Bowie developed an interest in music from an early age. He studied art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity", released in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted towards a sound he characterised as "plastic soul", initially alienating many of his UK fans but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. In 1977, he again changed direction with the electronic-inflected album Low, the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that came to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had three number-one hits: the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and "Under Pressure" (a 1981 collaboration with Queen). He achieved massive commercial success in the 1980s starting with Let's Dance (1983). Between 1988 and 1992, he fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine before resuming his solo career in 1993. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He also continued acting; his roles included Major Jack Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his home in New York City. He died two days after both his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum, eleven gold and eight silver album certifications, and released 11 number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone ranked him among the greatest artists in history. As of 2022, Bowie was the best-selling vinyl artist of the 21st century.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie
Studio albums
David Bowie (1967)
David Bowie/Space Oddity (1969)
The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
Hunky Dory (1971)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
Aladdin Sane (1973)
Pin Ups (1973)
Diamond Dogs (1974)
Young Americans (1975)
Station to Station (1976)
Low (1977)
"Heroes" (1977)
Lodger (1979)
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
Let's Dance (1983)
Tonight (1984)
Never Let Me Down (1987)
Black Tie White Noise (1993)
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
Outside (1995)
Earthling (1997)
Hours (1999)
Heathen (2002)
Reality (2003)
The Next Day (2013)
Blackstar (2016)
1984/Dodo
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The times they are a-telling, and the changing isn't free
You've read it in the tea leaves, the tracks are on TV
Beware the savage jaw
Of 1984
They'll break your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air
And tell you that you're eighty, lover you won't care
Beware the savage jaw
Of 1984
(Come see, come see, remember me?)
We played at an all-night movie role
You said it would last, but I guess we rolled
In 1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
Now we can talk in confidence
Did you guess that we've been done wrong?
Lies jump the queue to be first in line
Such a shameless design
He thinks he's well screened from the man at the top
It's a shame that his children disagree
They coolly decide to sell him down the line
Daddy's brainwashing time
He's a dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
He's a dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
She's doesn't recall her blessed childhood of yore
When a unit was a figure, not a she
When lovers chose each other seems the perks are due
Another memo to screw
She's a dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
She's a dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
Can you wipe your nose my child
Without them slotting in your file a photograph?
Will you sleep in fear tonight?
Wake to find the scorching light of neighbour Jim
He's come to turn you in
Another dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
Another dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
Another dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
Come see, come see, remember me?
We played at an all-night movie role
You said it would last, but I guess we enrolled
In 1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
(More)
1984 (more)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984 (more)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984 (more)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984, ooh!
"1984/Dodo" is a cautionary song by David Bowie about the deteriorating political climate and loss of privacy in the world. The lyrics convey a sense of urgency and an ominous feeling of a world where the government has total control over its citizens. The opening lines warn of a time when people will have no say and must blindly follow the government's decrees. The phrase "Beware the savage jaw of 1984" is a reference to George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984", where Big Brother, the menacing leader of the oppressive government, has complete control over everything.
The second verse describes how the government manipulates its citizens and brainwashes them into thinking and acting the way they want. The lines "They'll break your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air" suggest the government will fill people's heads with lies and propaganda. The reference to "shooting up as usual like tomorrow wasn't there" implies that people will continue living in their artificial bubble, blinding themselves to the harsh reality of what's happening outside.
The third verse shifts to a more personal level, as the singer and a friend reminisce about their past and talk about being done wrong. The lines "Lies jump the queue to be first in line, such a shameless design" suggest that the government has a system for spreading misinformation to the public that is designed to confuse and mislead. The chorus repeats the idea of being a "dodo", which in this context means being oblivious and unaware of what's going on.
Line by Line Meaning
Someday they won't let you, now you must agree
There will come a time when you won't have a choice, you will have to comply
The times they are a-telling, and the changing isn't free
Change is happening and it comes at a cost
You've read it in the tea leaves, the tracks are on TV
The signs of change are everywhere, it's hard to miss
Beware the savage jaw
Of 1984
Be careful of the brutal force that is 1984
They'll break your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air
They will destroy your mind and fill it with nonsense
And tell you that you're eighty, lover you won't care
They will try to convince you that you are old and irrelevant, and you won't be able to do anything about it
You'll be shooting up as usual like tomorrow wasn't there
You will continue to indulge in destructive behavior, as if there's no tomorrow
We played at an all-night movie role
You said it would last, but I guess we rolled
In 1984 (who could ask for more?)
1984 (who could ask for more?)
We used to have fun pretending we were in movies that never ended, but now we've found ourselves in the harsh reality of 1984
Now we can talk in confidence
Did you guess that we've been done wrong?
Lies jump the queue to be first in line
Such a shameless design
We can finally speak freely but we both know that we've been betrayed, lies are taking over the truth and it is a sad, intentional plan
He thinks he's well screened from the man at the top
It's a shame that his children disagree
They coolly decide to sell him down the line
Daddy's brainwashing time
A man thinks he's protected from those in power, but his children know the truth and will betray him to the authorities
She's doesn't recall her blessed childhood of yore
When a unit was a figure, not a she
When lovers chose each other seems the perks are due
Another memo to screw
She has forgotten her happy childhood when people were just people, and love was allowed. Now everything is regulated, and love is another perk that is taken away
Can you wipe your nose my child
Without them slotting in your file a photograph?
Will you sleep in fear tonight?
Wake to find the scorching light of neighbour Jim
He's come to turn you in
Can you do anything without it being recorded and monitored? Will you live in fear of being turned in by your own neighbors?
Another dodo, no no, didn't hear it from me (didn't hear it from me)
Another person who will soon be extinct, but don't act like I told you
1984 (who could ask for more?)
Sarcastically asking who could possibly want more of this harsh reality
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: David Bowie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DrJKintobor
on I Can't Give Everything Away
I can totally imagine this being the end theme of Sabrina Online, when Sabrina marries Richard and they drive off into the sunset...
Peter Bonney
on Diamond Dogs
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