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THE WIDTH OF A CIRCLE In the corner of the morning in the past I would sit and blame the master first and last All the roads were straight and narrow And the prayers were small and yellow And the rumour spread that I was ageing fast Then I ran across a monster who was sleeping by a tree And I looked and frowned and the monster was me Well, I said hello and I said hello And I asked "Why not?" and I replied "I don't know" So we asked a simple black bird, who was happy as can be And he laughed insane and quipped "KAHLIL GIBRAN" And I cried for all the others till the day was nearly through For I realised that God's a young man too Oh I said "So long" and I waved "Bye-bye" And I smashed my soul and traded my mind Got laid by a young bordello Who was vaguely half asleep For which my reputation swept back home in drag And the moral of this magic spell Negotiates my hide When God did take my logic for a ride (Riding along) Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oooooh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ooooh He swallowed his pride and puckered his lips And showed me the leather belt round his hips My knees were shaking my cheeks aflame He said "You'll never go down to the Gods again" (Turn around, go back!) He struck the ground a cavern appeared And I smelt the burning pit of fear We crashed a thousand yards below I said "Do it again, do it again" (Turn around, go back!) His nebulous body swayed above His tongue swollen with devil's love The snake and I, a venom high I said "Do it again, do it again" (Turn around, go back!) Breathe, breathe, breathe deeply And I was seething, breathing deeply Spitting sentry, horned and tailed Waiting for you Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh |
If anybody had listened to this lyric Bowie's bisexuality would/should have hit the news a bit earlier. To quote 'Alias David Bowie' - "It describes a journey: a journey through David's imagination, where anxiety, identity crisis, psychic visions and sexual ecstasy merged and mingled." It starts with Bowie rejecting all the things he'd been dabbling in. The Master, the Guru, the roads were straight and narrow, the prayers small and yellow. His quest for knowledge begins by meeting the 'Monster' that is to haunt him for many years. 'The monster was me'. The monster is "the potent symbol of the outsider in search of love and acceptance" -'Peter & Leni Gillman'. After a witty introduction to himself madness reappears, the simple blackbird & laughed insane. Kahlil Gibram the Lebanese/American poet/artist wrote the The Prophet also seems to be getting rejected along with God and all the others. Now he smashes his soul, trades his mind and enters the 'immoral' and 'illogical' world of bisexuality, homosexuality and drag which he was actively exploring with the help of Angie. The interlude seems to be the riding along in the spell between the sexual activity of being laid by a young bordello. Then the tempo picks up with more explicit sexual references as Bowie surrenders completely to the new world he has discovered. But in the background there is a voice calling out "Turn around, go back". To quote 'Peter & Leni Gillman' again "David boldly pushed deeper into forbidden territory, to encounter a terrifying new vision ... a cavern appeared, And I felt the burning pit of fear. This was a precise reproduction of the terror Terry had experienced during a schizophrenic attack." Bowie united the three main elements of the lyric in the next two lines: His nebulous body swayed above His tongue swollen with devil's love combine the monster, schizophrenia and homosexuality according to Peter & Leni Gillman. 'The snake and I a venom high' cleverly alludes to homosexuality, sin and danger. |
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ALL THE MADMEN Day after day They send my friends away To mansions cold and grey To the far side of town Where the thinmen stalk the streets While the sane stay underground Day after day They tell me I can go They tell me I can blow To the far side of town Where it's pointless to be high 'Cause it's such a long way down So I tell them that I can fly, I will scream, I will break my arm I will do me harm Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall I'm not quite right at all...am I? Don't set me free, I'm as heavy as can be Just my Librium and me And my E.S.T. makes three 'Cause I'd rather stay here With all the madmen Than perish with the sadmen roaming free And I'd rather play here With all the madmen For I'm quite content they're all as sane As me Where can the horizon lie when a nation hides Its organic minds in a cellar..dark and grim They must be very dim Day after day They take some brain away Then turn my face around To the far side of town And tell me that it's real Then ask me how I feel Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall I'm not quite right at all Don't set me free, I'm as helpless as can be My libido's split on me Gimme some good 'ole lobotomy 'Cause I'd rather stay here With all the madmen Than perish with the sadmen Roaming free And I'd rather play here With all the madmen For I'm quite content They're all as sane as me Zane, Zane, Zane Ouvre le chien |
Openly acknowledged that this song is about his brother, Terry, Bowie said in 1972 "was written for my brother and it's about my brother". A friend of Bowie had also suffered a nervous breakdown and been admitted to Cane Hill as well. Hence the line "Day after day they send my friends away to mansions cold and grey" Bowie questioned his friend about his treatment and emerged with terms like "Librium, libido, E.S.T. and lobotomy" which he cleverly wove into the lyric. Bowie aligned himself with the madmen claiming he's rather stay here than perish with the sadmen/thinmen roaming free. "Where it's pointless to be high 'Cause it's such a long way down" is possibly the only reference to drugs in the whole album and even here it may be referring to the medication Terry was on". Once again Bowie's fear of going insane like Terry came to the fore, he's "not quite right at all, am I". A reference to the lyric/music with "I'm as heavy as can be" later becomes "I'm as helpless as can be" as though he lost control. The spoken part is referring to the fact that society hides away mental illness in a cellar. Bowie had actually written a complaint about this to The Times. The fianl line Zane, Zane Zane Ouvre le chien literally translates from French as "Open/unleash the dog", it may be referring to the madness of a rabid dog with the insane becoming "zane, zane zane". |
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BLACK COUNTRY ROCK Pack a pack horse and rest up here on Black Country Rock You never know, you might find it here on Black Country Rock Some say the view is crazy But you may adopt another point of view So if it's much too hazy You can leave my friend and me with fond adieu |
A deceptively simple lyric with Bowie imitating Bolan's vocals as well as lyric style. Black Country Rock may be referring to the mix of musical styles that Bowie is getting into. A journey away from folk and into a blues, heavy, rock style. In the second verse, madness can be seen from his vantage point on the rock, with Bowie once again being content to stay there with his friend. |
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AFTER ALL Please trip them gently, they don't like to fall, Oh by jingo There's no room for anger, we're all very small, Oh by jingo We're painting our faces and dressing in thoughts from the skies, from paradise But they think that we're holding a secretive ball. Won't someone invite them They're just taller children, that's all, after all Man is an obstacle, sad as the clown, Oh by jingo So hold on to nothing, and he won't let you down, Oh by jingo Some people are marching together and some on their own Quite alone Others are running, the smaller ones crawl But some sit in silence, they're just older children That's all, after all I sing with impertinence, shading impermanent chords, With my words I've borrowed your time and I'm sorry I called But the thought just occurred that we're nobody's children at all, after all Live 'til your rebirth and do what you will, Oh by jingo Forget all I've said, please bear me no ill, Oh by jingo After all, after all |
A lyric that encompasses a lot of what was going on in Bowie's head at the time. Bowie sings as though he is a child, almost an alien (or at least in touch with aliens) with powers that adults (the taller children) don't have. 'Thoughts from the skies' harks back to the 'Memory of a Free Festival' theme. The child has the answer, there is an innocence, imagination, insights that adults/parents don't have. Man is an obstacle, hold onto nothing on the journey that we all have to undertake, with some marching on their own. The sense of isolation and loneliness reappear. A feeling of despair and menace is created with the lyric, the music and the varispeed vocal of "Oh by jingo". The third verse captures Bowie's uncertainty singing impertinently over impermanent chords and apologising for intruding because "we're nobody's children". Referring to his and Terry's illegitimacy. Bowie ends by discounting everything he's said and suggesting there is nothing we can do in this life. |
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RUNNING GUN BLUES 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 |
Inspired by the madness of a Vietnam veteran who guns downs civilians, which is what was happening in America at the time (Charlie Starkweather gunned down people from the top of a tower), this lyric allowed Bowie to portray the horror of death and destruction. The violent imagery matched Bowie's the increasing controlled violence and anger he was displaying. "I can't control it". The madness of the veteran is matched with Bowie's high pitched voice verging on the edge of paranoia. |
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SAVIOUR MACHINE President Joe once had a dream The world held his hand, gave their pledge So he told them his scheme for a Saviour Machine They called it the Prayer, its answer was law Its logic stopped war, gave them food How they adored till it cried in its boredom 'Please don't believe in me, please disagree with me Life is too easy, a plague seems quite feasible now or maybe a war, or I may kill you all Don't let me stay, don't let me stay My logic says burn so send me away Your minds are too green, I despise all I've seen You can't stake your lives on a Saviour Machine I need you flying, and I'll show that dying Is living beyond reason, sacred dimension of time I perceive every sign, I can steal every mind Don't let me stay, don't let me stay My logic says burn so send me away Your minds are too green, I despise all I've seen You can't stake your lives on a Saviour Machine |
The Saviour Machine aka Bowie, rejects it's loyal followers and wants to create chaos. It wants the followers to rebel before it's contempt for them becomes too great to let them live. The theme of a super computer going astray is quite common in science fiction but Bowie takes it further with the machine offering death as a way to a better life. |
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SHE SHOOK ME COLD We met upon a hill, the night was cool and still She sucked my dormant will Mother, she blew my brain, I will go back again My God, she shook my cold I had no time to spare, I grabbed her golden hair And threw her to the ground Father, she craved my head, Oh Lord, the things she said My God, she should be told I was very smart, broke the gentle hearts Of many young virgins I was quick on the ball, left them so lonely They'd just give up trying Then she took my head, smashed it up Kept my young blood rising Crushed me mercilessly, kept me going around So she didn't know I crave her so oh oh I'll give my love in vain, to reach that peak again We met upon a hill Mother, she blew my brain, I will go back again My God, she shook me cold |
Equally violent imagery appears here as well but it this time it's about love and the pain he felt after his broken relationship with Hermione (from Space Oddity days). "Then she took my head, smashed it up", "she blew my brain". "I grabbed her golden hair and threw to the ground". Added to this is the graphic sexual slang that leaves little doubt as to the intensity or type of relationship he had with Hermione. Despite the fact that she "crushed him mercilessly" he "will go back again". Note that Father, Mother and God are also pleaded to in order to try and get some understanding of the pain Bowie felt. Bowie himself admits that he is no saint as he, the stud "broke the heat of many young virgins", but it's different when love is involved. |
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THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes I thought you died alone, a long long time ago Oh no, not me I never lost control You're face to face With The Man Who Sold The World I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here We must have died alone, a long, long time ago Who knows? Not me We never lost control You're face to face With the Man who Sold the World |
Yesterday upon the stair I met a man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today How I wish he'd go away This is the nursery rhyme that inspired the lyric, but instead of the man on the stair not being there it's Bowie who is surprised in meeting himself because he thinks he's already dead/mad. He then denies this by saying that he "never lost control" which is what he has to do in order not to end up like Terry. The Man Who Sold the World will be with Bowie on his journey as he searches for form and land amongst the all the millions. There are hints of a greater part of the self that controls us, but is beyond our understanding. |
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THE SUPERMEN When all the world was very young And mountain magic heavy hung The supermen would walk in file Guardians of a loveless isle And gloomy browed with superfear their tragic endless lives Could heave, nor sigh In solemn, perverse serenity, wondrous beings chained to life Strange games they would play then No death for the perfect men Life rolls into one for them So softly a supergod cries Where all were minds in uni-thought Power weird by mystics taught No pain, no joy, no power too great Colossal strength to grasp a fate Where sad eyed mermen tossed in slumbers Nightmare dreams no mortal mind could hold A man would tear his brother's flesh, a chance to die To turn to mould. Far out in the red sky Far out from the sad eyes Strange, mad celebration So softly a supergod cries Far out in the red sky Far out from the sad eyes Strange, mad celebration So softly a supergod dies |
According to 'Peter & Leni Gillman' "David was attracted to Nietzsche's notion of the superman who rejects conventional morality and develops his own." This certainly fits in with the lifestyle Bowie was leading with Angie. But the superbeings were not content with their "loveless isle" and "tragic endless lives" with "perverse serenity" all of which could describe Terry's life at Cane Hill. The "nightmare dreams" and "tear his brothers flesh , a chance to die" must be his reaction to Terry's plight. The lyric can be read with Terry as the a supergod, with strange, mad celebrations. Alternatively it can be read as Bowie's fascination with the outsiders from other worlds with superior knowledge and powers. The main reference for the above thought are from Alias David Bowie by Peter & Leni Gillman © 1986 published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. This is a fascinating read with far more information than I've included here. |