🎵 David Bowie - Young Americans REACTION
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2022
- Thanks for checking out our David Bowie reaction. We checked out Young Americans during our last live stream.
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“We live for just these twenty years. Do we have to die for the fifty more?” It’s like, in your 20’s everything was new and exciting but once you
look back (I’m in my 60’s!) it seems we can never get back that magic we felt in our younger years. At least that’s what it means to me.
Good luck figuring out Bowie’s lyrics!
I feel ya, Danny...Same vibe for my 63 year old azz....especially when u look at the state of today's world, media, and people behavior..sigh.
I'm just 22 and already feel old lol but yeah I can see that in the song 100%
@@CaptainAmercia I was in my 20’s during the 80’s. Enjoy your youth!
Don’t let others tell you how to live it.
@@alonzocoyethea6148 It is wonderful though reliving this music through
younger listeners. The music we grew up with will never be repeated.
This is my escape from the world!
You nailed it
There's so much in this song. It's about the fascination of youth and the power over culture this affects. It's about the influence of American culture (a young, brash, and loud culture) and the idealization of it on the world stage. It's about the conflicting and mixing of all the American sub-cultures to produce this unique amalgam. It's about life, and soul, and struggles, and finding your place in the maelstrom of ever evolving American youth culture.
Well said!
Damn --- you nailed it ! Bowie would appreciate your breakdown of his song 😎
Fascination, another great Bowie track..
Beautiful description of a fascinating song
You think too much do you dance
I like the line, "It took him minutes, took her nowhere." Probably an accurate description of many first sexual encounters. LOL
Lol, I was thinking exactly the same thing🤣
I concur 😂
I think thousands of us were happy to have a man write those lyrics lol! But also, because she doesn't know any better, ''she wants the young American" and the guy is always thinking of himself "Gee my life's a funny thing!" lol I hope it didn't take 50 years for her to realize! He's not a monster, only Average, God help us.
Includes Luther Vandross on backing vocal.
Absolutely
Per Songfacts, Bowie never was a young American - he was born and raised in England. Bowie said that this was the result of cramming his "whole American experience" into one song.
The line near the end, "I heard the news today, oh boy," is a reference to the Beatles song "A Day In The Life." John Lennon worked with Bowie on "Fame" and also Bowie's cover of "Across The Universe." Both songs are on this album.
Boy, that saxaphonist was tearing it up...From the opening 4 measures to the take-out, and not stepping on Bowie's vocals, he was blowin!! Now that's some musicianship!!
David Sanborn on sax - love it!
because of a tribute concert.
It's saxOphonist.
I love the way he sounds out of breath then gives and holds the note
I think that last section of the song is his absolute vocal best. Exhilarating and insistent. Just brilliant.
This song isn’t played enough. R.I.P. David Bowie. Miss you everyday. One of a kind. Bless you for diversity in your music. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Young Luther Vandross on backing vocals along with some other greats as well. David Bowie was obsessed with R&B at this point and insisted on having real authentic singers and players to capture the essence of the sound. The world didn’t even know that he did in fact have one of the best ever.
I think he's saying that most kids, when they're approaching adulthood, want The Dream... true love, great sex, wealth, power, success, happiness... whatever the perceive that to be. Bowie runs through a range of what those people want - good and bad. But none of them usually imagine themselves as older than they are right now. They want all these things, and they want to stay young.
Bowie, for the most part, does not write simple pop songs - that's why his music remains amazing and causes one to dig deep to understand some of his music. As one put it, his lyrics are "smart, studied, literary, philosophical, playful, informed, brilliant." Enjoy the ride!
Just have to say that Lex is subtly brilliant. She doesn't get it exactly right every time, but often enough, and it's extremely entertaining to watch her mind figure out the context of the lyrics. Both refreshing and a little scary. She also has a great ear for how and why a song or melody is catchy and engaging.
Brad, you're cool too.
Well put Mark. My first thought was, there's too much in this song for a first listen reaction vid. It was exciting to see Lex sniff around, then pick up the scent and get on the trail.
There are so many layers to Bowie that not even a PhD project couldn't fully unravel Bowie. Dude was a genius
Agree. Bowie should be a college course.
You guys should react to more David Bowie…
"The Man Who Sold the World", "Changes", "Life on Mars?", "Time", "The Jean Genie", "Station to Station", "Wild Is the Wind", "Speed of Life", "Sound and Vision", "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", "As The World Falls Down", "I'm Deranged"
🎸🤘
I agree with all you said
"Station to Station" is the most interesting one, should listen to Kraftwerks "Trans-Europe Express" after. "Time" is a really good one too
@@Ca11mero I love Life on Mars
Ok, but we don’t need your personal circumstances as your goodbye.
Life on Mars...masterpiece
Brad & Lex, you'll love his "Changes" and "Suffragette City"!!!
Then 'Life On Mars' and 'Ashes To Ashes'
‘Boys’ ‘Fashion’...
Wham bham alexazam
Why will they "love" them? Because you said so?
@@lenhudson8194
Got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, did we...?
The logical progression next is: "I'm Afraid of Americans" which was made decades later by Trent Reznor and David Bowie. It has a cool video too.
Or his song This is Not America
This song (Afraid of Americans) was fairly popular in my day and Trent Reznor had nothing to do with it - so I pulled it up on the Official Video and THAT was not the song on the album or radio. The video certainly had a definite Reznor sound to it!
So I stand by my original thought and memory that this wasn’t a Trent Rezor/David Bowie collaboration - but yes, I found out they did a Reznor remix that must have been popular enough to make a video out of. (I had given up on MTV and VH1 by the nineties). Cheers!
Great Bowie song. I love how he slipped in a lyric from the Beatles. I read the news today oh boy.
America was/is glorified by a lot of people outside of the US (especially before the internet). I think this is about Bowie's own experiences after being in America, delivering the message to the young people who glorifies it outside of the US. Reality isn't always the way it's portrayed in movies and magazines. Maybe the positive vibes of music itself is because it is supposed to sound like a theme for American pop culture and the song is essentially a question if the life of a teenage American is still as "cool" when the lyrics are the opposite of positive.
I had similar experiences when going to the US for the first time, I already expected it to be "worse" than what's pictured but it turned out to be much darker than I thought. The amount of people who are sliding through the downward spiral is quite eye opening.
I couldn't believe how many disabled people, struggling that you encounter, there are relative to the UK. I've recently read how relatively low average life expectancy is there. Really reinforced my ideals about society, medical provision and assistance to the poor. It's a shame the current UK govt is using America as a role model.
Anyway this is catchy, funky and Dave is sublime - one of his best performances, teetering on the edge of corny, but totally compelling. What a glorious decade he managed.
I find it interesting that Bowie writes such poetic and deep songs and then when you guys were breaking it down, it led to such a deep and insightful conversation. I think that's great. I second the request below for Suffragette City. There are just so many David Bowie songs and therefore so many great David Bowie songs, but when I was young, that was the one that I could put on top volume until my eardrums bleed and just play it over and over. It's just a tour de force and yet it still has funny lines in it
Check out the 🎷 on that sweet tune 👋
As soon as the song starts and you hear his voice your hooked. Doesn't matter what he's saying. That voice is just everything.
Hope you guys do "I'm Afraid of Americans". It will blow your mind: the difference between the 70s and early 80s Bowie you've been listening to compared to 90s Bowie. You think he his style varies now...
Make sure to do the music video version or the unedited NIN V1 audio, but I would suggest the music video. It's way different and better than the original version.
Not the greatest Bowie song
Chris, on YT is a Bowie - NIN concert (Dissonance from 1994) where they do a duet of Hurt; great, great version and really good show!
@@ericsierra-franco7802 he did a lot of songs...
@@ericsierra-franco7802 I agree. If I was introducing someone to the magic of Bowie, that song wouldn’t be in my top 50. Nowhere near it, in fact.
I like that song a lot more than this one they're reacting to.
this song has great lines for days...i've been "studying" it for 20 years and still find new perspectives on what it could be about.
my favorite is: "Well, well, well, would you carry a razor In case, just in case of depression?"
he opening track is the title track, which Bowie said was "just [about] young Americans", more specifically "a newly-wed couple who don't know if they really like each other. Well, they do, but they don't know if they do or don't."[The song also presents new lyrical directions for the artist: instead of "shady" characters living in worlds fraught with darkness, "Young Americans" shows typical American teenagers. References are made to the Watergate scandal and McCarthyism, while the line "I heard the news today, oh boy" is from the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", acknowledging Lennon's influence on Bowie and their imminent collaboration later on in the album. Author Peter Doggett writes that the song introduced the world to an entirely new Bowie, catching everyone by surprise.
Lex's smiles could power a small country with positive energy! ⚡⚡⚡😊
its incredible how many faces he had, how many styles he fit in, btw I love his funk-soul era(too)!
As young soldier in Europe when this came out, we explained it like this, you want us but can you handle the life in America that comes with it. They have no idea about life here because it is totally different than anywhere else!🇺🇸
u r on a different planet. In the uk ,then, as a teenagers we knew he was (ultimately) slagging the US with this song(has been of a country now). We loved Bowie but we also had Roxy Music back then, way 2 cool 4 USA thankfully. Bowie simply made his dosh with u.
Recorded in Philadelphia in the 1970's and you can hear the "Philly sound" influence in the song.
It was recorded at Sigma Sound, where Gamble & Huff recorded all the TSOP albums they produced.
You're right. The Philly sound is stamped all over this tune. The whole album is soaked with it. good call.
I always loved this Bowie song but I never could really work out what it was totally about. It's one that was really catchy and I still turn the volume up when I hear it.
Love 'Young Americans' this was Bowie's first American hit. What I love about Bowie's lyrics is the integrity, whatever he says has truth behind it, it may be his artistic perception but that's what he/Bowie see's. He is one of those artists where you read a lyric, don't get it, then immediately google it to understand the context he's used, that is respect for an artist I think, where normally I don't care it's just a song, he's certainly not a lazy writer, he makes you pay attention. Bowie moved to America around 1975, Washington first I think then NY.
With the 1st 2 verses Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' popped into my head, I think it's the doomed from the start relationship scenario.
I love "word salad" in music, it is usually poetic, has a flow and may have different meanings every time you listen, and people will have different interpretations accordingly. Some artists have the ability to do it much better than others. Bowie, the Beatles, Lou Reed, Morrison, Jimi, Dylan to name a few. "Come Together" by the Beatles is the most perfect example, for me...
Goo goo gah joob!
His tune "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a logical follow up for this one.
5 decades later I remember where I was and who I was with the 1st time I heard this album...They dont make music like that anymore.
{You said a mouthful there, They don't make music like that anymore for sure!
I had never seen the lyrics to this song before. They are pretty different to what I thought I had heard all this time. I guess I just liked the rhythm and beat.
My thoughts exactly ! Probably best not to read them in this instance.
@@telstar4772 see, the lyrics made ME like the song even more. Much more depth than I attributed to it previously. It was never a favorite of mine, but I like it much more now.
I remember when this song was new. I thought about the lyrics but I mainly thought about how I felt when listening to it. Which was usually good. At least that is what I recall these 40 plus years later.
Went to a concert in 1974 and came out a fan. One of the best live shows I’ve seen
I just love Bowie's lyrics and the way he spits them, absolute full flow, no hesitation, revelling in the complexity. Just like some powerful fast rappers of today's music, stands alone by itself but with music. Wo wah wee wah
I follow other reaction channels, and follow them because I like their approach, but you guys are the best - Lex often hits it on the nail, but also I adore when you pick up a thread and go off at tangents (much like my mind does - lol). So glad you’ve done this, I’m a massive Bowie fan, this is one of my default karaoke’s, but there’s so much more of his to cover!
Yes! Lex has been crushing it!
Current events of the time this was Composed are related in the lyric's. Some lines in this song reference pivotal historic facts. The shooting of Bobbie Kennedy, Patty Hearst, Vietnam War, Poverty, Racial Divide, Convention 68, MLK, Watergate, Libyan Crisis, Earth Quake 72, Desegregation, Abortion, LIFE Magazine and Life itself are all given testimony.
Reference to Elvis
Only saw Bowie once. Day on the Green 9-17-83. So glad I went.
so many great Bowie songs...how about "Changes" next?
"Ain't there a child I can hold without judging, ain't there a pen that'll write before they die?" It's all about desire and regret.
Always loved this song but never read the lyrics. Now that I've seen them, I love the song even more. However, I think this is a classic example of why you shouldn't do lyrics when you first listen to a song. Maybe for like the first 20 times. Brad had his usual confused face on. Just enjoy the song first.
Agreed, I love Bowie but I don't think it would occur to me in a million years to try and puzzle out the lyrics. They're not bad though, now I come to look at them. Brad probably got it about right at 6.30.
One of the BEST songs of the 70s! I might be one of Bowie's biggest fans... from almost the beginning.
I have read in interviews that this song was inspired by David Bowie's love of American soul music. He was one of the great unique artists of 20th Century pop music that didn't care about genre and wanted to explore everything in his own music. I believe this came out in 1976, so the pop culture references are all from that era, such as Soul Train (which continued for decades longer, of course) and President Nixon.
in an interview David Bowie said when he writes music, he sometimes just cuts out snippets of news paper articles and magazines spreads them all out on a table and starts pairing them up randomly and creates lyrics that way, not always but it was his mode of writing often
I read somewhere that Bowie was writing about the disillusionment of the American Dream in 1975. Bowie was a genius and often wrote lyrics that were hard to figure out. I just figured he was operating a few levels above most of us. The late great Luther Vandross was on backing vocals and did the vocal arrangements for the album of the same name. This is before he went solo and became LUTHER.
Recorded at Sigma Sound studios in Philadelphia.
Yes! BRAD Breakthrough! Most songs ARE poetry, seldom with literal meaning - up for interpretation. Therein lies the Beauty!
FINALLYYYYY HUH GUYS? 😊 SUCH A DAMN GREAT SONG AND WAS HIS BIGGEST HIT AT THE TIME. SAME 75 ALBUM ( YOUNG AMERICANS ) AS FAME 😊
I heard somewhere that Bowie had a collection of interesting lines - a sentence in a novel, newspaper headline, some dialogue from a film - and he'd combine the clippings to make interesting lyrics. Like this...
There's a brand new dance But I don't know its name That people from bad homes Do again and again
Don't know if the story's true.
He was a disciple of the great American writer William S. Burroughs who created the "Cut Up" technique with Canadian avant-garde artist Brion Gyson. Burroughs was famous for cutting up other books, news papers etc and writing whole novels in this manner. It creates this fragmented dream like work where the writer and the reader can find their own meaning in the prose. Bowie was a HUGE fan of Burroughs.
I read an article in which the writer claimed that Bowie told him he did this--I think it's clear that he did this sometimes, but not always. Bowie liked to act as if his lyrics didn't really mean anything--sometimes--but most of the time I think they had real meaning and he cared very much. Novels could be written from the many stories he tells in his songs.
He's commenting on how self-absorbed Americans are with themselves, especially the young ones.
This is from a very awesome album. Somebody Up There Likes Me, Right...
Bowie was fascinated with America. "Young Americans" (1975), "This Is Not America" (1985), "I'm Afraid of Americans" (1997), and "America" -- a Simon & Garfunkel song from 1968 that Bowie opened with to kick off The Concert for New York City held a month or so after the 9/11 attacks. Bowie dedicated that song to his local ladder company, which had suffered many deaths during the attacks on the World Trade Center. "I read the news today oh boy..." -- that's a nod to The Beatles. The album Young Americans featured a cover of John Lennon's "Across the Universe" as well as an assist from Lennon himself on the song "Fame". The sax player on this song is David Sanborn. He played with too many greats to list them all. He also hosted a late night television musical performance show for season in the late eighties that was one of the coolest musical things I've ever seen on television. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Pharoah Sanders were the guests on his first show. Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and Warren Zevon were guests on his last show. There were too many greats on that show in between to list them all. In one episode Sanborn joined with Sonic Youth to jam on a cover of The Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog". I thought it was awesome.
That 9/11 America rendition is spine-tingling, given the context and how simply he performs it.
Those congas that you hear are being played by a young, unknown, Luther Vandross, who also did backing vocals, and co-wrote "Fascination" with David.
In addition to all the Beatles shout-outs (the quote from "A Day in the Life" here, the cover of "Across the Universe", his collaborations with John Lennon), it was during these sessions that David did his covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City", although Bruce was still largely unknown at the time.
The song was used in the 80's movie "Sixteen Candles".
Lex looked unsure on the first few drum beats but the sax kicked in and she was sold. Good music never goes out of style
David Bowie spent a lot of time in the underground scene of NY in the 70's which was a mess. He worked with groups like the velvet underground and Iggy Pop. I saw the darker sides of the US. He both liked it and disliked it. This song tells the good and bad side of youth and adults who go through different things. The American dream is not what you think especially from a different perspective. It is not all good. and it is not all bad. The thing is what people do with their different lives. Bowie is almost always about be you and be ok with what you are going through. (But with a groovy beat....) Listen to Rock and roll suicide, changes, and oh you pretty things and the list goes on. The same theme is there in different ways.
There was a solid decade where you absolutely could not go wrong with a David Bowie song. Basically 72 to 82.
Heroes is my favorite. The Berlin era. Eno.
Brad & Lex, Im from England and love you, so spot on with your reviews of my generation of music, i was a teenager in the 70s and David Bowie was brilliant.
“FAME” by David Bowie is from the same era. Love Bowie
"His lyrics to Young Americans are, like all of his work, poetic by nature. He is not making a personal statement. This song is more a collection of observations, like snapshots pointing to aspects of desire and the pursuit of gratification. There are potentially different observers within the lyric as well" like a book will have different perspectives. He was in love with the literal sound of a word and what it brought up, how it fit in and loved making people think- so like a work of art, which a song is, it means different things to different people. Sometimes I think the lyrics can distract or be read too concretely if you're overly focused on them instead of just listening to it all together because after all, a song is a vibe which is what you hear and what that makes you see in your minds eye or brings up for you. The whole package rather than the parts which is probably why he loved first takes in the studio.Well done and as always Lex's gut is usually frighteningly astute like she's picking up radio waves.
David Bowie is anything But a Young American. He was Born & Raised in England. “This was recorded between tour dates at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, which was the capital of black music in the area. Bowie usually recorded his vocals after midnight because he heard that's when Frank Sinatra recorded most of his vocals, and because there weren't so many people around.
Bowie hired Luther Vandross, who had yet to establish himself as a solo artist, to sing backup and create the vocal arrangements on the Young Americans album.”
-SongFacts
I have truly enjoyed watching you two discover Bowie. I grew up on his music. My mom ( now 81) LOVED him. ✌️💕
Great reaction to this one. Its a masterpiece for sure, but not one that gives simple messages. There will be a lot of irony in what he's saying, but it's also heartfelt, and you picked up on all of that.
Wow, there’s so much to David Bowie and long unusual career. You have to definitely need to check out Bowie. Strange at sometimes but I loved “Ziggy Stardust.” Space Odyssey….Ground control to Major Tom… always liked that one.
I've been listening to this for almost 50 years, and this is the first time I've read the lyrics. I had them all wrong -- and, believe me, my incorrect version was better than the real words.
Jim McDonald, share your lyrics. I'd like to know. Cheers.
I always thought it was "she was the young American" not "wants"
The real lyrics are better than what I thought they were. Now I get chills everytime I hear this song.
@@sourisvoleur4854 Yes, I had that wrong too. I think it would be better if all the characters were the young Americans.
I requested this jam!! Shout out from st.louis mo…LUTHER on backgrounds….songs about young lust, and everyday human troubles
Check out Bowie doing “Young Americans“ live on the Dick Cavett show in 1974. You can easily find it on UA-cam. It’s just wonderful. You might even spot a young Luther Vandross in the backing singers
Not entirely sober, it would seem.
70's Bowie is crazy stuff. But so good.
These are the lyrics.
Bowie made it a comment on 1972. Wich was not a great year.
They pulled in just behind the bridge
He lays her down, he frowns
"Gee, my life's a funny thing, am I still too young?"
He kissed her then and there
She took his ring, took his babies
It took him minutes, took her nowhere
Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but
She wants a young American
(Young American, young American, she wants the young American)
(All right)
But she wants the young American
Scanning life through the picture window
She finds the slinky vagabond
He coughs as he passes her Ford Mustang
But Heaven forbid, she'll take anything
But the freak, and his type, all for nothing
Misses a step and cuts his hand, but
Showing nothing, he swoops like a song
She cries, "Where have all Papa's heroes gone?"
She wants a young American
(Young American, young American, she wants the young American)
(All right)
Well she wants the young American
All the way from Washington
Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor
"We live for just these twenty years
Do we have to die for the fifty more?"
He wants the young American
(Young American, young American, he wants the young American)
(All right) all right
Well he wants the young American
Do you remember, your President Nixon?
Do you remember, the bills you have to pay?
Or even yesterday?
Have you been the un-American?
Just you and your idol sing falsetto
'Bout leather, leather everywhere, and
Not a myth left from the ghetto
Well, well, well, would you carry a razor
In case, just in case of depression?
Sit on your hands on a bus of survivors
Blushing at all the Afro-Sheeners
Ain't that close to love?
Well, ain't that poster love?
Well, it ain't that Barbie doll
Her heart's have been broken just like you and
All night you want the young American
(Young American, young American, you want the young American)
(All right)
You want the young American
You ain't a pimp and you ain't a hustler (young American, young American)
A pimp's got a Cadi and a lady got a Chrysler (you want the young American)
Black's got respect, and white's got his soul train (all right)
Mama's got cramps, and look at your hands ache
(I heard the news today, oh boy)
I got a suite and you got defeat
Ain't there a man who can say no more? (All night)
And, ain't there a woman I can sock on the jaw?
And, ain't there a child I can hold without judging? (young American, young American)
Ain't there a pen that will write before they die? (You want the young American)
Ain't you proud that you've still got faces? (All right)
Ain't there one damn song that can make me
Break down and cry?
I want the young American
Young American, young American, I want the young American
(All right)
I want the young American, young American
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
I want what you want, I want what you want
(All night)
You want I, I want you, I
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
(All right)
And all I want is the young American
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
They are just viewing this song on a surface level this song has so many levels that speaks to the times and the struggle of youth into adulthood. One of my all time faves!!!
This is hands down my favourite Bowie song
It’s just fabulous
the legendary luther vandross and others on the glorious backing vocals of this masterpiece track....brad, ask luther what the words mean
Been a while since I've heard this song,forgot how brilliant it was ,nice post!
This is a great one from one of the greatest! So many good ones to choose from. I also like "Sound and Vision" despite it being quite short.
Always Crashing in the Same Car
I love this song. The way he sings "Her hearts been broken, just like you" destroys me every single time.
Modern Love and China Girl.....Lets Dance all great early 80s Bowie.....and of course Under Pressure with Freddie Mercury....beautiful
David would move to a new city (or environment) and immerse himself in it to stimulate his creative writing. He was an intense observer of his surroundings, tending to focus on examples of alienation he observed (thus explaining many of the darker references in the song). He explained this many times over the years. As he stated in an interview with French magazine Rock et Folk: "I've written songs in all the western capitals, and I've always got to the stage where there isn't friction between a city and me. That became nostalgic, vaguely decadent, and I left for another city. At the moment I'm incapable of composing in Los Angeles, New York or in London or Paris. There's something missing. Berlin (insert any "new" city here) has the strange ability to only make you write the important things."
That is until it too became familiar necessitating him to move elsewhere for inspiration.
A young Luther Vandross singing back up. He even came up with one of the harmony lines!
Ultimately it's existential. It's about living a cliche, like your told to do, instead of becoming something more. This is also reinforced by the deliberate insertion of the Beatles line from "A day in the life" ("I heard the news today, oh boy")
David (RIP) is one of these artists that have managed to reinvent himself for decades and put out decent tracks again and again. He is unique and is frequently more of an obscure metaphor lyrically than literally. Sometimes you just enjoy the feel.
You two are just brilliant 🎉
The Thin White Duke was quite th?e departure from Ziggy Star dust and not all of us were thrilled with this change in direction, one of many for Rock's Chameleon. I would love to see you get back to the Ziggy era, there are a bunch of those songs amongst his very best. Try Suffragate City, Panic in Detroit and Moonage Daydream, all incredible bangers from the day when Mick Ronson and his incredible guitar helped make Bowie's a star. Enjoy! 🎵🎤🎸🎹🎶
It was fun watching you guys discuss the lyrics. I love this song and I have never really understood what he was saying (only in a general sense), I think you guys got a good read on it. Thanks for sharing.
I've heard the song is just about David's Experience with everything American the good and bad all balled up in one song.
Some songs are much more enjoyable if you just enjoy the groove and make up your own words as you sing along,this is one of those songs.
Brad had it right. It’s an experience of living as a Young American from Bowies outside experience, as he wasn’t American. So it’s how Bowie looked at it. Luther Vandross famous R and B/Soul artist was backup vocalist on this album before he made it big.
"Ignorance is bliss" Great observation!!!
Legendary saxophonist David Sanborn just kills it!
Like Supertramps " Breakfast in America" an idealization of what it is like, using available info at the time
I've always thought this was about the _idea_ of the American Dream, the very spirit of it, and juxtaposing that with life when you're young enough to still feel invincible and full with the unlimited (at least in your mind) potential to the life ahead of you. Then reality kicks you in the pants, and you're looking back wistfully at those dreams you had when you were young. Maybe this is all tied back in with the idea of the country itself when it was young?
The way Lex imitated Bowie at 2:40 had me rolling! I watched it like five times!
Thank you for sharing this with me
David Bowie was amazing in concert.
Hi Brad & Lex, Great song that I use to play as a cover in the 70s 😁
Love Bowie's, Modern Love, Let's Dance, Fame..... 🔥🔥🔥😎😎😎🎉🎉🎉
I always thought that this song was about how all the things that people look forward to when they are young, and are full of enthusiasm, often never materialise for them, because the cutlure that they live in never really looks beyond fads and immediate gratification.
Brad, your remark that Bowie's lyrics sound fragmented is very astute - Bowie would sometimes cut up books and magazine articles to create strange combinations. But also, yes, I think to Brits, American youth was definitely something to envy, especially if you were into rock n roll, but then if you envy something there's not just love of it but hate too.
Love this Bowie track ….. brilliant !