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)

Shining Star
David Bowie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Eddie boy lit like paraffin
Spending two weeks
In a crack house
Burns on his brain
Like Chernobyl

Dean was seen
With a two bag purchase

He was lying dead on his mother's bed
Someone for pray for-
Till I met you

Life is like a broken arrow-
Memory a swingin' door
I could be your great misfortune-
I can make you happy
Every day of your life
Making my love
Like a shining star
Takin' my love just a touch too far

Tessie turns tricks with a soul like ice
Cause love left holes
And four swell kids breaking her heart
I've got windows, I've seen much vice,
I've touched down with vermin,
Cowardice, lice,
And I say

Nobody cares what you do-
Please be yourself to death

I could be your great misfortune
But you'll never find a, bet you'll never find a better man.

Making my love
Like a shining star
Taking my love just a touch too far.

Peter met Frank
Formed a dummy run gang
Worked heist or hit for 10 g's flat
Blew heads outta shape for the name of Trotsky, Sinn-
Fein, Hitler cashdown
No hope heroes cover the page
With debts in hell
And fingers in blood
Poor little bodies all covered in scabs
Threw it all away
Another life in the grave
Another life in the grave

Life is like a broken arrow-
Memory a swingin' door
I could be your great misfortune-
Well I could make you happy
Every goddamn single day of your life

Making my love
Like a shining star
Like a shining star
Baby that's what you are
Like a shining star

Making my love
Like a shining star

Taking my love
Just a touch too far

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of David Bowie's "Shining Star" present a range of characters from society's fringes, each dealing with issues of addiction, poverty, and despair. Eddie is depicted as a man who is addicted and suffering, like the nuclear firefighters who experienced burns during the Chernobyl disaster. Dean, who passed away from heroin, is someone who was left with no one to pray for him, but Bowie finds solace in his lover. The song tells the story of Tessie, a woman with four children who turns to prostitution because she feels unloved. The singer of this song has seen much “vice” and “vermin,” including bodily lice and cowardly actions.

In the song, Bowie highlights how life is similar to a "broken arrow," with memories swinging back and forth like a door. This line possibly alludes to the Native American term for single people or those who were separated from their tribes. The lyrics suggest that the singer may be the woman's great misfortune, but he believes he can make her happy every day. Although he admits to being a "shining star," he admits that he could "take his love just a touch too far."

Line by Line Meaning

Eddie boy lit like paraffin
Eddie is under the influence of strong drugs like paraffin

Spending two weeks in a crack house
Eddie is in a crack house for two weeks seeking pleasure from drugs

Burns on his brain like Chernobyl
The drugs have caused severe damage to Eddie's brain like the Chernobyl disaster

Dean was seen with a two bag purchase
Dean was spotted with a purchase of two bags of drugs

He was lying dead on his mother's bed
Dean died after overdosing on drugs while in his mother's bed

Someone for pray for- till I met you
David Bowie found someone to love and pray for, which gave him hope

Life is like a broken arrow- Memory a swingin' door
Life is unpredictable and memories keep changing

I could be your great misfortune- I can make you happy every day of your life
David Bowie could either bring misfortune or happiness in one's life

Making my love like a shining star
David Bowie wants his love to shine like a bright and radiant star

Takin' my love just a touch too far
David Bowie admits that sometimes he might take his love too far

Tessie turns tricks with a soul like ice
Tessie is involved in prostitution with no emotions or feelings like ice

Cause love left holes And four swell kids breaking her heart I've got windows, I've seen much vice, I've touched down with vermin, Cowardice, lice, And I say
Tessie has had four kids with love leaving her heart broken. David Bowie has encountered all sorts of vices and vermin indicating that he has seen and experienced a lot in life.

Nobody cares what you do- Please be yourself to death
Nobody cares about one's actions in life so one should live and be true to oneself

Well I could make you happy every goddamn single day of your life
David Bowie can provide happiness throughout one's life

But you'll never find a, bet you'll never find a better man.
David Bowie believes that no one can be a better partner than him

Peter met Frank Formed a dummy run gang
Peter and Frank created a gang that operated as a decoy

Worked heist or hit for 10 g's flat Blew heads outta shape for the name of Trotsky, Sinn-Fein, Hitler cashdown
The gang committed thefts or ordered deadly hits for a sum of $10,000 in the name of famous revolutionaries and politicians

No hope heroes cover the page With debts in hellAnd fingers in blood
The gang members are hopeless heroes with astounding debts and their hands stained with blood from their crimes

Poor little bodies all covered in scabs Threw it all away Another life in the grave Another life in the grave
The gang members ruin their lives and have painful scars leading to early deaths

Baby that's what you are Like a shining star
David Bowie proclaims his love to be as bright and beautiful as a shining star

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID BOWIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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