David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally… Read Full Bio ↴David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music.

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)

Candidate
David Bowie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'll make you a deal
Like any other candidate
We'll pretend we're walking home
'Cause your future's at stake
My set is amazing
It even smells like a street
There's a bar at the end
Where I can meet you and your friend

Someone scrawled on the wall
"I smell the blood of Les Tricoteuses"
Wrote up scandals in other bars

I'm having so much fun
With the poisonous people
Spreading rumors and lies
And stories they made up
Some make you sing
And some make you scream
One makes you wish
That you'd never been seen
But there's a shop on the corner
That's selling papier-mâché
Making bulletproof faces
Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay
If you want it, boys get it here, thing

So you scream out of line
"I want you, I need you
Anyone out there? Any time?"
Trés butch little number whines
"Hey dirty, I want you
When it's good, it's really good, and when it's
Bad I go to pieces"
If you want it, boys
Get it here thing

Well on the street where you live
I could not hold up my head
For I put all I have in another bed
On another floor, in the back of a car
In the cellar like a church
With the door ajar
Well, I guess we've must be looking
For a different kind
But we can't stop trying 'til we break up our minds
'Til the sun drips blood
On the seedy young knights
Who press you on the ground
While shaking in fright
I guess we could cruise down
One more time
With you by my side
It should be fine
We'll buy some drugs

And watch a band
Then jump in a river holding hands

Overall Meaning

In “Candidate,” David Bowie portrays himself as a presidential hopeful making promises to the voters. The song begins with him talking about the deal he will make like any other political candidate, pretending to walk home while talking about his incredible set that smells like the street. Along the way, there's a bar where he can meet up with the listener and their friend. The third verse mentions an unsettling message scrawled on the wall of one of the bars, saying “I smell the blood of Les Tricoteuses,” followed by a reference to other gossip and scandals in other bars.

Bowie continues to describe his interactions with the poisonous people spreading rumors and lies, some true and some made up. The chorus refers to a shop selling papier-mâché bulletproof faces of notorious figures like Charles Manson and Cassius Clay. The song progresses with an invitation to listeners looking to have a good time to come and get what they want - referring to men being sold as commodities, possibly alluding to prostitution. The final verse is about the singer's own feelings, specifically his shame for cheating on someone and trying to reconcile with them, despite knowing they sought different kinds of people. The song ends with the suggestion that they can go cruising together one last time, buy drugs, and watch a band before jumping into a river holding hands.

Line by Line Meaning

I'll make you a deal
Let's make an agreement

Like any other candidate
Just like any politician

We'll pretend we're walking home
We'll act as if we're walking back to our place, being sneaky

'Cause your future's at stake
As it is a crucial moment for you

My set is amazing
My life's so glamorous

It even smells like a street
Even my lavish lifestyle has flaws, so it still reeks of a common street

There's a bar at the end
There's a place where people congregate

Where I can meet you and your friend
Where I can finally meet your other acquaintance

Someone scrawled on the wall
I noticed that somebody wrote on the wall

"I smell the blood of Les Tricoteuses"
They wrote that they smelled the blood of revolutionaries

Wrote up scandals in other bars
They also wrote gossip in other establishments

I'm having so much fun
I'm enjoying myself so much

With the poisonous people
With bad company who are full of venom

Spreading rumors and lies
Gossiping and spreading untruthful tales

And stories they made up
And other stories that they've created

Some make you sing
Some tales could make you feel ecstatic

And some make you scream
While some could make you scream

One makes you wish
And there's one story that you regret hearing

That you'd never been seen
For fear that you've been exposed

But there's a shop on the corner
By the street corner, there's a shop

That's selling papier-mâché
They're selling fake faces

Making bulletproof faces
Creating masks that are indestructible

Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay
Including famous dangerous people from history

If you want it, boys get it here, thing
If you need it, you can find it here

So you scream out of line
You scream in excitement

"I want you, I need you
You shout, 'I require you'

Anyone out there? Any time?"
'Anyone there? Anytime?'

Trés butch little number whines
The rough man whines

"Hey dirty, I want you
He calls, 'Hey filthy person, I want you'

When it's good, it's really good, and when it's Bad I go to pieces"
'When it's exceptional, it's fantastic. But when it's bad, I fall apart'

If you want it, boys Get it here thing
If you need it, come and get it here

Well on the street where you live
And now, we're on your block

I could not hold up my head
I cannot stand tall

For I put all I have in another bed
I gave all my love to another person

On another floor, in the back of a car
We loved in another place, in a hidden car

In the cellar like a church
It was like a chapel in the basement

With the door ajar
With the door slightly open

Well, I guess we've must be looking
I guess we must be looking for another kind

For a different kind
For another type of person

But we can't stop trying 'til we break up our minds
But we won't stop searching until we get the right person

'Til the sun drips blood
Until it's all too late

On the seedy young knights
On those reckless young men

Who press you on the ground
Who'll bring you down on the ground

While shaking in fright
While they're trembling with fear

I guess we could cruise down
We could go for another ride

One more time
Just one more time

With you by my side
With you next to me

It should be fine
Everything will be okay

We'll buy some drugs
We'll buy some narcotics

And watch a band
And enjoy some live music

Then jump in a river holding hands
Then we'll leap into the river together, holding hands

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Bowie

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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