David Bowie birthday today, January 8,

Oannes tribute to him

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TIME [ALADDIN SANE, 1973]

Σαν σήμερα, 8 Ιανουαρίου 1948, στο Βrixton του Λονδίνου γεννήθηκε ο David Robert Jones, ευρύτερα γνωστός ως David Bowie.
Το τραγούδι αυτό είναι το πρώτο του που άκουσα ποτέ.
Το Aladdin Sane, ηχογραφημένο στον απόηχο του Ziggy Stardust και πιο φιλόδοξο από ό,τι είχε μέχρι τότε κάνει, είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα [όχι μόνο δικά του] άλμπουμ όλων των εποχών. Η είσοδος στο προσκήνιο του ιδιοφυούς πιανίστα Mike Garson, είναι ένας απ’ τους λόγους γι’ αυτό.
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On this date, January 8, 1948, David Robert Jones, better known as David Bowie, was born in Brixton, London.
This song is the first I ever heard from him.
Aladdin Sane, recorded in the wake of Ziggy Stardust and more ambitious than everything he ‘d released till then, is one of the best albums of all time, and I don’t mean only by DB. Prodigious pianist Mike Garson‘s coming to the fore is one of the reasons for this.

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❝ Time, he’s waiting in the wings
He speaks of senseless things
His script is you and me, boy
Time, he flexes like a whore
Falls wanking to the floor
His trick is you and me, boy
Time, in quaaludes and red wine
Demanding Billy Dolls
And other friends of mine
Take your time
The sniper in the brain, regurgitating drain
Incestuous and vain
And many other last names
Oh, well, I look at my watch, it says nine twenty-five
And I think “Oh God, I’m still alive”
We should be on by now
We should be on by now
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
You are not a victim
You just scream with boredom
You are not evicting time
Chimes, goddamn, you’re looking old
You’ll freeze and catch a cold
‘Cause you’ve left your coat behind
Take your time
Breaking up is hard, but keeping dark is hateful
I had so many dreams
I had so many breakthroughs
But you, my love, were kind, but love has left you dreamless
The door to dreams was closed
Your park was real dreamless
Perhaps you’re smiling now
Smiling through this darkness
But all I had to give was guilt for dreaming
We should be on by now
We should be on by now
We should be on by now
We should be on by now
We should be on by now
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, yeah, time!❞

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CYGNET COMMITTEE [SPACE ODDITY, 1969]

Ένα από τα πρώιμα αριστουργήματα του David Bowie, όχι ίσως τόσο ακουσμένο όσο θα έπρεπε, είναι το επικό “Cygnet Committee” από το Space Oddity.
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One of David Bowie’ s early masterpieces, maybe not as known as it should, is the epic “Cygnet Committee” from Space Oddity.

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❝ I bless you madly,
Sadly as I tie my shoes
I love you badly,
Just in time, at times, I guess
Because of you I need to rest
Because it’s you
That sets the test
So much has gone
And little is new
And as the sparrow sings
Dawn chorus for
Someone else to hear
The Thinker sits alone growing older
And so bitter
“I gave Them life
I gave Them all
They drained my very soul
…Dry
I crushed my heart
To ease their pains
No thought for me remains there
Nothing can they spare
What of me?
Who praised their efforts
To be free?
Words of strength and care
And sympathy
I opened doors
That would have blocked their way
I braved their cause to guide,
For little pay
I ravaged at my finance just for those
Those whose claims were steeped in peace, tranquility
Those who said a new world, new ways ever free
Those whose promises stretched in hope and grace for me”
I bless you madly,
Sadly as I tie my shoes
I love you badly, just in time,
At times, I guess
Because of you I need to rest, oh yes
Because it’s you
That sets the test
So much has gone
And little is new
And as the sunrise stream
Flickers on me,
My friends talk
Of glory, untold dream, where all is God and God is just a word
“We had a friend, a talking man
Who spoke of many powers that he had
Not of the best of men, but ours
We used him
We let him use his powers
We let him fill our needs
Now we are strong
And the road is coming to its end
Now the damned have no time to make amends
No purse of token fortune stands in our way
The silent guns of love
Will blast the sky
We broke the ruptured structure built of age
Our weapons were the tongues of crying rage
Where money stood
We planted seeds of rebirth
And stabbed the backs of fathers
Sons of dirt
Infiltrated business cesspools
Hating through our sleeves
Yea, and we slit the Catholic throat
Stoned the poor
On slogans such as
‘Wish You Could Hear’
‘Love Is All We Need’
‘Kick Out The Jams’
‘Kick Out Your Mother’
‘Cut Up Your Friend’
‘Screw Up Your Brother or He’ll Get You In the End’
And we know the flag of love is from above
And we can force you to be free
And we can force you to believe”
And I close my eyes and tighten up my brain
For I once read a book in which the lovers were slain
For they knew not the words of the Free States’ refrain
It said:
“I believe in the power of good
I believe in the state of love
I will fight for the right to be right
I will kill for the good of the fight for the right to be right”
And I open my eyes to look around
And I see a child laid slain
On the ground
As a love machine lumbers through desolation rows
Plowing down man, woman, listening to its command
But not hearing anymore
Not hearing anymore
Just the shrieks from the old rich
And I want to believe
In the madness that calls ‘Now’
And I want to believe
That a light’s shining through
Somehow
And I want to believe
And you want to believe
And we want to believe
And we want to live
Oh, we want to live
We want to live
We want to live
We want to live
We want to live
We want to live
I want to live
I want to live
I want to live
I want to live
I want to live
I want to live
Live
Live
Live ❞

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MOVE ON [LODGER, 1979]

Κατά ένα ενδιαφέροντα τρόπο, ούτε αυτό εδώ το τραγούδι του Bowie είναι από τα πιο γνωστά του. Κατά την πτωχή μου άποψη είναι συγκλονιστικό.
Πρόσθετο ενδιαφέρον, και πλάκα, έχει το βίντεο [βλ. κάτω] για την ύπαρξή του οποίου με είχε ενημερώσει προ ετών ο stcigar. Όπως ακούγεται εδώ, το ρεφρέν του “Move on” έχει προκύψει διά της αντιστροφής του ρεφρέν του “All The Young Dudes” που ο DB είχε γράψει για τους Mott The Hoople.
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Interestingly, neither this Bowie song is one of his most well-known. To my humble opinion it is breathtaking.
An additional and fun element has to do with the video below [stcigar informed me about it some years ago]. As someone can hear, “Move On”’s refrain has occurred as an inversion of another song’ s refrain: “All The Young Dudes”, written by DB for Mott The Hoople.

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❝ Sometimes I feel
The need to move on
So I pack a bag
And move on
Move on
Well I might take a train
Or sail at dawn
Might take a girl
When I move on
When I move on
Somewhere, someone’s calling me
And when the chips are down
I’m just a travelling man
Maybe it’s just a trick of the mind, but
Somewhere there’s a morning sky
Bluer than her eyes
Somewhere there’s an ocean
Innocent and wild
Africa is sleepy people
Russia has its horsemen
Spent some nights in old Kyoto
Sleeping on the matted ground
Cyprus is my island
When the going’s rough
I would love to find you
Somewhere in a place like that
Somewhere, someone’s calling me
And when the chips are down
I stumble like a blind man
Can’t forget you
Can’t forget you
Feeling like a shadow
Drifting like a leaf
I stumble like a blind man
Can’t forget you
Can’t forget you
Can’t forget you
Can’t forget you ❞

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❦

Enjoy!

and

Stay Safe!

As always, I’m happy to hear your thoughts, however I’d highly recommend a direct dialogue with the …’source’ so please visit Oannes’ page where you can also listen to the song !

More about these reblogs

* For my friends who didn’t know, or first timers here, Oannes [aka Socratis Papahatzis] is my husband, partner in life and music and the one with my undying admiration. Together we have a band MK-O [the music of Marina Kanavaki & Oannes]. So, it’s my pleasure to share with you his [and sometimes mine] musical selections. • Do visit his site. He has my highest recommendation!