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)

Running Gun Blues
David Bowie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I count the corpses on my left, I find I'm not so tidy
So I better get away, better make it today
I've cut twenty-three down since Friday
But I can't control it, my face is drawn
My instinct still emotes it

I slash them cold, I kill them dead
I broke the gooks, I cracked their heads

I'll bomb them out from under the beds
But now I've got the running gun blues

It seems the peacefuls stopped the war
Left generals squashed and stifled
But I'll slip out again tonight
'Cause they haven't taken back my rifle
For I promote oblivion
And I'll plug a few civilians

I'll slash them cold, I'll kill them dead
I'll break them gooks, I'll crack their heads
I'll slice them till they're running red
But now I've got the running gun blues

I'll slash them cold, I'll kill them dead
I'll break them gooks, I'll crack their heads
I'll slice them till they're running red
But now I've got the running gun blues

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to David Bowie's Running Gun Blues reflect the perspective of a soldier in the Vietnam war, who is experiencing a lack of control over their violent impulses. The singer counts the number of corpses on their left as they acknowledge their own lack of tidiness. The guilt and remorse associated with the perpetration of violence is hinted at through the line "My instinct still emotes it" and "For I promote oblivion." The singer seems to have become desensitized to the violence they are committing, as a result, the act of killing is described in a detached manner, as they are "breaking" and "cracking" the heads of their enemies.

The lyrics also reveal the singer's own disillusionment with the war effort, as they question the peace that was achieved and the effect it has had on the power structures within the military. The "peacefuls" or the anti-war activists are shown to have squashed and stifled the voices of the generals - ultimately, the singer seems to disapprove of the lack of control they have over the situation. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, which again reinforces the lack of control the singer feels regarding their violent impulses, and the multitude of civilian lives they may be taking as a result of their actions.

Line by Line Meaning

I count the corpses on my left, I find I'm not so tidy
I look at the bodies I've killed and realize I'm not very organized.

So I better get away, better make it today
I need to leave the area and do it quickly.

I've cut twenty-three down since Friday
I have killed twenty-three people since last Friday.

But I can't control it, my face is drawn
I cannot stop myself from killing and my facial expression shows it.

My instinct still emotes it
My instincts continue to drive me to keep killing.

I slash them cold, I kill them dead
I attack my targets fiercely and lethally.

I broke the gooks, I cracked their heads
I inflicted heavy damage on the enemy soldiers.

I'll bomb them out from under the beds
I will use explosives to demolish their hiding places.

But now I've got the running gun blues
Now I am on the move, carrying my weapon with me.

It seems the peacefuls stopped the war
The people who wanted peace succeeded in ending the war.

Left generals squashed and stifled
The generals who wanted to continue the war were defeated and silenced.

But I'll slip out again tonight
I am planning to sneak out again tonight.

'Cause they haven't taken back my rifle
They have not confiscated my weapon yet.

For I promote oblivion
I support the idea of complete destruction.

And I'll plug a few civilians
I will also kill some innocent people.

I'll slice them till they're running red
I will repeatedly attack them until they are bleeding heavily.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Lyrics © 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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