Don't talk of dust and roses
Or should we powder our noses?
Don't live for last year's capers
Give me steel, give me steel, give me pulsars unreal
He'll build a glass asylum
With just a hint of mayhem
He'll build a better whirlpool
We'll be living from sin, then we can really begin
Please savior, saviour, show us
Hear me, I'm graphically yours
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo
Someone to fool us, someone like you
We want you Big Brother, Big Brother
I know you think you're awful square
But you made everyone and you've been every where
Lord, I'd take an overdose if you knew what's going down
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo
Someone to fool us, someone like you
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo
Someone to fool, someone like you
Someone to claim us, someone to follow
Someone to shame us, some brave Apollo
Someone to fool, someone like you
We want you Big Brother
This song, though not one of
Bowie's bigger hits, is particularly interesting as he is obviously praising
the genus of Orwell's 1984. After reading the book several times , I am
still amazed at the frightening reality of it. Beginning with the first
stanza, Bowie harps about forgetting past "trivial" events, perhaps throwing
in a confession of his drug abuse ("Or should we powder our noses?"). He
talks of the industrialization that "Big Brother" (or the government) allegedly
provides for it's simple-minded citizens. Bowie takes the tone of one these
fear-driven citizens. He claims to be free from sin, as the Party (Big
Brother) had strict rules and monitoring of the citizens behavior, which
forced them to act the way the party wished. When Bowie says, "i'm graphically
yours", he is referring these monitors. The chorus exemplifies the perfect
citizen to Big Brother, one which is craving a government to control them,
however Bowie takes the role of the omniscient reader when he says "Fool
us". He takes on the role of Winston, who knows he is being fooled , and
the chorus seems almost like that of routine chant Orwell might have used
in 1984. He continues from this point of view when gives credit to Big
Brother for creating everyone and being everywhere. He goes on to show
disgust (again like Winston) to the party, as he threatens to overdose.
The chorus then again continues.