Bowie wrote the album Diamond Dogs as a tribute to the George Orwell book "1984". He approached Mr. Orwell's widow and asked if he could use the name of the book and she said no, so the replacement name was "Diamond Dogs". So, the name of the songs - "We Are the Dead", "1984" and "Big Brother" are in that theme. Winston Smith in "1984" states "We Are the Dead" for example. Certainly, Bowie used to cut up words and incorporate them into songs, but he picked words and phrases that fit the post apocalyptic vision of "1984". He didn't just randomly come up (by chance) with all these type of lyrics on this concept album. The best songs on the Diamond Dogs album are the least commercial - "We Are the Dead" and "Sweet Thing/Candidate". "Future Legend" basically lays out the apocalyptic vision in the beginning of the album. Excellent use of imagery in this album's lyrics.
Bowie wrote the album Diamond Dogs as a tribute to the George Orwell book "1984". He approached Mr. Orwell's widow and asked if he could use the name of the book and she said no, so the replacement name was "Diamond Dogs". So, the name of the songs - "We Are the Dead", "1984" and "Big Brother" are in that theme. Winston Smith in "1984" states "We Are the Dead" for example. Certainly, Bowie used to cut up words and incorporate them into songs, but he picked words and phrases that fit the post apocalyptic vision of "1984". He didn't just randomly come up (by chance) with all these type of lyrics on this concept album. The best songs on the Diamond Dogs album are the least commercial - "We Are the Dead" and "Sweet Thing/Candidate". "Future Legend" basically lays out the apocalyptic vision in the beginning of the album. Excellent use of imagery in this album's lyrics.