David Bowie - Life on Mars
My adoration for David Bowie began in my Kindergarten class. My hippy teacher, Teacher Joyce, showed “The Labyrinth.” David Bowie was the Goblin King Jareth and sung all the songs throughout the movie. Bowie was the coolest thing ever to me for literally the rest of my life. When I used to play random imaginary games I would call myself Jareth and as a kid used to dream about naming my own son Jareth. His hairstyle was the coolest thing ever, the way he used to play with the magic crystal balls, everything about him was off the hook. I mean come on this movie was also done by Jim Henson and if you don’t know me I have a deep love for all things Jim Henson.
The best description of this song comes from BBC 2 as “a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting.” The song has a very random history as seen here. The beginning of the song seems like a girl getting into an argument with her parents who then goes to see a movie. Following that it seems like there is a description of the film. It seems like the rest of the song brings up some Marxist theory, but who knows. I would really like to hear David Bowie’s full explanation of this song. Also with the title “Life on Mars” the song may refer to escapism. Enjoy and leave your thoughts.
By the way you all should be watching “Flight of the Conchords.” The David Bowie episode is classic… “Does the space cold make your nipples go pointy, Bowie?
Do you use your pointy nipples as telescopic antennae to transmit data back to
Earth?”
It’s a god-awful small affair
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling, “No!”
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she’s hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she’s lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It’s the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he’ll ever know
He’s in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
It’s on America’s tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
Because Lennon’s on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
But the film is a saddening bore
Because I wrote it ten times or more
It’s about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It’s the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he’ll ever know
He’s in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
