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)
Look Back In Anger
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The speaker was an angel
He coughed and shook his crumpled wings
Closed his eyes and moved his lips
"It's time we should be going"
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, driven by the night
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, see it in my eyes
Till you come
No one seemed to hear him
So he leafed through a magazine
And, yawning, rubbed the sleep away
Very sane he seemed to me
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, driven by the night
Till you come
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, feel it in my voice
Till you come
(Waiting so long, ahhh...)
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so) (repeat ad inf.)
David Bowie's Look Back in Anger is a complex work that delves deeply into the theme of alienation and the struggle for self-discovery. The lyrics are loaded with vivid imagery as the singer portrays an angel who has come to deliver an important message but is ignored by everyone around him.
The opening lines, "You know who I am," he said / The singer was an angel" sets the stage for the discourse to come. The angel, who represents a beacon of hope and guidance, is ignored and ridiculed by those he has come to reach. The reference to his "crumpled wings" and "closed eyes" is a metaphor for his exhaustion and frustration at being rejected by humanity. The angel speaks about how it is time to move on, but his message falls on deaf ears.
The chorus "Look back in anger, driven by the night till you come" reiterates the theme of the song, that is, the struggle for self-discovery. The phrase "driven by the night" represents the dark corners of the soul, the hidden parts of one's being that must be explored to truly understand oneself. The song implies that through introspection and reflection, one can move one step closer to becoming fully realized.
Line by Line Meaning
You know who I am," he said
The singer is introducing himself as an angel.
He coughed and shook his crumpled wings
The angel is trying to adjust himself to the environment.
Closed his eyes and moved his lips
The angel is preparing to leave.
"It's time we should be going"
The angel is urging someone to leave with him.
Look back in anger, driven by the night
The artist is asking the listener to retrospect and feel the anger felt during the night.
Till you come
The listener should come to a realization about their feelings.
Look back in anger, see it in my eyes
The singer wants the listener to understand that the anger is visible in their eyes.
No one seemed to hear him
It seems like the artist is being ignored.
So he leafed through a magazine
The artist tries to find something else to focus on.
Very sane he seemed to me
The artist thinks that the angel is very composed.
Look back in anger, feel it in my voice
The singer wants the listener to feel the emotion in their voice.
Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so
The artist has been waiting for a long time and is getting impatient.
Waiting so long, ahhh...
The singer is sighing and expressing frustration over waiting for so long.
Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so (repeat ad inf.)
The singer repeats their frustration over waiting indefinitely.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID BOWIE, BRIAN ENO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cristian Lavate Lasmanos
"You know who I am," he said
The speaker was an angel
He coughed and shook his crumpled wings
Closed his eyes and moved his lips
"It's time we should be going"
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger,
driven by the night
Till you come
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger,
see it in my eyes
Till you come
No one seemed to hear him
So he leafed through a magazine
And, yawning, rubbed the sleep away
Very sane he seemed to me
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger,
driven by the night
Till you come
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger,
feel it in my voice
Till you come
(Waiting so long, ahhh...)
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
David Gambín
The fun fact is that he was indeed a really talented painter. Truly talented artist in every possible way.
Wayne 'Space Buoy' North
Totally Agree ... I hope my Bowie songs on YT makes him smile ... Its a personal connection to be able to play his music ... spiritual contact.
MiddleEarthling
He didn't paint the picture in the video though.
Talorc MacAllan
ha ha ha , aye cheers for that .
Talorc MacAllan
talented ........who knew?
bartley butsford
@MiddleEarthling Oh! I'm disappointed to hear that...! Who did paint the picture, then...?
joe a
I love how urgent this song sounds, like he's trying to get it all out of his system as efficiently as he can. it's so busy with all the percussion, and the guitar riffs are so uplifting
no comment
"Proto" grunge possibly
when he played it in concerts in the 90s, it was definitely "grunged up"
Jacob Patrick Poulsen
One of my favourite David Bowie songs. "Lodger" is such an underrated masterpiece, in my opinion. :)
Юлия Школьникова
I agree with you