The best David Bowie lyrics

8 January 2022, 08:00

Let's celebrate the life and work of one of the greatest musicians of all time with some of his greatest lyrics.

1. "For here am I sitting in a tin can / Far above the world / Planet Earth is blue / And there's nothing I can do.”

   Space Oddity, 1969

   

   David Bowie - Space Oddity

2. "He played it left hand/ But made it too far/ Became the special man/Then we were Ziggy's Band"

   Ziggy Stardust, 1972

   

   Ziggy Stardust (2012 Remaster)

3. “It's not the side-effects of the cocaine / I’m thinking that it must be love.”

   Station To Station, 1976

   

   Station to Station (2016 Remaster)

4. "We live for just these twenty years / Do we have to die for the fifty more?”

   Young Americans, 1975

   

   Young Americans (2016 Remaster)

5. "A small Jean Genie / Snuck off to the city / Strung out on lasers / And slash back blazers."

   Jean Genie, 1973

   

   David Bowie – The Jean Genie (Official Video)

6. "I had to phone someone so I picked on you/ Hey, that's far out so you heard him too”

   Starman, 1972

   

   Starman (2012 Remaster)

7. "I, I can remember / Standing by the wall / And the guns shot above our heads / And we kissed / As though nothing could fall.”

   "Heroes", 1977

   

   David Bowie - Heroes (Official Video)

8. "Let's dance / Put on your red shoes/ And dance the blues.”

   Let's Dance, 1983

   

   David Bowie - Let's Dance (Official Video)

9. "I'm an alligator/I'm a mama-papa coming for you/ I'm the space invader/ I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you"

   Moonage Daydream, 1972

   

   Moonage Daydream (2012 Remaster)

10. "Time takes a cigarette/ Puts it in your mouth/ You pull on your finger/ Then another finger/ Then your cigarette”

    Rock ’N’ Roll Suicide, 1972

    

    Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (2012 Remaster)

11. "You've got your mother in a whirl/She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl."

    Rebel Rebel, 1974

    

    David Bowie - Rebel Rebel • TopPop

12. "Time may change me / But I can't trace time"

    Changes, 1971

    

    Changes (2015 Remaster)

13. "We passed upon the stair/ We spoke of was and when/ Although I wasn't there/ He said I was his friend.”

    The Man Who Sold The World, 1970

    

    David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World [2020 Mix] [Official Lyric Video]

14. "Ashes to ashes, Funk to funky / We know Major Tom's a junkie / Strung out in heaven's high / Hitting an all-time low”

    Ashes To Ashes, 1980

    

    David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes (Official Video)

15. "I'm torn between the light and dark / Where others see their targets / Divine symmetry.”

    Quicksand, 1971

    

    Quicksand (2015 Remaster)

16. "It's on America's tortured brow / That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow / Now the workers have struck for fame / ‘Cause Lennon's on sale again.”

    Life On Mars?, 1971

    

    David Bowie – Life On Mars? (Official Video)

17. "Blue, blue electric blue / That’s the colour of my room / Where I will live.”

    Sound And Vision, 1977

    

    Sound and Vision (2017 Remaster)

18. "They watch us from behind their shades / Brigitte, Jack and Kate and Brad / From behind their tinted window stretch / Gleaming like blackened sunshine.”

    The Stars (Are Out Tonight), 2013

    

    David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight) (Video)

19. "Look up here, I'm in heaven.”

    Lazarus, 2016

    

    David Bowie - Lazarus (Video)