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)
She's Got Medals
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She played a good game of darts, and the men slapped her back
And never took her out
She wore a trenchcoat khaki
Her hobnail boots were full of holes
She's got medals
Her mother called her Mary, but she changed her name to Tommy, she's a one, oh
Don't ask me how it's done
They sent her to the front line
Fighting for her country's name
She's got medals
She got very tired of picking up girls
Cleaning her gun and shaving her curls
Then the enemy dropped a bomb
Survivors there were none
People say that when the moon is full and all the stars have gone to bed
You can see her ghost but that's a lie because the naughty woman isn't dead
She deserted on the previous morning
Replaced her uniform with dresses silk and green
Called herself Eileen
Came to London town
Now she's settled down
She's got medals
The lyrics to David Bowie's She's Got Medals tell the story of a woman who defies gender norms and societal expectations by joining the army to fight on the front line. The first verse describes her as a confident and skilled woman, who walks into a room and commands respect from the men. She seems to prefer pants and boots to more traditionally feminine clothing of the time, and she has earned medals for her service.
The second verse delves more deeply into the character's background. Born Mary, she renames herself Tommy, perhaps in an effort to distance herself from traditional femininity. She joins the army and passes the medical exam, despite being a woman. She fights for her country and earns medals, but eventually becomes disillusioned with her mission. She grows tired of the routine of army life, and deserts her post.
The final verse tells us that the character has reinvented herself again, this time as Eileen. She moves to London and trades in her uniforms for silk dresses. She has settled down and earned medals, perhaps metaphorically referring to her newfound sense of self and the courage it took to break out of societal expectations.
Overall, the song seems to be encouraging the listener to challenge gender norms and societal expectations, to be brave enough to carve out their own path, and to embrace all aspects of themselves, even if those aspects may defy convention.
Line by Line Meaning
She'd walk through the door and she'd set up the drinks on the house
She was a bartender who generously served drinks to the customers.
She played a good game of darts, and the men slapped her back
She was skilled at playing darts and received friendly slaps on her back from male customers as a sign of appreciation.
And never took her out
Despite her charm, none of the men took her out on a date.
She wore a trenchcoat khaki
She wore a military-style khaki trenchcoat.
Her hobnail boots were full of holes
Her boots were heavily worn out and had many holes in them.
She's got medals
She received medals during her time in the military.
Her mother called her Mary, but she changed her name to Tommy, she's a one, oh
Her given name was Mary but she changed it to Tommy as a sign of her gender identity.
She went and joined the army, passed the medical
She joined the army and passed the required medical examination.
Don't ask me how it's done
The details of how she was able to pass the medical examination are unknown.
They sent her to the front line
She was deployed to the military's front line to fight for her country.
Fighting for her country's name
She fought in the military to defend her country's name and reputation.
She got very tired of picking up girls
Cleaning her gun and shaving her curls
She got tired of performing tasks that were expected of her in the military, such as picking up women, cleaning her gun, and shaving her hair.
Then the enemy dropped a bomb
Survivors there were none
She and her fellow soldiers were killed when the enemy dropped a bomb, and there were no survivors.
People say that when the moon is full and all the stars have gone to bed
You can see her ghost but that's a lie because the naughty woman isn't dead
There are rumors that her ghost appears during full moons, but this is untrue because she is still alive.
She deserted on the previous morning
Replaced her uniform with dresses silk and green
Called herself Eileen
Came to London town
Now she's settled down
She's got medals
She deserted from the military one morning, put on a silk and green dress, and changed her name to Eileen. She settled down in London and still has the medals she received during her time in the military.
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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