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)

The Informer
David Bowie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I took the call, IAnnotate packed the bag
I ride the train to the pick-up point
I'll be telling myself
There was no other way
That you brought it on yourself
Now my heart's aflame
At the end of your life
It's the end of your life

I've got a pool of blood
On this bathroom floor
The mirror's broke
There's a crack in the door
There's a broken window
That I'll be crawling through
Then I'll change my life
And we won't have you
We won't have you
No, we won't have you

Good or evil
Saint or whore
The mythical public
I don't recall
You were on the ledger
Your name was double crossed
You were a prime assignment
So help me Christ

I've got major questions
About the Lord above
About Satan below
About the way we love
About the rule at the top
And the people coming up
And I still don't know
What we were looking for
But it wasn't you
No, it wasn't you
No, It wasn't you

It wasn't you
No, it wasn't you

Overall Meaning

In David Bowie's song The Informer, the lyrics explore a dark and ominous story of an informant who takes a call and packs a bag, indicating that he may be going on a mission of some sort. He rides a train to a pick-up point and tells himself that there was no other way, and that the person he is going to confront brought it on themselves. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that violence is involved, as the informant describes a pool of blood on the bathroom floor, a broken mirror, a crack in the door, and a broken window that he crawls through. He then declares that he will change his life and that "we won't have you" implying he has killed someone who has wronged him or others. The song ends with him questioning his faith and wondering about the nature of good and evil, suggesting that his actions have left him searching for answers.

The lyrics in the song seem to depict a story of revenge and perhaps murder, with the informant serving as the singer of the story. It is unclear who the victim is or what exactly has led to this violent confrontation, but the song explores themes of justice, retribution, and the consequences of one's actions. The singer appears to feel justified in his actions, but the sense of regret and confusion in the final verses suggests a lingering sense of doubt and moral ambiguity.

Line by Line Meaning

I took the call, I packed the bag
I was responsible for answering the phone call and preparing the necessary items for the task at hand

I ride the train to the pick-up point
I used public transportation to get to the location where I needed to receive further instructions

I'll be telling myself
I will try to convince myself or rationalize my actions in some way

There was no other way
I believed that there were no other options available to me in this situation

That you brought it on yourself
I blamed the person for their current predicament and believed they deserved the consequences of their actions

Now my heart's aflame
I feel intense emotions or passion as a result of my actions

At the end of your life
The person I am referring to is either close to death or has already died

I've got a pool of blood On this bathroom floor
There is a significant amount of blood on the floor of the bathroom that I am in

The mirror's broke There's a crack in the door
The mirror has been shattered and there is damage to the door

There's a broken window That I'll be crawling through
The window is damaged and I will need to climb through it to escape or access another area

Then I'll change my life And we won't have you We won't have you No, we won't have you
After this event, I plan to make significant changes to my life and the person will no longer be a part of it

Good or evil Saint or whore The mythical public
These words are a reference to the different ways in which people can be viewed or judged

I don't recall You were on the ledger Your name was double crossed
I do not have a clear memory of the person in question, but their name was on a list or record and they have been betrayed or deceived

You were a prime assignment So help me Christ
The person was an important task or objective that I had to complete, and I am swearing an oath to God to attest to this fact

I've got major questions About the Lord above About Satan below About the way we love
These lines express my confusion and uncertainty about religion, morality, and love

About the rule at the top And the people coming up And I still don't know What we were looking for
I am reflecting on societal power structures and my own role within them, and acknowledging a lack of clarity about my goals or motivations

But it wasn't you No, it wasn't you No, It wasn't you It wasn't you
I am reiterating that the person in question was not the solution to my problems or the cause of my feelings

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID BOWIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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