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)
How Does The Grass Grow?
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the girls wear nylon skirts and
Sandals ?
The boys ride their Riga 1's
Upon the little hill
Such sadness and grief
The trees die standing
That's where we made our trysts
Would you still love me
If the clocks could go backwards
The girls would fill with blood and
The grass would be green again
Remember the dead
They were so great
Some of them
How does the grass grow
Blood blood blood
Where do the boys lie
Mud mud mud
How does the grass grow
Blood blood blood
But I lived a blind life
A white face in prison
But you made a life out of nothing
Now I ride my black horse
I miss you more
Than you'll ever ever know
Waiting with my red eyes
And my stone heart
How does the grass grow
Blood blood blood
Where do the boys lie
Mud mud mud
How does the grass grow
Blood blood blood
I gaze in defeat
At the stars in the night
The light in my life burnt away
There will be no tomorrow
Then you sigh in your sleep
And meaning returns with the day
Where do the boys lie
Mud mud mud
How does the grass grow
Blood blood blood
In David Bowie's song "How Does the Grass Grow?", the lyrics paint a picture of a graveyard near a train station. The description of the setting is eerie, with girls wearing nylon skirts and sandals, and boys riding bikes on a little hill. The tone of the song is mournful, with the lyrics speaking to the sadness and grief present in the graveyard, where the singer made trysts and struggled with guns. The question of whether someone would still love the singer if time could be reversed is posed, suggesting a longing for things to be different. The chorus repeats the lyrics "How does the grass grow, blood blood blood" and "Where do the boys lie, mud mud mud" in a haunting melody that evokes images of death and the aftermath of violence.
The second verse of the song reveals a personal narrative of the singer's life, with the admission of living a blind life and being imprisoned. It is not clear if this is a literal or metaphorical imprisonment. The lyrics reference a black horse and missing someone deeply. The song ends with a reflection on the stars in the night sky and the return of meaning with a new day. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the cycle of life and death, and the inevitability of the "blood" and "mud" that follows.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a graveyard by the station
The singer is referring to a particular location that is both eerie and melancholic - a graveyard by the railway station.
Where the girls wear nylon skirts and Sandals ?
Describing the scene further, the singer observes that the girls at this location wear clothing associated with youthfulness - nylon skirts and sandals.
The boys ride their Riga 1's Upon the little hill
The boys in this area ride Riga 1 motorcycles on a small hill nearby.
Such sadness and grief
The atmosphere surrounding this location is heavy with sadness and grief.
The trees die standing
The trees, much like everything else at this location, look abandoned and forgotten.
That's where we made our trysts And struggled with our guns
The singer and someone else made plans to meet at this eerie location and had an intense confrontation.
Would you still love me If the clocks could go backwards
The singer is curious about whether the other person would still love them if they could go back in time and undo mistakes they made.
The girls would fill with blood and The grass would be green again
The artist is imagining a time when everything was fresh and new, where even the grass was green and the girls were full of life and vitality.
Remember the dead They were so great Some of them
Reflecting on the location's depressing ambiance, the artist urges their audience to remember the dead and the good that they did during their lives.
How does the grass grow Blood blood blood Where do the boys lie Mud mud mud How does the grass grow Blood blood blood
These lyrics serve as the chorus, repeating that the surrounding area is marked by blood and mud, and that the grass grows in this place tinted red with blood.
But I lived a blind life A white face in prison
The singer is describing their previous life as one where they were not really living; they were imprisoned in some way.
But you made a life out of nothing Now I ride my black horse
The other person seems to have built a better life from nothing, and now the artist rides a black horse.
I miss you more Than you'll ever ever know Waiting with my red eyes And my stone heart
Despite their current success, the singer still misses the other person and is waiting for them to come back. Their heart is filled with longing and sadness.
I gaze in defeat At the stars in the night The light in my life burnt away There will be no tomorrow Then you sigh in your sleep And meaning returns with the day
The singer is in a very dark place, but when the other person sighs in their sleep, it brings meaning back to the singer's life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID BOWIE, JERRY LORDAN
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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