Just seen Bowie's ass censored on China Girl clip on a Sexy 20/1 video show (Australia) . They made reference to
China girl being about Heroin ( China White) It makes sense given it was written with IGGY POP in Berlin
in late 70s. Funny , all these years seeing the film clip I though it was about a Chinese Girl!!!!!!
CHINA GIRL
I could escape this feeling
With my china girl
Im just a wreck without
My little china girl
Id hear hearts beating
Loud as thunder
See the stars crashing
Im a mess without
My chlna girl
Wake up mornings theres
No china girl
Id hear hearts beating
Loud asthunder
Id see the stars crashing down
Id feel tragic
Like I was marlon brando
When Id look at my china girl
I could pretend that nothing
Really meant too much
When Id look at my china girl
Id stumble into town
Just like a sacred cow
Visions of swasticas in my head
And plans for everyone
Its in the white of my eyes
My little china girl
You shouldnt mess with me
Ill ruin everything you are
Ill give you television
Ill give you eyes of blue
Ill give you men who want
To rule the world
And when I get excited
My little china girl says
Oh jimmy just you
Shut your mouth
She says shhhh...
reads as a standard 'romance yearned for' until the lines about stumbling into town. then it kinda goes from being romantic in a standard movie way to having various unpleasant visons. kinda like saying "you don't know the dark side of me". it gets resolved in the end by him being told to just shut up by his (imaginary?) lover. also, some shades of masculine versus feminine, with the female still commanding power at the end in the sweetest way. despite some fierce and mad lyrics, it is still a love song, albeit with some dark tones.
edit: i just saw the start of your post. oh yeah, i'm wrong...it's bowie and its about drugs!
This message has been edited by wokwokwok on Jun 4, 2009 1:42 PM
btw, i love the way iggy pop uses the line in the new grand theft auto game - he is a guest radio dj and he actually says "i stumble into town just like a sacred cow"
Yes well Bowie & Pop cleaning up in the drug capital of the world Berlin 1977 co write China Girl ??.
It was never a love song till Bowie re-recorded it in 1993, and shot the vid in Australia.
Of course there was the 'China Girl' Geeling Ng & Bowie in Auckland and Australia now that was another love story, cleaned 'China Girl' Bowie's video into a love story ? for some. lol
Edit Plus there are live versions where he says 'stick it up your ar e' or was it bum ?.
yes an erotic love story. lol
Edit again, this is good....
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1263
Final edit, remember it is one of Bowie's least fav songs to play live, or so it was said, wonder why cause it reminds him of the Berlin days in the flat with Iggy where they would have days of binges, and days without ?.
This message has been edited by thevisitortjn on Jun 4, 2009 2:21 PM This message has been edited by thevisitortjn on Jun 4, 2009 2:10 PM This message has been edited by thevisitortjn on Jun 4, 2009 2:03 PM
(Forgive me if this answer seems redundant. I didn't quite read the whole thread before replying, so far be it for me to come off as a mimic, reiterator or , well, stupid LOL)
I think the song is about drugs, too.
Women and love in general are drugs, but smack is a whole 'nother ball of yarn..
Later!
gge
This message has been edited by greengrassend on Jun 4, 2009 10:00 PM
Since I was a teen, methought The Gentleman was simply singing a romantic serenade (with ominous overtones) to an Asian maiden. I never thought it was about drug use. I thought it was a dark-edged love song and the China Girl was an actual girl (well, woman) from China. But then, I've been a hopeless romantic (and Bo-Mantic) since I was fifteen
This message has been edited by Sparkina on Jun 5, 2009 2:23 AM
I've always been curious to know how DB managed to stay clear from heroin addiction...
Some say he tried it, and knowing what we know, that's probably true. But, apparently, he never had horrible problems with smack. It even contradicts what is known about the drug, about its allure and its very addicting effect.
I wonder if he ever mentioned heroin personally (and not via Iggy in China Girl, for example), if he expressed any opinions about it, in interviews or otherwise.
I seem to recall reading that he flirted with it in the late 60s (he would certainly have been exposed to it in the streets of the west end of London which were littered with junkies in that period) but that he didn't like it. He also tried, but didn't like, cannabis.
I think Bowie's drugs of choice were, apart from alcohol, always uppers. As a London mod in the mid-60s he would definitely have been exposed to amphetamine and we know that as soon as he became rich he moved on to coke and stuck with it/was addicted to it for many years (despite claims of getting "clean" in Berlin).
When he had the heart attack I heard a lot of crap in the media here in Australia about heroin use causing heart problems later in life. I wanted to shake these people and suggest that they read a book or two. There's no evidence of Bowie having had any problem with heroin. Long-term coke use, on the other hand, has been linked to many types of heart disease.
Yep, I remember reading that he didn't like marijuana. Funny that he was busted by the police with pot, of all drugs.
I think it's very rare that someone tries and dislikes heroin. He's lucky.
"as soon as he became rich he moved on to coke and stuck with it/was addicted to it for many years (despite claims of getting "clean" in Berlin)."
Clean in Berlin with Iggy. I can only imagine their frugal lifestyle.
I remember I read some interview with Christiane F. (the junkie girl of the Zoo Station), and she said she met David Bowie in 1981, in the premiere of her biopic. She said she sniffed coke with him in the occasion, while listening to some of auntie Dave's advices about the perils of fame..............
> I think it's very rare that someone tries and dislikes heroin.
No one's ever accused David of being like other people (or stupid). I think he was sussed enough to know what a dangerous thing heroin was and tried it to say he'd done it and then gave it a wide berth. And he obviously prefered uppers to downers anyway. I think he sees heroin and cannabis as creativity killers (though others would argue the opposite).
Just to stir things up do some think Bowie's covers of V.U. tracks like 'White Light/White Heat might be about par and vari lights, or or something more sinister like the D word again.
'Waiting For The Man' might be just like the Stones song "Waiting on a Friend".....
Yeah right !! lol
And what of 'Cracked Actor' the song ??.
I've heard suggestions of angel dust as well...it was popular in the L.A. of the Lost Years.
A relative of mine once took heroin by mistake at a London party. She said it was nice. I guess you've seen one line of white powder, you've seen 'em all.
l think the song chana girl is about imperialism and the sheer condescending attitudeof the west in general, ( l'll ruin everything you are )
on david and drugs.... l have always avoided cocaine as l was worried about the effect it would have on my beloved hero in the seventies etc.
in much later years l told my son now 21 that after seeing david bowies struggle (?) with it, l would never touch it as he was very ill at one or two points in his life.
my son informed me that these days david bowie is a great advert for cocaine!! especially as, if the rumours and reports are true about his drug use then he has came off reasonabley well and it cant be that bad considering the amounts that david bowie has consumed!
According to the bio Open Up And Bleed, the song was originally called "Borderline" and was the tale of unrequited love involving Iggy and Kuelan Nguyen, partner of French actor/singer Jacques Higelin who was also recording at Château d'Hérouville at the time.
Probably, more correctly, Nguyen was Vietnamese (it's a common Vietnamese family name - also the second most common name in the Melbourne phone book!!!).
The protagonist's "Shhh..." was a direct quote from Nguyen after Pop confessed his feelings for her one night.
Well, 100% Brit (and apparently proud of it) is being a bit over the top when he says 8 hours [of Outside outtakes]. I'd love to know the truth concerning what 100% Git really has ~ Reeves Gabrels, 2003
This message has been edited by AdamD on Jun 24, 2009 2:30 AM
I know the early verses could be about either but it's mainly the final verse that underpins Iggy's concerns/inadequacies of his own cultural background relative to this Asian girl that in many ways represents perfection.
My little China Girl
You shouldn't mess with me
I'll ruin everything you are
I'll give you television
I'll give you eyes of blue
I'll give you a man who wants to rule the world
That she says 'shhh' to him after he confesses his feelings also seems quite accurate in many ways. It's hard to explain exactly but I think it's maybe something cultural here too. One thing though - the lyric is a bit odd today given the subsequent economic rise of China. Who gives who the televisions now?
Well, 100% Brit (and apparently proud of it) is being a bit over the top when he says 8 hours [of Outside outtakes]. I'd love to know the truth concerning what 100% Git really has ~ Reeves Gabrels, 2003
This message has been edited by AdamD on Jun 24, 2009 2:55 AM
Yes I guess that's one way of interpreting it. And then there's...
My little China Girl - Heroin.
You shouldn't mess with me Because I definitely shouldn't be messing with you.
I'll ruin everything you are The threat is mutual.
I'll give you television How many junkies sell and or steal and sell TVs and other valuable goods in order to get money to score?
I'll give you eyes of blue Not the brown-eyed Asian drug addict, but the blue-eyed western one.
I'll give you a man who wants to rule the world How many junkies feel on top of the world after they've shot up? All of them.
Bats doesn't really care as it's one of my favourites songs and I
remember watching one of David's Concerts and these China Girls were just in
Rap with the song ,,lucky Girls were right in front looking-up at David
Bats
