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)
Eight Line Poem
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Surveys the prairie of your room
The mobile spins to its collision
Clara puts her head between her paws
They've opened shops down the West side
Will all the cacti find a home
But the key to the city
Is in the sun that pins
The lyrics of David Bowie's "Eight Line Poem" are not easily interpreted, but the song evokes a sense of longing for connection and understanding. The lyrics don't seem to tell a cohesive story, but rather a series of images that may or may not be interconnected. The song's opening line, "The tactful cactus by your window," is an unusual and intriguing way to begin a song, and it sets the tone for the rest of the track.
The cactus is the first of many enigmatic images in the song. It sets a surreal tone, as if the listener has entered a dream state. The mobile spinning to its collision is another image that creates a sense of confusion and disorientation. The line about Clara putting her head between her paws could be a reference to a pet, but it isn't clear. The lyrics then seem to shift to something more concrete with "They've opened shops down the West side," but this line is also ambiguous, as we do not know what shops or where they are.
The final lines, "But the key to the city is in the sun that pins the branches to the sky," seems to suggest that despite all of the confusion and disconnection, there is something that connects everything, something that brings meaning to it all. The metaphor of the sun as the key to the city is a powerful and poetic image that suggests something essential and radiant that holds everything together. Ultimately, "Eight Line Poem" is a song that encourages its listeners to let go of their need for absolute understanding and instead embrace the mystery and ambiguity of the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
The tactful cactus by your window
The small but cautious cactus plant positioned near the window of your room
Surveys the prairie of your room
Observes the interior of your living space
The mobile spins to its collision
The cellphone rotates towards its crash or impact
Clara puts her head between her paws
A dog named Clara lowers her face down to her front paws
They've opened shops down the West side
New stores have begun operation on the western part of town
Will all the cacti find a home
Are all the cactus plants going to be placed in suitable locations?
But the key to the city
However, the secret to success in this location
Is in the sun that pins
Lies in the power of the sun that pierces through the sky
The branches to the sky, oh, oh, oh
Which causes the tree branches to soar up towards the heavens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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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