The Man Who Sold The World
♪ Nirvana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago
Oh no, not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazley stare at all the millions here
We must have died along, a long long time ago
Who knows? Not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
The lyrics of Nirvana’s song “The Man Who Sold The World” tell the story of a man who travels to a far-off land in search of the truth about himself. The singer meets a friend on a staircase and is surprised to learn that he is thought to be dead. The friend, however, tells him that he never lost control, which the singer takes to mean that he has control over his own life.
The man then shakes the friend's hand and goes on his way, searching for something that he cannot find. He roams the world for years, searching for form and land, but he is unable to find what he is looking for. He gazes out at the millions of people around him, wondering if they are all dead, if they all lost control at some point in their lives.
The song is a meditation on control, death, and the search for meaning in life. It is a haunting and powerful piece of music that speaks to the human condition in a way that few other songs can. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they are also deeply personal and moving.
Line by Line Meaning
We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when
As we coincidentally crossed paths on the stairs, we chatted about events and reminisced about the past.
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Even though I did not attend the gathering, he claimed that I was his acquaintance.
Which came as some surprise, I spoke into his eyes
I was taken aback by his statement, as I stared into his eyes and uttered a response.
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago
I believed that he had passed away in solitude, ages ago.
Oh no, not me, I never lost control
But not me, I haven't lost my grip on my own life and sanity.
You're face to face with the man who sold the world
You are in direct confrontation with the person who manipulated the world for their own gain.
I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home
I chuckled and shook his hand before leaving and returning to my abode.
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
For ages, I wandered around seeking purpose and a place to belong.
I gazed a gazley stare at all the millions here
I stared in awe at the enormous crowd of people gathered around me.
We must have died along, a long long time ago
It's as if we died many eons ago.
Who knows? Not me, we never lost control
Who is to say? I certainly cannot, but I do know that I have never lost sight of my own direction in life.
You're face to face with the man who sold the world
You are confronting the person responsible for the world's corruption and manipulation.
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Written by: DAVID BOWIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12tone
Some additional thoughts/corrections:
1) One interesting thing about relative phrygian is that, unlike relative minor, most of the chords behave differently in the two keys. Whether you're in F major or D minor, for instance, the chord G minor is a subdominant sound. As we saw with C, though, many chords in F major have different functions in A phrygian and vice versa, so by putting you in both tonal spaces at the same time, it becomes hard to establish exactly what any given chord is trying to do.
2) On the guiro part, that strike may not actually be played on the guiro itself. In the guiro notation guides I found there was no indication of that sort of sound, so it may have been on a separate wood block or something. Hard to tell from digitally separated stems, but not super relevant either way.
3) I didn't have enough to say about it to justify making room in the script, but the bass in the verses is interesting too. Instead of just playing roots or whatever, Visconti's line walks around in this disjointed rhythmic pattern. It makes it feel like a journey.
4) This hopefully goes without saying, and I already said it in the video anyway, but to be clear, the "weight of manufactured authenticity" reading is just one interpretation. There are others, and they're equally valid, I just personally find them less compelling (Possibly because, as a professional YouTuber, I can personally relate to the struggles of art-as-product) and it's my video.
5) There's maybe even an argument to be made that the chorus is in C mixolydian: It starts on C major, the prechorus sits on that chord for a long time, and the short vocal phrases are D-C so there's some melodic resolution too. If you then take Db as a tritone sub of G, you've got basically a I-IV-V-IV progression. It doesn't really fit with the way I naturally hear it, but I can convince myself of it if I try. Makes more sense to me than F in the verse, at least.
6) Relatedly, if you're wondering why I bothered specifically arguing against F major there, it's because that's what Wikipedia says it is and I'm salty about it.
Morty Sanchez
I always read the song as someone who had broken up with someone else or otherwise had a falling out.
The narrator meets the old friend, passing them on the stairs, the narrator gives them a dirty look (speaks into their eyes) as if to say they want them dead.
The other person doesnt speak but just smiles, oh no, not me, as if everything is going well for them.
The other person is happy to see our narrator while the narrator feels the opposite.
Hence a song that sounds bifurcated, two people understood an interaction in two different ways.
Edit: I could be wrong
..."man who sold the world" in my read would mean the friend got one over on the narrator somehow, and the narrator is ruminating on the memory in regret.
But in your reading it could make more sense as a sleazy record executive
12tone
Some additional thoughts/corrections:
1) One interesting thing about relative phrygian is that, unlike relative minor, most of the chords behave differently in the two keys. Whether you're in F major or D minor, for instance, the chord G minor is a subdominant sound. As we saw with C, though, many chords in F major have different functions in A phrygian and vice versa, so by putting you in both tonal spaces at the same time, it becomes hard to establish exactly what any given chord is trying to do.
2) On the guiro part, that strike may not actually be played on the guiro itself. In the guiro notation guides I found there was no indication of that sort of sound, so it may have been on a separate wood block or something. Hard to tell from digitally separated stems, but not super relevant either way.
3) I didn't have enough to say about it to justify making room in the script, but the bass in the verses is interesting too. Instead of just playing roots or whatever, Visconti's line walks around in this disjointed rhythmic pattern. It makes it feel like a journey.
4) This hopefully goes without saying, and I already said it in the video anyway, but to be clear, the "weight of manufactured authenticity" reading is just one interpretation. There are others, and they're equally valid, I just personally find them less compelling (Possibly because, as a professional YouTuber, I can personally relate to the struggles of art-as-product) and it's my video.
5) There's maybe even an argument to be made that the chorus is in C mixolydian: It starts on C major, the prechorus sits on that chord for a long time, and the short vocal phrases are D-C so there's some melodic resolution too. If you then take Db as a tritone sub of G, you've got basically a I-IV-V-IV progression. It doesn't really fit with the way I naturally hear it, but I can convince myself of it if I try. Makes more sense to me than F in the verse, at least.
6) Relatedly, if you're wondering why I bothered specifically arguing against F major there, it's because that's what Wikipedia says it is and I'm salty about it.
A Gem
This song can kill...
Damm.
Morty Sanchez
I always read the song as someone who had broken up with someone else or otherwise had a falling out.
The narrator meets the old friend, passing them on the stairs, the narrator gives them a dirty look (speaks into their eyes) as if to say they want them dead.
The other person doesnt speak but just smiles, oh no, not me, as if everything is going well for them.
The other person is happy to see our narrator while the narrator feels the opposite.
Hence a song that sounds bifurcated, two people understood an interaction in two different ways.
Edit: I could be wrong
..."man who sold the world" in my read would mean the friend got one over on the narrator somehow, and the narrator is ruminating on the memory in regret.
But in your reading it could make more sense as a sleazy record executive
Tye Nevins
In no way related to the video, but I've been writing out scales,how to play them linear on every string of the guitar, the chords of each key and the notes those chords are built from. It's to help with metal riff writing and composing in general. Honestly it's going wonders for my playing already because I have so many options harmonically to work with. Using the notes of chords to build riffs is so satisfying. Like fret 7 to fret 10 on the low E followed by 9 on the A for a root of B, a minor third and a perfect fifth for a bminor chord. This said I want even more harmonic options. I know jumping to a relative major is common practice when composing in a minor key, using borrowed chords. But I'm wondering if you can borrow chords from different similar keys forever, not just minor to major. I know switching from minor to major back to minor will just land you back where you started, but what about not only a different key but a different mode of said key as well so you can continue to change up the harmony infinitely without it sounding to out if place. Maybe I'm not onto anything here.
modulusshift
I played in a jazz ensemble, and learned to play the guiro part on a couple Latin songs, in a rhythm basically identical to this one. The trick I was taught is to do a full stroke in one direction, two short sharp back and forth strokes on the end of the ribs, then a full stroke back, and the two short strokes again on that end. The whole pattern is a continuous motion, easy to zone out to. The guiro is an instrument perfectly suited to this rhythm, the kitchen unitasker of the jazz ensemble, you pull it out only when you need that exact sound and rhythm lol
Jenna Hall
In listening to the song itself, especially during the last section when everything builds up to the conclusion, the percussion part on the left sounds like both a guiro and a wood block. You can hear the hits at times during the guiro sound.
Russell Szabados
I’ll never forget seeing David Bowie perform this song when he toured with NiN in 1995 and all the kids around us were like “(gasp!) He’s covering a Nirvana song!” That was the first time I realized I was old.
txdust80
What venue did you see him at. I saw the same tour and he was adamant to not play any of his old stuff at that concert. If you got his older stuff he must have deviated from from his stance to only play his current stuff as a theatrical experience
drthrashley
Strange part of everyone thinking it was Nirvana is at the end of the song Cobain distinctly says, "that was a David Bowie song"
Mor3gan
Is that all you old people talk about. I've heard this same story a million times over and I'm tired of it