DESERT ISLAND DISCS


'Heaven’s Holding a Half Moon’


‘Jung the Foreman Prayed at Work...’


‘Make Me a Deal, and Make it Straight!’


‘At the Back of the Holy Temple’


‘Angry Tears Are Too Dear, You Won’t Let Them Go’


‘Watch Out! You Might Get What You’re After'


‘There’s a Killer on the Road’


'Words are Flowing Out Like Endless Rain into a Paper Cup'



2 - Drive-In Saturday
‘Jung the Foreman Prayed at Work...’

 

What sort of category does this song fall into? It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard before; I find it eccentric but strangely touching. I love the arrangement - the bass high in the mix, the backing singing complimenting the melody (‘dum do wah…’) and the way the saxophones underscore Bowie’s fantastic voice  on the rousing chorus ('His name was always Buddy').

 

With his found words technique (cutting up newspaper articles and juxtaposing random sentences) Bowie’s lyrics boldly carried the legacy of the Dadaists into the seventies charts. The song makes no sense but the music is so strong and evocative that it doesn’t seem to need to.

 

I’m not sure if Bowie intended his lyrics to be funny but I often head e-mails to friends with obscure Bowie quotes to raise a chuckle and to test their memory of the great man’s lyrics. (‘Jung the foreman prayed at work’).

 

If you want to play this game with a fellow Bowie fan, I particularly recommend his song The Cygnet Committee - from the title on it’s a feast of hilarious surreal juxtapositions. Quotes like these evoke fond memories of that time in the seventies when Bowie’s quirkiness represented a kind of crazy freedom to us.

 

 

NEW ON THE SITE

HAVE YOU SEEN?


Click on the picture for the full-sized version


Click on the picture for the full-sized version


The Whole Range is Here!

Site designed by Jez Alborough and Matthew Wherry and built by Matthew Wherry.
All content © Jez Albrough 2008 - present unless otherwise stated.

X