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)
Track 1
David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We move like the sea
You, you're all I want to know
I feel free
I feel free
I can walk down the street
There's no one there
The pavement is one huge crowd
My eyes can't see
But my mind wants to cry out loud
I can walk down the street
There's no one there
The pavement is one huge crowd
I can drive down the road
My eyes can't see
But my mind wants to cry out loud
My mind wants to cry out loud
I feel free
Dance floor is like the sea
The ceiling is the sky
You're the sun, and as you shine on me
I feel free
I feel free
I feel free
In this track, David Bowie is expressing the feeling of being free when he is with his dancing partner. Bowie describes the way they move as being like the sea, indicating fluidity and spontaneity. He emphasizes that his partner is all he wants to know, implying that being with them brings him a deep sense of contentment and fulfillment.
The next verses describe the feeling of freedom that he experiences when he is alone. The line "My eyes can't see but my mind wants to cry out loud" suggests that he may be blind or experiencing some other physical limitation, but despite this, his mind feels liberated and empowered. The repetition of the line "I can walk down the street, there's no one there" reinforces the isolation he feels, but without any sense of loneliness. He feels that the pavement is one huge crowd, meaning that he is surrounded by energy and vitality even though there may not be any physical presence.
The final verse brings the focus back to his partner, who is like the sun shining down on him. The dance floor is like the sea and the ceiling is the sky, indicating a sense of infinite possibility and expansiveness. Overall, the lyrics suggest that freedom is found in connection, both with others and with the vastness of the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear when I dance with you
When I dance with you, my beloved, it feels as if we are moving like the waves of the ocean.
We move like the sea
Our dance transcends the mundanity of physical movement and becomes something that mimics the rhythms and majesty of the sea.
You, you're all I want to know
The entirety of my world, the extent of my knowledge and interest, is focused on you - my partner in dance and in life.
I feel free
This shared experience, the deep emotional connection that we have established while dancing, fills me with a sense of freedom and liberation.
I can walk down the street
Even when I am not with you, my beloved, I feel unburdened and free to navigate the busy streets of the world without fear or apprehension.
There's no one there
I am at peace, content to be alone and immersed in my own thoughts and feelings.
The pavement is one huge crowd
Despite the absence of companions, I feel as if I am surrounded by a vast, teeming crowd of humanity, all sharing in the spirit of freedom and joy that my dance with you has engendered.
I can drive down the road
Even when I am moving quickly and alone, behind the wheel of my car, I cannot help but be moved by the same profound sense of liberation and possibility.
My eyes can't see
Even when I am blinded by the forward motion of my vehicle, I am still able to sense the boundless energy and creative potential that exists in the world around me.
But my mind wants to cry out loud
My emotions are so intense and overwhelming, that I cannot help but be moved to express them vocally, even if there is no one there to hear my exultations.
Dance floor is like the sea
When we return to the dance floor, it is as if we are returning to the ocean of emotion and freedom that we explored earlier.
The ceiling is the sky
We are unbounded by the physical world, by the gravity and density of the ceiling that tops our dance hall.
You're the sun, and as you shine on me
Your presence, both physically and emotionally, is like the warming rays of the sun, filling me with light and energy and possibility.
I feel free
And in that light, in that warmth, I feel unburdened and free to explore my own potential and creativity, both on the dance floor and beyond.
I feel free
Truly, I feel free - unbounded and limitless, with nothing to interfere with my joy and my exploration of the world and of myself.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JACK BRUCE, PETE BROWN, PETER CONSTANTINE BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pierrotinturquoise
[Intro]
"1-2, 1-2-2"
Shiruetto ya kage ga kakumei o miteiru
Mo tengoku no giyu no kaidan wa nai
[Verse 1]
Silhouettes and shadows
Watch the revolution
No more free steps to heaven!
[Chorus]
It's no game
Ore genjitsu kara shime dasare
Nani ga okkote irunoka wakara nai
Doko ni kyokun wa arunoka hitobito wa yubi o orareteiru
Konna dokusaisha ni iyashime rareru nowa kanashii
[Verse 2]
I am bored from the event
I really don't understand the situation!
[Chorus]
And it's no game
[Bridge]
Documentaries on refugees
Couples 'gainst the target
You throw a rock against the road
And it breaks into pieces
Draw the blinds on yesterday
And it's all so much scarier
Put a bullet in my brain
And it makes all the papers
Nammin no kiroku eiga
Hyoteki o se ni shita koibito tachi
Michi ni ishi o nage reba kona gona ni kudake
Kino ni huta o sureba kyohu wa masu
Ore no atama ni tama o buchi kome ba
Shinbun wa kaki tateru
[Verse 3]
So where's the moral
When people have their fingers broken?
To be insulted by these fascists
It's so degrading
[Chorus]
And it's no game
[Outro]
Shut up!
Shut u...
@josemcknight8686
One
Two
One-two-two
Shiruetto ya kage ga kakumei o miteiru
Mo tengoku no giyu no kaidan wa nai
Silhouettes and shadows
Watch the revolution
No more free steps to heaven
It's no game
Ore genjitsu kara shime dasare
Nani ga okkote irunoka wakara nai
Doko ni kyokun wa arunoka
Hitobito wa yubi o orareteiru
Konna dokusaisha ni iyashime rareru nowa kanashii
I am bored from the event
I really don't understand the situation
And it's no game
Documentaries on refugees
Couples 'gainst the target
You throw a rock against the road
And it breaks into pieces
Draw the blinds on yesterday
And it's all so much scarier
Put a bullet in my brain
And it makes all the papers to
Nammin no kiroku eiga
Hyoteki o se ni shita koibito tachi
Michi ni ishi o nage reba
Kona gona ni kudake
Kino ni huta o sureba
Kyohu wa masu
Ore no atama ni tama o buchi kome ba
Shinbun wa kaki tateru
So where's the moral
When people have their fingers broken
To be insulted by these fascists
It's so degrading
And it's no game
Shut up!
Shut up
@darrenwalshe8513
Nobody really talks about this album, one of his best ❤
@lizzysimner7715
I actually think this was his really oddball album very different I love it
@gregf.4814
This is from the first Bowie record I bought for myself back in the day when ‘Let’s Dance’ was testing up the charts. I wanted to check out his older material working backwards. This was the previous album, which I bought on cassette. I played this first track and was astonished - the Japanese woman speaking, him shredding his voice almost in the first lyric, Robert Fripp’s other worldly guitar and ending in Bowie screaming “Shut up!” at the end. I was floored. And it’s only track one!
@brianofarrell4982
loop their cart ridge
@plasticwrapcharlie
how is this not a mainstay in every collection? It's punk, it's theatre, it's rock and roll that's abrasive and amazing
it's like drunken burlesque
@0mega.mechan1c.
I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE. "I am barred from the event. I really don't understand... the situa SHUUUNN! And it's. No.Game"
@ThePaulv12
@Del Stevenson Nice description. To me Robert Fripp is the instrument of Bowie's "drunken burlesque" rampage in no small way. Well done Del!
@Revelwoodie
@ThePaulv12 Bowie had a talent for just "knowing" what guitarists would be a perfect fit for what he was trying to do. And he only worked with the BEST. This would not have been the same album without Fripp. Bowie could just KNOW that. True artist.
@seanp8220
Which collection are you thinking of? One of mad songs - include traffic berkshire poppies then
@Davmicon
It's also 'boys who like girls' etc by Blur