Hi. Many feel Bowie's Bewlay Brothers is hard to understand. This is not the case. It is very simple, in fact, it follows a very well-known tradition in rock music including Crossroads by Robert Johnson. The song is an apology, an explanation of why Bowie did what he did to become famous.

To understand the song, let's cut right to its heart; the coda. Here are the lyrics:

Lay me place and bake me Pie
I'm starving for me Gravy
Leave my shoes, and door unlocked
I might just slip away, hey

Can you feel the rage and frustration in these lines? Bowie is complaining he was afraid he would always be David Jones from Brixton, unknown, obscure, like a prisoner never leaving his dull home town. Leave his door unlocked, he cries sarcastically, because perhaps he might just go outside. In these lyrics, "pie and gravy" symbolize the dull existence he sees mapped out for himself. Bowie's theme in Bewlay Brothers is he would have done anything to escape and he did: he traded his soul.

Bowie realizes his fame is only temporary and one day he would be "gone." This is why he calls himself "the king of oblivion." The "solid book he wrote" will one day not be found. Bowie is a "real cool trader" who traded his soul away. In this song, he mentions the devil but "we can't sing about that."

Part of Bowie's "deal" is he do everything he can to disprove the Gospel. He "wore the clothes" he "said the things" to "make it seem improbable." Bowie carried himself in such a way to make the Gospel seem insignificant.

This is a theme continued in Bowie's work. Ziggy Stardust was "voodoo." Bowie is the "Heathen" whose work will be destroyed. In Reality, Bowie calls his work "the devil in the marketplace."

In "Bewlay Brothers," Bowie explains how he travelled from obscurity to fame, yet it is a bleak song, without joy and hope. He hopes we understand his actions. We don't, they are the product of a vain, shallow man. When Christ encountered the devil, the devil offered him all the kingdoms of the world if Christ would serve him. Christ said no. However, there are men like Bowie who succumbed to the temptation and said "yes."

I can't see any clarity of ideas there Sam. Do some research and try again.

Try an imaginative approach and be sophisticated about it too! Some evidence and insight would help convince us.

I hope that helps Sam



Tits and Explosions

Thanks, Sam. Interesting post. Bowie traded his soul with the devil..... It's a bit of a cliche, but I guess that if there were a God in the Christian sense Bowie probably committed enough sins to condemn himself to a hot reception in his afterlife.

The pretty things are going to Hell!


One thing I will add, however, is that Bewlay Brothers is written in the past tense. I don't think Bowie was talking about the future or his impending stardom.

It's the darkest song on the otherwise 'hunky dory' Hunky Dory. I think the birth of David's son put db in such a positive place that he was able to address the ghosts of his upbringing and his relationship with his schizophrenic brother.

"Part of Bowie's "deal" is he do everything he can to disprove the Gospel."

I don't believe that's true. Bowie has always been what we call a searcher. All his albums reflect on religious ideas, whether it's Buddhism, Golden Dawn, Kabbalah, Christianity, Gnosticism, it's all incorporated in his work. This religious searching is part of discovering who he really is. It's triggered by the feeling of not belonging, being different, being an outsider.

"Bowie is the "Heathen" whose work will be destroyed."

If I remember correctly, Bowie said in an interview that the title "Heathen" is not about himself. It is Bowie's view of current society. It's like the Hours... album, where Bowie stated that he describes the (spiritual) crisis the world finds itself in nowadays.

"Bowie realizes his fame is only temporary and one day he would be "gone.""

At the time of Hunky Dory, I don't think Bowie would call himself famous. He just had a hitsingle with Space Oddity, but that's about it... It wouldn't be till Ziggy Stardust that he could say he finally made it...

No, the song has more to do with his relationship with his brother and with the mental-disease running in his family. There's no secret about this. So, for me The Bewlay Brothers is still hard to understand.

On the Quo tour bus we all used to sing along to Life On Mars, Rick would to insist on "Suffragette City" at the sound checks. Fran is a Bowie fan a vinyl junkie too.

Bewlay Brothers is rather obviously a nod to the gay scene in the USA in the late 60's and 70's. The piece asks far more questions than it answers. Quite possibly it is Bowie writing about his 'other self.

There's also an aspect of Olde Englishe folk song in the hands of a recovering folkie; the use of the past tense, the descriptive language and the Brothers' apparently sad fate suggest that Mr. Bowie is updating the traditional narrative ballad; the use of what sounds like a nursery rhyme as a coda is also suggestive. The song's aching sadness, of course, is personal.

I used to wake up the ocean

That was your worst one yet Sam, I think you missed every point of every lyric in the song. And why is it always about Bowie destroying God for you? Silly.

I for one am a little tired of songwriters "using" God to fill up their lyric sheets. For instance the Brett Anderson, who's openly denied the existance of God or a higher authority in interviews, lyric from one of his recent solo albums "Am I gonna find Jesus in me?". Yes, Brett could have written it from a third person perspective, but I even find that a bit patronizing considering his own documented views on belief.

If you think God is so silly, why do you waste your own time mocking? And in your own lyrics no less. Sounds like confliction to me...or possibly devil playing to stir up questions in God followers, which is a form of belief in itself cus you are taking a side in the debate (God vs Devil).

I don't think Sam even understands what he is saying. He rambles like the smoker does when he shits from the mouth. Fair enough everyone has their own interpretation of songs and words, but what on earth is this guy even on about? He doesn't even look capable of stirring it up. If there is an allusion to God or whatever in Sam's thread then he is not making a very good job of it. Sam's writing seems triggered by a lack of attention, I guess he needs an audience for that shit.

LOL! your on form today Bruce!

-----------------------------------------------