kookie

as i've gotten to know a bit more about the man and his work, i've noticed that there's a few things i find increasingly appealing about Bavid Bowie {as was}.

apart from his physical attraction {which was decidedly missing during the Station To Station/Diamond Dogs period, i must admit...} and the haunting beauty of his voice, i find it wonderful to see how humble he was. he didn't take himself and his fame very seriously, which is rather amazing to see in a star of his magnitude and reach... in many interview i've seen him take the piss out of his supposed cultural importance {"he keeps reinventing himself, ch-ch-changing all the time, like a chameleon of rock..." - from this {rather wonderful} interview} and even how unimpressed he was with his own voice {?!}, instead wishing he'd just be able to pass his songs on to others... {though i have a feeling he could also be quite arch and flippant}

another thing i've come to really like about Bowie's songs is the lack of anger... he may have felt alien, alone, misunderstood, insecure maybe, but he never turned to rage and hopping frustration to express his feelings... quite the opposite - he wondered and wanted to connect. and it's that wish to connect, i guess, that gave him the status he gained, from Ziggy Stardust onwards. he understood people, maybe due to a wisdom he always had, or due to his studies in Buddhism, or whatever - he had a kind of grasp on human nature, and an innate need to connect, and share, and Not Alienate... love, not hate...

the song that points that out to me is Kooks, which he wrote for his son Zowie {now Duncan}, which to me says Love and Hope and an Arm around your Shoulder... funny, and sweet, too...

{as the article in Uncut read: the ultimate Bowie song, in many ways...}

Will you stay in our Lovers' Story
If you stay you won't be sorry
'Cause we believe in you
Soon you'll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

We bought a lot of things
to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry
I bought you a pair of shoes
A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people
when they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kookie too

And if you ever have to go to school
Remember how they messed up
this old fool
Don't pick fights with the bullies
or the cads
'Cause I'm not much cop at punching other people's Dads
And if the homework brings you down
Then we'll throw it on the fire
And take the car downtown