beatles instrumental hit (for The Shadows) called 'Apache', which may reference another Empire, and the genocide which helped create it (it's also why the song gets a co-writer credit, even though that writer passed away in the 90s)
a very sad song, a very beautiful song, maybe also having echoes of PJ Harvey's track Our Glorious Land from Let England Shake, which was the big offbeat hit while Bowie was recording this album.
Yes... but the entire first verse references scenes and conditions in post Soviet Russia (or the 'buffer states')... the Riga One was a late soviet (Latvian) moped, much beloved of teenagers from Russia to East Germany, also seen in Berlin in the late 70s.... in more detail, it sounds post Soviet, from the satellite states which since floundered in civil wars... or maybe Jugoslavia, which was torn apart and 'joined the west'... the yayaya chorus is in fact a loose version of the 1960s pre-Beatles instrumental hit (for The Shadows) called 'Apache', which may reference another Empire, and the genocide which helped create it (it's also why the song gets a co-writer credit, even though that writer passed away in the 90s) a very sad song, a very beautiful song, maybe also having echoes of PJ Harvey's track Our Glorious Land from Let England Shake, which was the big offbeat hit while Bowie was recording this album.