Girls - David Bowie

Girls - David Bowie

4:17

single, 1987

Written by David Bowie and Erdal Kızılçay

This song was written for Tina Turner, who released it a year earlier.  It's a lightweight, nonspecific ode to the mysteries of girls, how they "come and go" and cause pain.  Bowie paraphrases the famous Blade Runner quotation to describe his narrator's view of the ephemeral nature of these girls: "My heart suspended in time / Like you vanish like tears in the rain."  It's not one of his finer moments, and the keyboard and saxophone combine in a overblown yet watered-down neo-soul, but of course Bowie's magnificent voice carries this thing to the finish line.

Let Me Sleep Beside You - David Bowie

Let Me Sleep Beside You - David Bowie

3:25

The World Of David Bowie, 1970 (recorded 1967)

Written by David Bowie

A slow-burning rock song with a cello arrangement, this song was shelved due to its "risqué" title and Bowie's refusal to change it.  The lyric is a smoldering come-on to a young woman: "Lock away your childhood and throw away the key / Now the streets and city sights will burn your eyes as coals / We shall drink the oldest wine and velvet skies will linger / Child, you're a woman now, your heart and soul are free."  It's a little creepy, frankly, with its reference to putting away dolls and toys and the calling her child and so on.  But if anyone can sell this mystical pale rock-god seduction act, I guess it's Bowie.

(You Will) Set the World On Fire - David Bowie

(You Will) Set the World On Fire - David Bowie

3:32

The Next Day, 2013

Written by David Bowie

While this is a straightforward (for Bowie) rocker full of big guitars and anthemic sound, the song is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village scene.  The song appears to be about, and addressed to, Odetta ("Ochs takes notes / When the black girl and guitar / Burn together hot in rage").  Noting that esteemed folkies Van Ronk, Ochs, and Dylan are taking notes, the narrator of song appears to proposition Odetta (or whoever the black girl with the guitar may be) and promises her headlines and stories in magazines.  "I can hear the nation cry," he roars.  It's a fascinating juxtaposition of music and words, leaving the listener to wonder if the real result of all the promises was that rock, primary the purview of the white male musician, won out in the world's eyes.  Maybe it's even a nod to Bob, who plays this kind of loud rock these days but initially built his vast reputation by imitating the sounds and words of others in the Village scene.

Valentine's Day - David Bowie

Valentine's Day - David Bowie

3:02

The Next Day, 2013

Written by David Bowie

I was not much interested in Bowie as a young man, but the older I get the more I come to think of him as a towering genius.  Thing song seems to be the plans of a school shooter, Valentine, who is telling the narrator what will happen.  "It's in his scrawny hands / It's in his icy heart / It's happening today."  The song doesn't go into the reasons why Valentine might feel this way, just that he resents the football stars and dreams of having the world at his mercy.  I think Bowie could have approached this subject with something a little more complex, but that's nitpicking because I think Bowie has the talent to do better.

Fantastic Voyage - David Bowie

Fantastic Voyage - David Bowie

2:55

Lodger, 1979

Written by David Bowie and Brian Eno

Listen for the silent E!

An almost serene, crooning ballad, art-rock style, from the master.  The lyrics are oblique.  It seems to be about a nuclear war, but it could apply to a love turned bad?  The narrator fears we'll never get old, presumably because we've been blown to bits.  "Remember it's true, dignity is valuable / But our lives are valuable too... I'm still getting educated but I've got to write it down."  Are we recording it so we don't have to relive history's past mistakes?  It may be too late.  What a beguiling, disarming song.  Its softness belies its true nature.  An overlooked gem.