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)
Girls
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They come and they go
They kiss
Come and they go
Like breeze
Brushing my cheek
Like pain
Like the tears on my face
Girls
They come and they go
Like spirits
They vanish at dawn
My heart
Suspended in time
Like you
Vanish like tears in the rain
Girls
They take their loves away
Like spirits
Living so far away
Girls
Pretending to break down and cry
Girls
Whispering wind
What are they giving away
We used to be so happy
Remember, remember
So happy
I never knew
How lonely
How lonely
How lonely I could feel
Girls
They come and they go
They kiss
They come and they go
Like spirits
Brushing my cheek
Like pain
Like the tears on my face
Girls
They take their loves away
Like spirits
Living so far away
Girls
Pretending to break down and cry
Girls
Whispering wind
What are they giving away
We used to be so happy
Remember, remember
So happy
I never knew
How lonely
How lonely
How lonely I could feel
Girls
The lyrics of "Girls" by David Bowie appears to describe the fleeting nature of relationships with women. The line "Girls, they come and they go, they kiss, come and they go like breeze, brushing my cheek" suggests that relationships and experiences with women are transient and ephemeral, like a breeze touching one's cheek. The line "girls, they take their loves away, like spirits living so far away" further emphasizes this point, as the women disappear just as suddenly and mysteriously as they came.
The lyrics also portray a sense of loneliness and heartbreak felt by the singer, as he remembers happier times and realizes how lonely he is without these fleeting relationships. The lines "like pain, like the tears on my face" suggest that these relationships can be both joyful and painful, and the line "pretending to break down and cry" could indicate that the women are not sincere in their emotions, perhaps simply playing a role or using their tears as a form of manipulation.
Overall, the song seems to express a mix of melancholy, longing, and frustration regarding past relationships with women. However, the lyrics are somewhat open to interpretation, and there are several possible meanings and themes that could be drawn from them.
Line by Line Meaning
Girls
A reflection on how girls come and go from his life, with an emphasis on their fleeting nature
They come and they go
Girls enter and exit his life quickly and without warning
They kiss
Girls offer physical intimacy and a temporary connection
Come and they go
Girls have a short-lived presence in his life and relationship
Like breeze
Girls are gentle and light, like a breeze that is barely detectable but can be felt
Brushing my cheek
Girls make brief contact and are gone just as quickly
Like pain
Girls can bring emotional and physical pain into his life
Like the tears on my face
Girls can make him cry and leave an emotional impact
Like spirits
Girls are fleeting and have a ghostly presence in his life
They vanish at dawn
Girls disappear as quickly and silently as the dawn breaks
My heart
A metaphor for David's emotions, emphasizing how he is unable to move forward emotionally
Suspended in time
David feels stuck and unable to let go of past relationships
Like you
David is speaking directly to a former lover who has left him, emphasizing how girls vanish without explanation
Vanish like tears in the rain
Girls disappear as quickly and silently as tears in the rain
They take their loves away
Girls end relationships and leave David feeling heartbroken
Living so far away
Girls are emotionally distant and difficult to properly connect with
Pretending to break down and cry
Girls use emotional manipulation to try and control or win back their partners, but it is often insincere or temporary
Whispering wind
Girls are elusive and difficult to grasp, like a faint sound carried by the wind
What are they giving away
David questions what girls are truly offering and what they are taking away from him
We used to be so happy
David reminisces about past relationships, highlighting how things were better before girls left him
Remember, remember
An imperative to remember happier times, and a plea for connection
So happy
David emphasizes how much happier he was before girls left him
I never knew
David was unaware of how lonely life could be without companionship
How lonely
David emphasizes how much he is struggling with loneliness now that girls have left him
How lonely I could feel
David's deepening realization that life without connections is a deeply lonely experience
Contributed by Zoe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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
If you like free music and you have google chrome, try this free app .SonicHits .