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)

Janine
David Bowie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh my love, Janine
I'm helpless for your smile
Like a Polish wander
I travel ever onwards to your land
And were it not just for the jewels, I'd close your hand

Your strange demand
To collocate my mind

Scares me into gloom
You're too intense
I'll have to keep you in your place
I've no defense
I've got to keep my veil on my face

Janine, Janine, you'd like to know me well
But I've got things inside my head
That even I can't face

Janine, Janine, you'd like to crash my walls
But if you take an axe to me
You'll kill another man
Not me at all

You're fey, Janine
A tripper to the last
But if I catch you standing on my toes
I'll have a right to shout you down
For you're a lazy stream
In which my thoughts would drown

So stay, Janine
And we can glide along
I've caught your wings for laughs
I'm not obliged to read you statements of the year
So take your glasses off
And don't act so sincere

Janine, Janine, you'd like to know me well
But I've got things inside my head
That even I can't face

Janine, Janine, you'd like to crash my walls
But if you take an axe to me
You'll kill another man
Not me at all
Yeah
Oh ah
Ooooo
Oh Janine
Hey Janine
Oh Janine
Ah ho
Oh Janine
Ho how
Janine
Ah Janine yeah

Janine Janine Janine
Yeah yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to David Bowie's song Janine describe the singer's conflicted feelings towards a woman named Janine. At first, he is drawn to her smile and describes himself as a "Polish wander" traveling towards her. However, he feels that she is too intense and "strange" in the demands she makes of him. He is afraid of her ability to "collocate" his mind and feels shrouded in his own defense. He likens her to a "lazy stream" in which his thoughts could drown. Despite his reservations, he acknowledges her desire to know him well but admits there are still things inside his head that he can't even face.

The song reflects the push and pull of an intense relationship that is both alluring and suffocating. Though the singer is drawn to Janine, he also feels the need to establish boundaries and protect himself from her intensity. He acknowledges this and asks her to "stay" so they can "glide along" together, but also tells her to take off her glasses and stop acting so sincere.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh my love, Janine
I'm in love with you Janine

I'm helpless for your smile
Your smile has me powerless

Like a Polish wander
I'm wandering aimlessly like a restless traveler searching for something

I travel ever onwards to your land
I'm constantly moving closer to you, to be with you

And were it not just for the jewels, I'd close your hand
If it weren't for your materialistic nature, I'd hold your hand and be with you

Your strange demand
Your uncommon or unusual request

To collocate my mind
To pair or group my thoughts together

Scares me into gloom
Terrifies me to the point of being depressed

You're too intense
You're too overwhelming or extreme

I'll have to keep you in your place
I need to establish boundaries between us

I've no defense
I have no protection from being hurt

I've got to keep my veil on my face
I need to hide my true feelings from you to protect myself

Janine, Janine, you'd like to know me well
You want to understand me better, Janine

But I've got things inside my head
But there are things in my mind that even I can't comprehend

That even I can't face
That even I can't confront

You're fey, Janine
You're enchanting but mysterious, Janine

A tripper to the last
You're unpredictable and a wild card

But if I catch you standing on my toes
But if you overstep my boundaries

I'll have a right to shout you down
I have the right to put you back in your place

For you're a lazy stream
Because you try to carry me away from my true path

In which my thoughts would drown
Where my thoughts would become lost or overwhelmed

So stay, Janine
Stay with me, Janine

And we can glide along
And we can move forward together, easily and smoothly

I've caught your wings for laughs
I've captured your attention for amusement

I'm not obliged to read you statements of the year
I don't owe you an explanation or update on my personal life

So take your glasses off
Stop hiding behind your false image or persona

And don't act so sincere
Stop pretending to be genuine or believing in our relationship

But if you take an axe to me
But if you turn your anger towards me

You'll kill another man
You'll hurt someone who you don't really know

Not me at all
But not the real me

Yeah Oh ah Ooooo
No specific meaning

Hey Janine Oh Janine Ah ho Oh Janine Ho how
No specific meaning

Janine Ah Janine yeah Janine Janine Janine Yeah yeah
No specific meaning

Lyrics © DistroKid, 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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