The late great David Bowie is as well-known for his incredible songwriting skills as he is for his unique aesthetics, culture-changing recording techniques, and overall vibe as one of the most fascinating musicians of his era. There are too many songs and eras to cover in just one short article. However, I’ve always found something particularly appealing about David Bowie’s hit 1972 glam rock song “Starman”.
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“Starman” is an incredible tune that is still loved today. The song is all about Ziggy Stardust offering Earth’s youth a hopeful message via the radio, about salvation brought upon them by an alien referred to as “Starman.”
The story has been interpreted in a number of ways through the years. Some believe it’s about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Others believed that Bowie saw the future and predicted the plot of the 1997 movie Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Others have drawn comparisons to the British program Doctor Who.
The original lyrics of “Starman” by David Bowie were leaked to the public shortly after Bowie’s passing. The original lyric sheet for the song was sold at an auction in Los Angeles. Naturally, when photos of the paper circulated, fans were quick to pick apart a few small differences between the written lyrics and the lyrics that made it to the final cut of the song.
The Original Lyrics of “Starman” by David Bowie Boast Eyebrow-Raising Revelations
There were a few differences in lyrics that stand out. For example, the 1972 recorded track includes the lyrics “Some cat was layin’ down some get it on rock ‘n’ roll, he said.” However, the lyric sheet reads “Some cat was layin’ down some rock ‘n’ roll, ‘lotta soul, he said.”
Just as well, the line “Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase haze” was originally “Came back on a wave of phase.”
That being said, the perspective of the song changes slightly with these original lyrics. It seems as though Bowie wanted to simplify the lyrics to a degree for the final cut.
So, what’s the real meaning behind “Starman”? According to an interview Bowie once did in 1973 for Rolling Stone (with William S. Burroughs, no less), the true meaning behind “Starman” will likely be pretty ambiguous forever. Even with slight changes in context provided by the original lyrics.
“The starmen that he is talking about are called the infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers,” said Bowie. “Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the Earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don’t have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black-hole jumping.”
The similarities to Doctor Who seem to be real, I suppose.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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