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)
Ricochet
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ricochet
Ricochet
The world is on a corner waiting for jobs
Ricochet
Ricochet
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Men wait for news while thousands are still asleep
Dreaming of tramlines, factories, pieces of machinery
Mine shafts things like that
March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole
Ricochet, it's not the end of the world
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole
Ricochet, ricochet
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Teaching life in a violent new way
Ricochet, ricochet
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
And who can bear to be forgotten
And who can bear to be forgotten
March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Early, before the sun, they struggle off to the gates
In their secret fearful places they see their lives
Unraveling before them
March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole
Ricochet, it's not the end of the world
But when they get home, damp eyed and weary
They smile and crush their children to their heaving chests
Making unfulfillable promises
For who can bear to be forgotten
The lyrics of David Bowie's "Ricochet" touch upon the theme of societal confinement and the constraining effects of capitalist systems on people's lives. The opening lines of the song, "Like weeds on a rock face, waiting for the scythe, ricochet, ricochet," paint a picture of individuals waiting for their inevitable fall, much like the metaphorical scything of weeds. The use of the word "ricochet" here gives off an air of helplessness and a sense of being caught in a system that they cannot control.
The song continues to highlight people's struggles as they wait for jobs and news, while others dream of working in factories or on machinery. There is also criticism of the prison-industrial complex with lines like "March of flowers, march of dimes, these are the prisons, these are the crimes." This can be seen as a reference to the exploitation of the working class by capitalist systems. The lyrics also touch on the theme of religion and the abandonment of faith in hard times as seen in the lines "Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall, and who can bear to be forgotten."
In conclusion, the lyrics of "Ricochet" can be interpreted as Bowie's commentary on the complexities of societal systems and how they affect people's lives. The lyrics are thought-provoking and have a sense of bleakness to them, which is typical of Bowie's songwriting style.
Line by Line Meaning
Like weeds on a rock face, waiting for the scythe
People waiting for their fate, powerless to change it, resigned to being cut down like weeds
Ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
Ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
The world is on a corner waiting for jobs
People all over the world are struggling to find work
Ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
Ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
Rejecting religion and its false promises
And who can bear to be forgotten
The fear of being insignificant, worthless, and ignored
March of flowers, march of dimes
Benevolent campaigns that seem inadequate compared to the gravity of the world's problems
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
The oppressive systems in place that perpetuate suffering and injustice
Men wait for news while thousands are still asleep
People are waiting for a change, while others remain oblivious and apathetic
Dreaming of tramlines, factories, pieces of machinery
People dreaming of a better future with jobs and industry
Mine shafts things like that
Hazardous and inhumane working conditions epitomize the exploitation of labor
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
The sound of something powerful and valuable
Sound of the devil breaking parole
The sound of evil getting away with wrongdoing
Ricochet, it's not the end of the world
Even in the midst of chaos, there is hope and the world will go on
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
The sound of something powerful and valuable
Sound of the devil breaking parole
The sound of evil getting away with wrongdoing
Ricochet, ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
The oppressive systems in place that perpetuate suffering and injustice
Teaching life in a violent new way
The normalization of violence and aggression as a way of life
Ricochet, ricochet
The sound of unpredictability, things bouncing out of control
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
Rejecting religion and its false promises
And who can bear to be forgotten
The fear of being insignificant, worthless, and ignored
And who can bear to be forgotten
The fear of being insignificant, worthless, and ignored
March of flowers, march of dimes
Benevolent campaigns that seem inadequate compared to the gravity of the world's problems
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
The oppressive systems in place that perpetuate suffering and injustice
Early, before the sun, they struggle off to the gates
People waking up early and trudging off to work, dreading the day ahead
In their secret fearful places they see their lives
The hidden fears and anxieties that plague people
Unraveling before them
Their lives falling apart, like a string unraveling
March of flowers, march of dimes
Benevolent campaigns that seem inadequate compared to the gravity of the world's problems
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
The oppressive systems in place that perpetuate suffering and injustice
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
The sound of something powerful and valuable
Sound of the devil breaking parole
The sound of evil getting away with wrongdoing
Ricochet, it's not the end of the world
Even in the midst of chaos, there is hope and the world will go on
But when they get home, damp eyed and weary
People coming home after a long and exhausting day, feeling defeated and overwhelmed
They smile and crush their children to their heaving chests
Finding joy and comfort in their families despite the hardships
Making unfulfillable promises
Promising a better future that they cannot deliver
For who can bear to be forgotten
The fear of being insignificant, worthless, and ignored
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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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